Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist

Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist

We are looking for an experienced nurse to join our community palliative team here at Greenwich & Bexley. If you are enthusiastic and committed to palliative and end of life care, then you may be what we are looking for.

This role will offer the opportunity to work across our services which will include the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, professional individual who is able to support our diverse local population. While this post is for our community team, offering symptom control and end of life care support, our services and support also extend further and include the Hospice inpatient unit, care homes, prisons and in our local hospital. Our staff work in our own services and in partnership with other health and care organisations to help people maintain connections with their community and to maximise their quality of life.

We offer great opportunities to develop further skills and knowledge in Palliative care and many of our hospice team have developed to more senior roles while they have been with us. The organisation actively supports academic development including non-medical prescribing, advanced clinical assessment, relevant Masters programmes and other recognised courses. We provide regular clinical supervision and are able to continue participation in the NHS pension scheme for existing members.

At the Hospice we believe that every dying person in Greenwich and Bexley should have the best care, support and quality of life possible and that our role is to lead the way by giving expert care, support and education to people with terminal illness, their families, friends and professional carers.

You will need to be a car driver and you will need to be available for on call and weekend work.

We are situated in beautiful woodland grounds with easy access and free car parking.

Membership of the NHS pension scheme is available for existing members, generous stakeholder pension scheme for all other staff and generous annual leave entitlement.

We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to inclusion. We celebrate and embrace diversity and thus encourage applications from a variety of backgrounds, perspective, knowledge and skills

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The above post requires the hospice to carry out a DBS check on new recruits.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist delivers evidence-based palliative and end of life care to patients with any diagnosis and to their carers/families.

They will:

Be working towards or already hold a non-medical prescribing qualification

Be competent in and act as a role model in DNACPR decision making

Establish and develop relationships with those involved in delivering health and social care to patients at the end of life and their families/carers in all settings

Provide information and specialist advice on all facets of palliative care (symptom management, practical spiritual and emotional support), to patients and their families/carers and other professionals involved in their care.

Actively disseminate best practice through example, education and training, professional development and learning, participation in nursing research and audit, publication and conference presentations.

Work closely with multi-professional colleagues in a cohesive palliative care team.

Participate in these even days a week visiting service, and (Community only) in the 24 hour on call advisory service (from home)

Embed a quality improvement approach into practice

Oversee a case load of patients directly whilst supporting a team of band 6 nurses to deliver care.

Contribute to and/or develop palliative care education both internally and externally.

• Evidence of having worked in a senior role eg B6 and above in palliative care for 18 months to 2 years
• Experience of palliative care practice in any setting including hospital, and/or hospice and/or community
• Experience of delivering teaching/ training
• Leadership and management experience
• Experience of Quality improvement and research
• Experience of managing own caseload
• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders
• Experience of working in both community and hospital

• Ability to work independently and as a member of the multi-disciplinary team
• Able to manage time and meet deadlines
• Assertive with well developed influencing or persuasive skills.
• Excellent problem solving skills
• Approachable and adaptable
• Motivated and enthusiastic.
• Ability to manage the emotional impact of working with the dying and bereaved and to be calm in the face of distress/negative emotions
• An understanding of the mission and values of Community Hospice
• Demonstrable commitment to anti-discriminatory practice and equal opportunities
• A flexible approach to work including an ability to work (evenings community) and weekends
• Ability to undertake professional development, direct own…