Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Quality & Standards Nurse Lead

Job overview

We are delighted to offer this exciting opportunity, for an experienced nurse to join our Specialist Palliative Care Team (SPCT) as Clinical Quality & Standards Nurse Lead. SPCT currently consists of Hospital and Community Macmillan Palliative Care Nurse Specialists, Consultants in Palliative Medicine, and Admin and Clerical Team.

The SPCT provides specialist support, care and advice to patients and their families living with life limiting illness in North Wales, across primary and secondary care.

The post holder will support Head of Nursing and each of the Specialist Palliative Care Teams with overarching quality strategy, Datix, Complaints, Mortality reviews, quality and safety reporting and presenting in the absence of HoN/Team Leads at various meetings, supporting with departmental risk assessments and supporting the ongoing document library. The post holder will work closely with HoN/Team Leads to identify themes and support with developing Quality Improvement projects to improve care delivery and knowledge.

The postholder will be expected to travel across BCUHB to support the SPCT pan service as needed with a primary base in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

If you have the relevant experience and qualifications, alongside a strong desire to work within specialist palliative care, then we would love to hear from you.

Informal enquiries and visits are strongly encouraged.

Main duties of the job

To support and develop innovative and clinical quality and standards in the North Wales Department for Specialist Palliative Care (NWDoSPC) through clearly defined and monitored benchmarks to help ensure the delivery of safe and prudent evidence based care across specialist palliative, end of life care and bereavement care services.

To Identify opportunities to review and modernise services · Take the lead for the development of innovative clinical practice working with Head of Nursing, Clinical Director, Lead Nurses, third sector providers, service users, quality & safety groups and other key stakeholders to achieve this.

Provide guidance and support to staff of all levels in relation to service improvement, compliance, audit, and patient quality and safety.

Undertake delegated duties for Lead Nurses Specialist Palliative Care in their absence.

Support lead nurses and provide first line management to Specialist Palliative Care Nurses aligned to clinical governance and quality standards.

Provide education and training to all staff within NWDoSPC in relation to quality and standards for palliative, end of life and bereavement care.

Support and encourage a culture of learning from experience amongst staff in order to embed sustained change.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Work closely with Head of Nursing, Clinical Director, Lead Nurses & specialist staff to develop innovative responses to key action areas.
• Support the interpretation and implementation of recommendations laid out in local and national policies and guidelines e.g. NSF, Healthcare Standards, NICE guidance and national Delivery Plans for palliative and end of life care.
• Identify, and develop service improvement protocols and procedures within the NWDoSPC setting, ensuring that they are audited and the results and action plan feedback to the appropriate committee/group.
• Undertake service redesign projects for palliative and end of life care in liaison with departmental managers and lead nurses encouraging collaborative working to motivate staff in the implementation of change.
• Undertake educational sessions and workshops for a variety of staff regarding the implementation of change or other projects.
• Support the development of policy and procedures for the implementation of change.
• Plan, prepare and deliver training to nursing and other associated staff in relation to service improvement initiatives.
• Review complaints, adverse incidents, identifying themes and initiating corrective action through raising awareness amongst operational staff and support the development of service improvement and audit plans as appropriate.
• Support Head of Nursing, Clinical Director and Lead Nurses with the investigation and management of patient safety and welfare issues ( HARMS), supporting the NWDoSPC at table top review groups, quality groups and significant event meetings, providing meaningful improvement plans.
• Support lead nurses and provide line management to Specialist Palliative Care Nurses aligned to clinical governance, quality & standards.
• Develop and maintain effective and good quality communication systems with patients/clients, staff and colleagues.
• Evaluate the delivery of care provided by self or other health and social care professionals and take action as appropriate.
• Contribute to the Quality Strategy of the Health Board and assist in its implementation. Ensure that the relevant Health Care Standards are adhered to and implemented.
• Support and contribute to changes in practice/policy, which are reactive and supportive to achieving key quality and safety performance indicators and reflective of the values and beliefs held within the Health Board.
• Promote the provision of a customer-orientated service, supporting key stakeholders with developing patient and public involvement strategies across the service.
• Represent the NWDoSPC at local/national levels as required.
• To develop initiatives to assist in achieving quality standards for palliative, end of life and bereavement care.

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Welsh language skills are desirable