30 hours per week.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Special Care Dental Nurse to join the specialist led, multidisciplinary team of Plymouth Community Dental Services, part of Livewell Southwest. This post is a fixed term maternity cover.
Applications are welcomed from experienced and suitably qualified registered dental nurses with a post certificate qualification in Dental Sedation and that have an up to date record of experience in assisting during surgery of patients in receiving conscious sedation.
PCDS provides a high level of general and specialised dental services to Plymouth and the surrounding district and are looking for candidates who are caring, passionate and enthusiastic in providing high quality care.
If you have the necessary qualifications, experience and enthusiasm to join our dedicated team, we would like to hear from you.
This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility.
Please note that Livewell may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted. Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.
All Livewell Southwest staff are expected to able and willing to work across a 7 day service.
Job Share(s) Considered
Main duties of the job
1. Work with dental operator providing patient care including clinical procedures & chair side assisting & the use of inhalation/intravenous sedation.
2. Assist & be empathetic with patients/carers, including those who have special needs & dealing with them promptly & efficiently.
3. Work with all dental equipment including sharp/fine instruments.
4. Provide advice to patients/carers about dental procedures including pre/post-operative advice, management of complications & pain control.
5. Prepare the clinical environment prior to/end of clinical sessions, following cross infection & decontamination protocols.
6. Check surgery equipment & report any faults.
7. Ensure routine & emergency equipment is checked & available.
8. Assist with the decontamination / sterilisation of equipment & instruments & other responsibilities in the decontamination suite following cross infection procedures according to local/national guidelines.
9. Prepare the surgery for the patient using knowledge & experience to select the appropriate equipment/materials/instruments.
10. Assist dental officer on domiciliary visits, epidemiology surveys & school screening when required.
11. Develop x-rays using digital equipment.
12. Assist in the event of a medical emergency.
13. Work at different locations to meet the needs of the Service, when required including GA sessions at UHP.
14. Undertake specific duties delegated by Dental Operators & Plymouth Community Dental Services Ltd Managers.
15. Follow organisation policies & those determined by others, including NHS BDA.
About us
Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.
As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.
We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead, healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.
Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:
* Protected CPD time for registered staff.
* Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff.
* Leadership & mentoring programmes.
* A bespoke induction programme.
* Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Post holder works with special care dentists treating patients with special needs mostly having treatment under conscious sedation. Post holder also provides Dental Sedation Nursing support to all Dentists carrying out Dental Sedation, including Oral Surgery.
2. Post holder has GDC registration and holds the NEBDN certificate in conscious sedation and thereby acts as the second appropriately trained person working with the dentist in line with the British Dental association patient safety guidelines.
3. Post holder requires knowledge of complex medical, physical and mental health problems, which has been gained through a minimum of 2 years experience.
4. Post holder will be required to monitor sedated patients during both treatment and recovery, and needs to recognise and assist with medical emergencies.
5. Post holder will discharge patients with the dentists agreement, and be responsible for giving relevant post-operative instructions and care.
6. To assist all operators in all chair side assisting. To support and care for patients during procedures using conscious sedation.
7. Follows all sedation related local policies and SOPs, including the correct preparation of equipment and attends local drawing up drugs training with sedation lead.
8. Records clinical observations on patients sedation record.
9. Carries out performance checks and daily maintenance on specialist equipment i.e. Pulse Oximeter, Oxygen cylinders, Scavenger unit and Relative analgesia machine to ensure the equipment is ready for use and if faulty to remove from use and report to the relevant technician.
10. Prepares the surgery environment using knowledge and experience to select the appropriate equipment, materials and instruments, using specialist knowledge based on patients medical, physical and emotional needs.
11. Works as part of a multi-disciplinary team in Freedom day case units assisting operator treating patients under general anaesthesia. Providing technical and clinical support for patients undergoing these procedures. Providing post-operative care plans for these patients.
12. Triage of urgent care patients to assess the urgency of treatment and determine the correct booking and then book appointments including outlying clinics.
13. Registered, as a Dental Nurse, with the GDC.
14. Thorough knowledge of dental procedures gained through a minimum of 2 years post-qualification training and experience.
15. Thorough knowledge of routine dental procedures and equipment gained through in-house training and experience including specialised areas such as general anaesthetics.
16. Experienced in treating patients from diverse cultural backgrounds i.e. those who require interpretation services.
17. Knowledge of Basic Life Support techniques and certificate of training and willingness to complete ILS training/certification and regular updates, provided by Livewell Southwest.
18. Trained in recognising medical emergencies and assists in dealing with them.
19. Trained by PCDS / Livewell in all Mandatory Training topics, including Manual Handling, Breakaway, Health and Safety when required.
20. Clinical work is carried out without direct supervision using initiative and knowledge of procedures gained through experience and training. The guidance of a dental operator or clinical manager is sought for non-routine clinical procedures.
21. Administrative duties are carried out without direct supervision using knowledge of procedures and referring to a Manager for non-routine procedures.
22. Holds the NEBDN certificate in conscious sedation.
23. Thorough knowledge of specialist dental procedures gained through a minimum of 2 years post qualification, training and experience.
24. Will be required to carry out additional duties and responsibilities.
25. Communicates with patients within specialist groups on specialist dental topics. Judgement, reassurance and motivation are necessary to ensure instructions are given to patients in a manner which they can understand.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
* NEBDN Qualification/City & Guilds NVQ3 or equivalent in Dental Nursing.
* NEBDN qualification in Dental Sedation Nursing.
* Registered as a Dental Nurse with the GDC.
* GCSE Grade A-C (or equivalent) English and maths.
Desirable
* Additional Dental Nurse qualifications.
Experience
Essential
* Experience of working as a member of a team.
* A minimum of 2 years dental nursing experience.
* Experience of working in a sedation setting.
Desirable
* Assists with the induction of new staff.
* Trains and supports new and less qualified staff.
* Experience of working in the salaried, community or personal dental services within the NHS.
* Experience of working within Special Care Dentistry, paediatric and/or Oral Surgery.
* Experience in undertaking extra duties to support your team and/or service.
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
* Knowledge of the equipment and materials used in dental, surgical and sedation procedures.
* Knowledge of Health and Safety regulations.
* Knowledge of Cross Infection control measures.
* Carries out clinical and administrative work without direct supervision.
* Promotes best practice and a high level of patient care for the Plymouth Community Dental Services Ltd.
* Fluent in spoken and written English language.
* Good organisational skills.
* Good keyboard and ICT skills.
* Calm reassuring manner.
* Good interpersonal skills to ensure effective communication with staff at all grades and ability to support patients of all social backgrounds and all outside agencies.
* Organises tasks and activities to make optimum use of clinical time.
* Works and communicates with all members of a multi-disciplinary team.
* To act in a professional manner at all times.
* Competent in recognising and dealing with medical emergencies.
* Make decisions as to best practice.
* Carries out performance checks and daily maintenance on dental equipment.
Desirable
* Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.
* Up to date in Basic life support training.
* Up to date in Intermediate Life Support training.
* Computer literate including use of Software of Excellence dental package, such as SOEL Health and Dentally.
Employer details
Employer name
Livewell Southwest
Address
200 Mount Gould Road
Mount Gould
Plymouth
Devon
PL4 7PY
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
B9832-2024-D19
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