Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Key results from the job holder

• Ensure the efficient use of resources by implementing, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of care provision using evidence based practice within the Practitioner Role.
• Provide clinical and managerial expertise and act as a resource for all disciplines of staff and service users.
• To act as a role model in providing leadership and support to staff in conjunction with the Head of Nursing and Matron to implement the recommendations of the nursing strategy.
• Lead and manage the establishment and future development of the service in collaboration with the Matron.
• Responsible for the delivery of a high quality service, ensuring that clinical care is organised to meet the needs of the individual whilst ensuring patient safety.
• Provide and deliver specialist care to patients with minor injuries/illnesses.
• Make autonomous clinical decisions and carry responsibility for them, including discharge or referral of patients to appropriate services.
• Act as a leader, motivating staff.
• Develop and deliver teaching programmes, undertaking relevant training, assess competence, provide clinical supervision and support in the clinical environment.

Planning and Organisational Duties

• Manage and develop the team of Practitioners, providing an autonomous, evidence based Practitioner service.
• Responsible for staff management issues including the delivery and implementation of a comprehensive range of HR duties.
• Allocates / deploys staff both medical and nursing in response to service demand and patient’s needs.
• Implements best practice and delivery of high standard of clinical care, evaluating service delivery, identifying areas for improvement and initiating change.
• Ensure that staff adheres to Trust procedures and protocols.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with local and national targets.
• Ensures appropriate staffing levels and skill mix in accordance with unit needs.
• Plans, reviews and adjusts staff rosters in accordance with unit/organisational requirements.
• Arrange the reception, transfer and discharge of patients in accordance with the unit’s policies and procedures, through effective liaison with the multidisciplinary team, other disciplines and if necessary external agencies.
• Ensure that effective communication is maintained both within the department itself and with other relevant external agencies or individuals to ensure the management of the service meets the demands.
• Organises and prioritises personal workload, adjusting priorities, coordinating care and delegating work in an ever changing environment.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to issues, which require urgent or immediate attention, reporting to other members of the multi-disciplinary/management team as necessary.
• Provides support to the organisation in the maintenance of equipment to ensure quality control standards are met.
• Co-ordinate change management strategies in providing an effective and efficient emergency care service.
• Responsibility to keep Matron informed regarding relevant clinical and personnel issues.
• Deputise for the Matron as requested at meetings and other events.
• Ensure self and staff comply with Trust’s policies, procedures and clinical guidelines.
• Responsible for proactive risk recognition, record and report untoward incidents and actively carry out steps to minimise further risk.
• Participate in the Trust’s quality monitoring programme.
• Ensure all staff are aware of Major incident / decontamination procedures.
• Co-ordinate the unit in the event of a major incident occurring.

Communications and Key Working Relationships

• Work autonomously as an independent practitioner without supervision.
• To receive patients directly with un-diagnosed minor injuries / illnesses. Asses, diagnose, prescribe, treat, refer or discharge those patients using problem solving and clinical decision making skills.
• Provide expert clinical intervention and make complex judgements when specialist knowledge and experience are required in ensuring optimum care and treatment is maintained.
• Maintain self-development and clinical competence in advanced nursing practice with specific reference to the treatment of minor injuries/illness.
• Provide specialist clinical knowledge in relation to minor injuries / illnesses to, patients, carers / relatives and colleagues.
• Lead in advancing the development of clinical practice with regard to minor injuries / minor illnesses.
• Perform a comprehensive assessment of the patient’s clinical needs presenting with minor injuries / illnesses, implementing best practice and maintaining high standards of care.
• Assess patient’s condition by history taking, clinical examination and analysis of investigations to confirm diagnosis and prescribe treatment within Trust protocols and clinical guidelines. 
• Undertakes and interprets a range of diagnostic tests e.g. X-rays, blood tests.
• Prescribes a wide range of medications supported by Patient Group Directions and trust guidelines.
• Maintains safe administration of medicines, concordant with the NMC and Trust policies.
• Support the delivery of nursing care, ensure safe discharge, referral or transfer to other areas.
• Support the provision of health education during patient consultations, ensuring that patients and their relatives are properly informed about their condition, treatment and expected outcomes.
• Responsible for ensuring all patients are triaged and have a comprehensive assessment of their clinical needs.
• Co-ordinates and performs clinical procedures requiring a degree of concentration e.g. suturing, digital nerve block, reduction of certain dislocations.
• Ensure the accurate maintenance of records is compliant with legal, professional and organisational standards.
• Collect, analyse and evaluate information, report and act in accordance with unit protocols and guidelines.
• Maintain accurate high quality and effective communication, written, verbal interpersonal and via computer with all professional colleagues, hospital departments and other agencies.
• Deals with complex and sensitive information relating to patients and procedures.
• Relaying of distressing news to patient’s /relatives/ carers on occasions.
• Demonstrates communication skills with patients / carers with communication difficulties e.g. language barriers, learning difficulties.
• Maintains a responsibility for ensuring that patient’s care is planned, implemented and evaluated in accordance with their individual health care needs and varying levels of complexity.
• Work in close collaboration with members of multidisciplinary team to ensure that patient needs are met.
• Supervise and direct the work of more junior staff by ensuring that instructions regarding ongoing patient care needs are followed.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations.
• To ensure effective communication and sensitivity is maintained when dealing with people regarding difficult matters and /or difficult situations, in highly complex situations with both patients and relatives e.g. sudden bereavement, violence and aggression.
• To support staff in dealing with sudden, traumatic difficult situations.
• Responsibility to maintain professional accountability through the practice of safe standards in compliance with the NMC Code of Conduct / HCPC
• Participates in the management of complaints, responding to and taking appropriate action.
• Records and reports untoward incidents to the unit manager and in their absence, actively carries out steps to minimise further risk as advised.

Responsibility for Finance

• Contribute to ensuring the effective use of all resources.
• Maintain adequate stock levels and ensure appropriate ordering of stock.
• Provides support in the maintenance of a balanced budget and identifies changes in the service delivery to increase efficiency in conjunction with the divisional and unit managers.
• Ensures that each individual patient receives prescribed treatment and the most appropriate cost-effective care within the resources available.

Responsibility for Human Resources

• Responsible for the day-to-day management and supervision of staff.
• Actively involved in selection, recruitment and retention of staff.
• Actively conducts IPR/PDP process. Undertakes IPR/PDP of staff to monitor their performance and identify corporate and individual objectives.
• Implements the Trusts attendance management policy and monitors staff sickness.
• Plans, supervises and monitors staff rostering to facilitate maximum care delivery in line with Improving Working Lives initiatives.
• Ensure that all newly appointed staff receive an induction to the unit and obtain mentorship as appropriate.
• Act as a role model and leader by means of personal example and direct involvement in the professional activities of the unit.
• Responsible for maintaining own professional accountability through the practice of safe standards in compliance with NMC/HCPC policies.
• Ensure that all staff understand and adhere to the relevant policies, procedures and guidelines.