Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key results from the job holder

• Working collaboratively with the Team and providing dedicated Palliative Care input throughout the trust including but not limited to patient reviews, symptom control advice, support in discharging patients, providing both formal and informal education and training to staff.
• To give advice under the supervision of specialist colleagues and implement patient care plans for those patients with life limiting illness with complex palliative care issues highly requiring specialist clinical knowledge, skills and experience.
• To work alongside other clinical colleagues to ensure quality of care to the patients is maximised. The post holder will also support the Specialist Palliative Care CNSs within the hospital including Emergency Care Floor in reviewing patients with complex symptom management along with discharge planning.
• Participate in the promotion of patient centred care and establish and maintain supportive relationship with the patient and their family during the periods of assessment and treatment.
• Supporting outpatient clinics

Planning and Organisational Duties

• Receives and prioritises referrals to the Hospital Palliative Care service across all trust sites in order to ensure the service delivery.
• Works in collaboration with others to ensure a seamless transition for patients, attending multi-disciplinary meetings and contributing to case management by influencing decision making to optimise health outcomes.
• Provides and receives highly complex, sensitive information and uses developed interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required within a highly emotive atmosphere.
• Continuous professional development of staff in relation to Palliative & End of Life Care initiatives.
• Ensure the effective documentation of all patient care adhering to national and local standards and Quality Markers
• Promotes Palliative & End of Life Care across all the Hospital settings. Ensuring the promotion of people’s equality, diversity, and rights.
• Participates in local, regional national audit to inform practice and improve safe and effectiveness of patient care.
• Develop and maintain an area of clinical expertise at the level of advance practice, so providing a clinical resource.
• Promote patient and public involvement activities in the specialist area, leading to service improvement.
• To identify, interpret and analyse complex situations and information and utilise analytical skills to inform choice across a range of options.
• Lead on quality improvement projects that support the delivery of palliative care
• To undertake data collection effectively using agreed systems

Communications and Key Working Relationships

• To provide specialist palliative care advice patients and families to explore complex issues and make complex decisions in a sensitive and timely manner.
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of health care professionals across health and social care.
• To be empathic and reassuring when communicating highly sensitive condition related information and advice to all patients, carers, relatives and colleagues
• To agree the arrangements for communication with the patient /family/carers and clinical team and document these in accordance with trust policy and the patients right to confidentiality
• To use a range of skills to adapt the delivery of information through changing environment, methods of communication or delivery of content using persuasive, reassuring skills as required.
• Communicate effectively with all members of the multidisciplinary team.
• To identify and manage challenging behaviours. To encourage others to seek advice and solutions to problems.
• Contribute to policy, procedure, and protocol development relevant to palliative care
• To maintain concise, accurate and auditable records
• Assess own educational needs and take steps to keep up to date with clinical and nursing developments in line with requirements of the Nursing & Midwifery Council

Responsibility for Finance

• To manage the resources available and give high quality cost effective service
• To ensure efficient and effective use of materials resources/ supplies within the team
• To identify any problems with resource use / availability and make recommendations for corrective action which is consistent with team objectives and organisational policie

Responsibility for Human Resources

• Participate in the Trust appraisal and personal development plan process by identifying your own development needs and agreeing development plans for these needs with line manager
• Responsible for compliance with mandatory training, professional updates and participates in staff support. Identify, report and address poor performance issues

Responsibility for Health & Safety

• Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 – the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions

Responsibility for Teaching

• Provide palliative care education on a range of clinical and ethical issues across professional disciplines including undergraduate and postgraduate health care professionals, along with other organisational employees.
• Implement and evaluate programmes of education to meet identified need.
• Provide teaching and supervision of all levels of staff in clinical areas to promote confidence in care giving and the acquisition of new knowledge and skills in relation Palliative & End of Life Care.
• Actively participate in local, national and international networking to maintain and develop expert level of knowledge in Palliative care