The role of the Sleep CNS will involve working within the wider sleep department alongside consultants, physiologists, physiotherapists and sleep practitioners. The role will incorporate the diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management of a variety of sleep related disorders. This will include reviewing patients in the outpatient and inpatient setting, via telephone or face to face.
The Sleep CNS will also be involved in the provision of education around sleep disorders; symptoms how to refer for further assessment and diagnosis and general treatment options. Education will not only within the sleep department but within the wider trust also.
The Sleep CNS will be expected to manage their workload, utilising the database of core patients requiring medications that can only be obtained
via the sleep department. The pharmacological aspect of managing patients with sleep disorders is often essential and the Sleep CNS should
have a sound understanding of the core medications used within Sleep medicine. Working as a non-medical prescriber is an important aspect to
this role.
Full training will be provided in house for any applicants that lack depth of specialist sleep experience. Annex 21 route is available with the expectation that all training competencies will be completed within.
• Completion of Non Medical Prescribing Module.
• Clinical Examination Module.
• CPAP Setup Competency training.
• CPAP Compliance competency training.
Knowledge and/or management of individuals with sleep related disorders is desirable, however this is not essential as education/supervision will be provided.
The role will include care of patients with both breathing related sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) and non-breathing related sleep disorders such as Narcolepsy, REM behaviour disorders and circadian rhythm disorders. Thorough history taking is essential, with the ability to perform appropriate clinical examination.
The role includes reviewing patients, setup with CPAP therapy, reviewing efficacy of this therapy & identifying further testing if required, with ability to analyse simple sleep studies and work towards those which are more complex. Patients with OSA or OHS may be of a high clinical risk and the CNS should identify deterioration, have the ability to escalate care when needed and be able to perform and interpret Arterial Blood gases. Patients with sleep related disorders are often at a high clinical risk and are vulnerable individuals.
Certain cohorts of patients, such as Narcolepsy patients, require a
certain amount of counselling to manage their daily lives, addressing sensitive topics such as navigating the workplace with a disability,
completing education with additional learning needs or managing pregnancy without medications. Sensitivity and compassion are essential with sound clinical knowledge to give these patients the best possible care.
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.
UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.
For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.
Aintree University Hospitalis the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility.Broadgreen Hospitalis home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation.Liverpool Women’s Hospitalspecialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. TheRoyal Liverpool University Hospitalis the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.
Perform specialist assessment of patients nursing needs, plan, implement and evaluate care delivery using advanced clinical knowledge and clinical skills.
Lead clinical care by managing a patient caseload providing expert assessment,planning and evaluation.
Co-ordinate and manage nurse-led clinics (within Speciality).
Contribute towards a multi-professional approach in the management of patients within the specialist area, especially in relation to ongoing care needs and discharge arrangements.
Establish and maintain effective communication with patients and carers /
relatives.
Support patients and their families and ensure that they receive the required information to enable them to self manage, lead or participate in their care delivery.
Recognise changes in patients condition that require the intervention of others and refer on as appropriate.
To support, assist and encourage the multi-disciplinary team in resolving patient problems, by the provision of new and innovative models of case management.
To engage with the specialist nursing contribution to the service, in the delivery of high standards of patient care.
To engage with the specialist nursing contribution to the service, work in partnership with lead clinicians, General Managers, Matron to ensure the delivery of high standards of patient care.
For a full list of duties, please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
This advert closes on Wednesday 12 Feb 2025