The role entails but is not limited to: Specialist Practice: Demonstrate the necessary skills to establish and maintain effective communication for patients, relatives and members of the multi-disciplinary team. Communicating with patients and relatives, providing active listening, counsel, providing information and teaching about palliative symptom control and the dying process. Using proficient interpersonal and communication skills in a frequently highly challenging and emotive atmosphere. Communicate with other healthcare/allied healthcare professionals within primary, secondary and tertiary settings, key workers, social services, nursing and residential homes to enhance the flow of communication and oversee the admission and discharge process. Establish strong effective working relationships with all members of the multi-disciplinary team. Ensure that holistic care is provided to our patients, by ensuring access to other members of the team such as dietician, occupational therapist, family support and physiotherapist as required. Maintain a good working relationship with the patient and their relatives ensuring that they receive a personalised and sensitive, professional service at all times. Ensure that support is given to carers and families providing information and explanation on external resources available and referring them to the necessary organisations where appropriate. Establish excellent professional relationships with Community colleagues providing information to these professionals, enabling them to care well for these patients when in the community. To support the patient admission and discharge process, assessing and advising patients and relatives in crisis situations where significant barriers to acceptance of help will need to be handled using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills. Presenting complex, sensitive or contentious information for patients, clients and staff. Provide emotional/spiritual support to patient and families throughout the disease and dying trajectory, providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information. Provide out of hours telephone support and advice for patients, relatives and external healthcare professionals regarding symptom control and psychological care and advice when required. Clinical and Professional Responsibilities: Provide total physical, emotional and spiritual care and support to patients, relatives and carers throughout their admission. Be clinically competent in the array of specialist palliative care nursing skills. Be competent in the use of IT skills (SystmOne, Microsoft 365). To attend and present at case conferences and multi-disciplinary team meetings to ensure effective communication with all members of the hospice inter-disciplinary and primary care teams, acting as the patients advocate. To assess needs and develop, implement and evaluate special palliative nursing care, in consultation with other members of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure effective high-quality specialist palliative nursing care for patients, identifying and helping to meet their physical, psycho-social, emotional and spiritual needs. To ensure that supportive nursing care and therapies, which may be completed by healthcare assistants, are given safely and that supervising and monitoring of these patients is maintained. To provide a nurse-led holistic assessment for patients giving them in-depth information regarding the treatment and care involved, covering contra-indications and ensuring the focus is the patients perception of their quality of life. Verify death of patients, perform care after death, provide bereavement support for families and oversee the transfer of deceased patients to the mortuary whilst ensuring the philosophy of the hospice is respected and maintained. To assist in the monitoring of mandatory training and e-learning for all IPU staff. To assist in the monitoring of sickness and absence management of staff in accordance with hospice policy and ensure personal files are up to date. Ensure that nursing records and documents are completed accurately and legibly to meet organisational, professional and legal requirements. Assist in maintaining custody of controlled drugs by ordering, checking and administering and ensuring safe handling according to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Adhere to and provide professional standards and codes of conduct, act as an effective role model, educator and mentor for nursing staff and junior members of the team. Adhere to hospice policies and procedures at all times. Maintain and develop own professional practice, keeping abreast of new developments and concepts both clinical and professional. Designated area of management responsibility as directed by the IPU Manager. Leadership responsibilities: Co-ordinate, supervise and motivate a team of nurses and act as a resource for other staff with less palliative care knowledge and experience. To actively participate in training and education of qualified and unqualified staff to assist in the professional clinical development of self and colleagues. In conjunction with the IPU Manager, plan and maintain appropriate staffing levels and skill mix to meet the care needs of the patient population and is responsible for managing budgets and resources appropriately. To assess, plan, implement and evaluate individual specialist palliative patient care without supervision, advising patients and relatives accordingly. To collect, collate, evaluate and report information to maintain accurate records. To take a proactive role in producing accurate and complete records which are consistent with legislation, policies and procedures. Together with the IPU Manager and senior nursing team set and evaluate through clinical audit the standards of nursing care for your specialist area and ensure that these are maintained at optimum level. Develop action plans from clinical audit with the IPU Manager and implement required actions or changes required and ensure these are embedded in clinical practice. Be conversant and comply with the policies and procedures of St Giles Hospice including Confidentiality, Health and Safety, Fire and Safeguarding Adults and Children. Be aware and comply with the requirements pertaining to Health and Safety at Work Act, especially in relation to COSHH, the Data Protection Act and the NMC Code of Professional Practice. Be responsible for a group of staff ensuring annual appraisals are completed. Quality and Audit Responsibilities Monitor the nursing process by reviewing admissions, discharge, pathways, preferred place of care/death, electronic records for adherence to standard operating procedures. Work closely the clinical education team in supporting staff in clinical competence and on-going support. To support the IPU Manager in the development and delivery of quality measures for patients and carers, including patient satisfaction. Take leadership as part of clinical assurance and audit, ensure that patient records and care delivery are benchmarked against best practice and any improvements are highlighted as part of the audit cycle. Feedback results of audits and elicit ideas for recommendations and action plan from colleagues. In conjunction with the IPU Manager and senior clinical leaders, ensure that any service improvement action plans are successfully implemented. Support the IPU Manager and senior clinical leaders to prepare, deliver and embed any nursing research initiatives within inpatient services. Education To attend mandatory training and relevant course/study days in accordance with the training and education policy and keep a personal portfolio of such. To be responsible for ensuring own clinical supervision and that an annual Individual Performance Review is undertaken. To maintain clinical and professional competence by keeping up to date with nursing healthcare trends and developments by reading clinical/professional literature, research, attending study days and by liaising with other professionals. To work in collaboration with the senior nursing team in ensuring that staff are trained and deemed competent in skills outlined in audit action plans. Just so you know: We may review applications before the application review date, however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role, this may be earlier than the closing date. If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time. As part of your application your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. 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