Clinical Nurse Specialist

Key Responsibilities

Central and North West London NHS Trust is committed to providing safe, effective services and providing patients and families with a positive experience. 

Patient Safety

Patient Safety

Band 6 nurses contribute to the provision of safe and reliable services by:

 Using their clinical judgement and risk assessments to keep the people using our services as safe as possible

 Safeguarding people by recognising and responding when an adult or child might be at risk from abuse but also recognising their own limits and asking for help, and escalating concerns when necessary

 Escalating safety concerns and by doing so, acting as effective advocates for those who use our services

 Being open and transparent about their practice

 Supervising the work of others

 Reflecting on everyday practice to identify areas where improvements in safety or quality can be made

 Working with others to create a culture of continuous improvement

 Maintaining accurate, legible, comprehensive records

 Maintaining compliance with their mandatory training requirements.

The NMC plays an essential role in safeguarding the public by regulating nurses’ work. All nurses, including Band 6 nurses, must register with the NMC each year and adhere to the NMC Code of Conduct.

Clinical Outcomes

Band 6 nurses often work with people who have complex needs and contribute to the effectiveness of services by:

 Being confident, autonomous practitioners who take responsibility for the care they give to patients but also take responsibility for overseeing the work of others in the team, including less experienced nurses and staff without a professional qualification

 Providing skilled, evidence-based nursing care which adheres to agreed policies and procedures

 Working with patients and families in all stages of the care planning process, including assessing risks and needs

 Acting as patient advocates in the multi-disciplinary team and overseeing the work of others to ensure that they are also responding to the needs of patients and providing clinically effective care

 Working as autonomous practitioners and taking responsibility for the care they give to patients but also working as team members

 Contributing to creating and maintaining high-performing teams by:

 Communicating well with all members of the team

 Understanding their role in the team and how they help the team achieve its objectives

 Reflecting on their practice regularly and encouraging the whole team to reflect on their practices in handovers and team meetings

 Encouraging the team to learn from adverse events or respond to data analysis from audits or benchmarking exercises and implement sustainable initiatives which improve clinical outcomes

Patient Experience

Band 6 nurses contribute to the people using our services feeling respected and empowered to make decisions about their health and well-being by:

 Working in partnership with patients and their families and carers

 Gaining consent and, as far as possible, involving people in all decision making

 Signposting patients and carers to the courses provided by the Recovery and Wellbeing College or services provided by the local authority or voluntary sector

 Reassuring people by being professional, responsive, knowledgeable and confident

 Demonstrating clinical leadership and challenging any poor behaviour to patients, families or other staff members and creating a positive, inclusive culture in which everyone is treated with kindness and respect, and the trust’s values are embedded in all practice

 Responding to complaints or concerns effectively and quickly in line with the Trust policy

Supporting yourself and others

All services and teams in the Trust should be able to demonstrate that they are meeting the Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards of care. Band 6 nurses are expected to be Clinical Leaders and play an active role in ensuring that the team understands the CQC standards and what individual team members do to help achieve those standards by:

 Taking a lead role in gathering and recording evidence which demonstrates that CQC and

locally agreed standards are being met: assessing the performance of the whole team by using audit and benchmarking exercises and often contributing to the implementation of quality improvement initiatives

 Contributing to the performance management of teams and creating a positive culture in which the team can learn from mistakes and is enthusiastic to improve

 Deputising the team leader/manager and ensuring that there is no fall in performance in their absence. This may include managing the team and coordinating shifts.

Engaged staff are more productive, and Band 6 nurses play a role in engaging other staff members in the Trust and the work we do by:

 Providing supervision and annual appraisals to individuals and giving constructive, regular feedback which helps those individuals reflect on their work, understand their objectives and the CQC standards and monitor their progress towards achieving them

 Participating constructively in their own supervision and annual appraisal processes

 Using continuing professional development funds to develop a relevant clinical specialism, gain sign-off mentorship skills or undertake accredited leadership or management modules.