Community Nursing Associate - Urgent Community Response Team

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties & Responsibilities
As part of the Urgent Community Response Team, you will be required to:
• Contribute to the delivery of care pathways for patients with long term
conditions, palliative care and rehabilitation needs for example, to achieve
quality of life and independence where possible.
• Work within the Urgent Community Response Team to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital.
• Work within the Urgent Community Response Team to support early discharge from hospital.
• Work with all health care professionals, and statutory/non statutory agencies to provide a seamless, integrated service to our service users.
• Adhere to the Nursing and Midwifery (NMC) Code of Conduct and
professional practice for Nurses, Midwives and Nursing Associates and work within the Policies, procedures and guidelines of Norfolk Community Health and Care (NCHC).

Clinical
The post holder will:
1. Support the Registered Nurse in the contribution of on-going assessment, treatment, care planning and management of patients.
2. Prepare for, carry out and monitor assessments and treatments in specified clinical areas, and discharge in line with predetermined department protocols.
3. Develop understanding of all elements of the Nursing process and apply competency based treatment techniques/care to patients with specific conditions under the in-direct supervision of a qualified practitioner.
4. Modify and progress intervention / treatment using own clinical reasoning, notifying a qualified practitioner accordingly.
5. Monitor the condition and health needs of patients and promptly alert a Registered Nurse or other Registered health care professionals when there are unexpected changes.
6. Demonstrate problem solving, and contribute to the solution, working with colleagues.
7. Make basic judgements on patients’ response to prescribed treatment, and report findings to a qualified practitioner.
8. Plan and prioritise own visits to delegated patients, and ensure these are documented on SystmOne.
9. Ensure that SystmOne inputting is completed on a daily basis.
10. Where there are barriers to understanding, such as hearing impairment, mental capacity impairment and other difficulties in comprehension, explanations require adjustments in order to gain understanding, consent and concordance.
11. Establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients and carers, incorporating motivation, encouragement and confidence building to enable patients to engage in their treatment/care/management plan.
12. Liaise with the wider Urgent Community Response (UCR) Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) and regularly communicate with GPs, Social Services, inpatient teams, other allied health care professionals and the voluntary sector as required to ensure identified needs are met and care co-ordinated appropriately.
13. Participate in multi-disciplinary/multi-agency meetings as appropriate, e.g. Gold Standard Framework.
14. Communicate with patients/carers by exchanging factual information, reassurance, tact and empathy.
15. Establish and maintain appropriate working relationships with colleagues, patients, carers and other health care professionals.
16. Demonstrate dexterity and coordination when undertaking treatment of patients where accuracy is important, e.g. taking blood sugars, venepuncture, supervising transfers, passive exercises.
17. Be responsible for ensuring equipment is used safely, following appropriate training, and that it is maintained appropriately.
18. Contribute to the requisitioning of supplies and equipment through electronic ordering systems.
19. Work predominantly independently on specified tasks, with regular clinical support and supervision by a qualified practitioner.
20. Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of consent, and gain consent as appropriate following department policy.
21. Share responsibility for maintaining store cupboards, pool cars, cleaning specialist equipment and general house keeping tasks.
22. Share responsibility for indirect patient contact tasks, such as, answering telephones, arranging appointments, processing referrals and inputting activity data.
23. Be exposed to bodily fluids, infected material, blood products on a daily basis, therefore must utilise universal precautions and adhere to infection control policies.
24. Demonstrate the proficiency to administer medications within local policy and procedure and in line with the NMC Standards of Proficiency.
25. Demonstrate good IT and standard keyboard skills.
26. Undertake the Trust Preceptorship Programme as appropriate.

Professional
The post holder will:
1. Attend and contribute to staff meetings and multidisciplinary team meetings plus other meetings where appropriate.
2. Be an active member of the in-service training programme by attendance at and participation in, training sessions, courses and reflective practice as required to develop current job role.
3. Be able to make own travel arrangements to patients, clinics, base and meetings as required.
4. Demonstrate own duties and provide support and supervision to newly qualified staff and students, new starters and/or less experienced staff; and be involved in induction programmes for new staff / students whilst encouraging an effective learning environment
5. Be aware of limitations of own scope of practice, and when to involve a more senior practitioner, both in daily practice and in emergency situations.
6. Acknowledge and recognise peoples’ expressed beliefs, preferences and choices.
7. Demonstrate an awareness of clinical governance and risk management, and apply to work situation.
8. Provide peer support to other practitioners, demonstrating leadership skills as required.
9. Identify and explore own contribution to team working, and reflect on own practice.
10. Actively contribute to the working of the team and express ideas on improving services for users and the team.
11. Develop competencies to enhance practice to meet the needs of the patient and the service.