Specialist Palliative Care Nurse

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Nurse with the relevant skills and experience to work as a Specialist Palliative Care Nurse  Band 7), based in our friendly, supportive team covering South PLACE.

The Community Specialist Palliative Care Nursing PLACE teams are based at locations across Norwich, North, South and West Norfolk providing expert clinical palliative and end of life care for patients in their own homes and care facilities.

The service also provides a 24/7 palliative care advice line which operates from the coordination centre at the new purpose-built Priscilla Bacon Lodge, in Colney.

The teams work as part of the wider Specialist Palliative Care Service which includes a consultant-led specialist inpatient unit, a Psychological Therapies team and a Day Therapies service.

This role will be covering South Norfolk, and the Primary Care Network the successful candidate will be working in will be confirmed on appointment.

Main duties of the job

You will have your own caseload of patients within South PLACE and will work closely with colleagues in community nursing and therapies teams, Norwich Supported Care and GPs/Primary Care, to clinically manage palliative and end of life care patients safely in their own homes.

As a part of your role you will provide clinical leadership and support to our Associate Palliative Care Nurses and expert advice and psychological support to patients, carers and other healthcare professionals as part of a daily clinical team working on our 24/7 advice line.

Our Band 7 Specialist Nurses are also expected to act as Non-Medical Prescribers and you will be supported to undertake a relevant post-registration training course if required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• The post-holder is expected to operate autonomously at an advanced level of clinical practice providing evidence based expert palliative care and advice to all colleagues.
• To provide holistic specialist palliative care nursing assessment of patients and carers with highly complex needs, identifying priorities of care, implementing strategies in order to give this care and evaluation to ensure the maintenance of clinical excellence.
• To utilise clinical assessment skills and non-medical prescribing as required.
• To provide education, information and advice to patients, their relatives and carers acting as the patient’s advocate where appropriate.
• To provide psychosocial support utilising advanced communication skills, particularly at times of high distress or heightened emotional response, e.g. at times of diagnosis, at a time of recurrence and managing last few days of life.
• Influencing clinical practice, indirectly with the provision of education, information and advice, to providers of generalist palliative care.
• To participate in MDT, GSF and SPCN meetings as a core member of the specialist palliative care team contributing to the MDT discussion/patient assessment/care planning.
• Identify those adults and children at risk of complicated grief and plan care as appropriate.