Job DescriptionJob Title: Admiral Nurse Clinical Lead- End of Life Care

Grade: AFC - Band 7

Location: St Oswald’s Hospice, Gosforth

Hours: 37.5 hrs

Reports to: Director of Care Services and Director of Strategy and Development

Length of contract: 2 years fixed term

Job Purpose:

The focus of the Admiral Nurse role is to:

Provide specialist clinical support to families affected by dementia. Providing specialist nurse assessment intervention and strategies and maintaining a small active case load

Enable family carers and people living with dementia who have specialist palliative care needs to have the best quality of life possible and receive specialist support and advices about pain and symptom control at the end of life.

Contribute to the development and implementation of a strategy for people with dementia and their families within St Oswald’s Hospice

To provide training, advice and support for staff and volunteers to enable them to identify, care for and support people with dementia and their families with increased skill and confidence, ensuring people receive appropriate care

Work as part of a community of practice developing the role of palliative and end of life care for people with people with dementia and their families

Accountabilities, Responsibilities and duties.

Strategy Development:

To Develop the Admiral nurse service at St Oswald’s Hospice

To Develop relationships with other Admiral nurses based within Hospice settings to share best practice and strategies used to develop the service

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To devise and undertake a baseline audit of current services for people with dementia across St Oswald’s.

To develop an action plan based on the findings of the audit to improve services and care for people with dementia, families, volunteers, customers and visitors to all of our services.

To liaise and feed into, when appropriate, the MacMillan Transforming Palliative and End of life Education project led by St Oswald’s Hospice on behalf of the North East Independent Hospices Collaboration Project. To Disseminate audit findings and action plan development via presentations and publications

To provide training, advice and support for staff and volunteers to enable them to identify, care for and support people with dementia and their families with increased skill and confidence, ensuring people receive appropriate care.

To meet the multiple and often complex needs of a case load of people and families affected by dementia through ongoing assessment of health and wellbeing, including risk assessment; developing, implementing and evaluating intervention plans.

Clinical Duties:

Establish and maintain effective communication, often of a highly complex nature, with people living with dementia, carers/relatives and professionals across health, social care and mental health services, using advanced communication, negotiation and diplomacy skills and breaking down barriers to understanding with various individuals using interpreters and other communication aids as required.

To influence, recommend and provide a range of effective evidence-based psychological and social interventions to support those living with advanced dementia and their families paying particular attention to transitions, changing relationships and loss.

Work with people with dementia and carers in a therapeutic way, addressing physical, psychological, emotional, behavioural, spiritual and social needs.

Work with family members supporting them to care for their loved one, prepare them for end of life issues and needs, impending loss and grief, and assess need for bereavement service referral.

To support clients i.e. families affected by dementia and /or colleagues, to develop skills and competencies in understanding and coping with challenges

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and difficulties they may face, in both individual and group situations. . For example managing complex conditions, adapting responses when supporting the person with dementia, changes in relationships, distressed behaviour.

To support the delivery of a range of psychological and social interventions to promote health and assist with the alleviation, prevention and management of stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health needs of carers supporting someone living with dementia.

To maintain clinical records using WANDA and Systm 1and provide verbal and written feedback appropriately and as required, to carers, persons with dementia (as appropriate), referring agencies and professional colleagues.

To work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team at St Oswald’s and the community palliative care teams and other dementia services, identifying people who have palliative care needs are appropriately reviewed and supported especially as the approach end of life.

To recognise the limits of own competency and professional boundaries in self and others and to make appropriate and timely referral in respect of client’s needs.

Professional

To attend and actively participate in monthly practice development days, including clinical supervision; recommended training/education, including the Admiral Nurse Competency module and the Admiral Nurse Forum annually, as supported by Dementia UK.

To maintain professional registration in line with NMC guidance including re-validation and use of the electronic portfolio, ‘Pebblepad’, as provided by Dementia UK, demonstrating evidence of advanced level practice.

To ensure all nursing practice is carried out in accordance with St Oswald’s policies and procedures, Dementia UK, the NMC Code of conduct and other relevant nursing policy

Demonstrate comprehensive and in depth knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS) legislation relating to end of life care, informed consent and decision making.

To support appropriate practice based, development evaluation, audit and research and to disseminate findings.

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To influence and contribute to the development of policies, procedures and protocols relevant to Admiral Nursing.

To work positively with colleagues to maintain clinically effective relationships.

To keep up to date with the latest evidence base, theories and new activity in relation to practice in dementia care and end of life care.

Education and Personal Development:

To provide, lead and/or support formal training events such as courses, conferences, seminars and workshops at all levels, maintaining and contributing to higher level educational programmes in dementia care, disseminating Admiral Nursing work and promoting best practice in dementia care at the end of life.

To support quality improvements and integrate into practice current knowledge of dementia and caring, informed by research and other forms of evidence.

To act as a lead clinical role model to others.

To develop their own competence to practice through use of the Admiral Nurse Competency Framework, ‘Pebblepad’ e-portfolio development Personal Development Planning and continuing professional development to an advanced level of practice.

To maintain up to date knowledge base of resources, service provision, policy context, new approaches, interventions and treatments in dementia care and to influence local policy & procedure development and review.

To support audit and evaluation of service quality using Admiral Nurse Standards and other relevant standards supporting best practice.

To develop a learning environment, working closely with the Admiral Nurse Directorate at Dementia UK, liaising with researchers, practice developers and educational providers.

Managerial and Administrative

To work as a positive team member of St Oswald’s Hospice.

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To behave in a professional manner at all times, reflecting and maintaining St Oswald’s values and standards of behaviour and generating a positive image of St Oswald’s to all stakeholders.

To contribute to the development of local policies, procedures and protocols relevant to Admiral Nursing through the support of Dementia UK Business development team and within the local steering group.

To adhere to all St Oswald’s policies and procedures to ensure that these are maintained at all times.

Health & Safety at Work Act

To adhere to St Oswald’s Health and Safety policy at all times

To monitor and maintain a safe working environment and working practices at all times and report any unsafe conditions or potential hazards.

Professional Conduct

The post holder must comply with their appropriate professional body and code of conduct e.g. NMC Code: Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour for Nurses and Midwives.

Working as an independent practitioner the post holder is accountable and responsible for their own actions or omissions in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils Code and latest guidance on advanced nursing practice.

Responsibility for data quality

All Admiral Nurses that record information have a responsibility to ensure that the data is relevant, accurate, complete and captured in a timely manner so that it is fit for purpose. Staff must follow St Oswald’s policies and procedures. A data subject e.g. an employee/client, has a right to expect this under the Data Protection Act’s fourth principle - Personal data shall be accurate and where necessary kept up to date

Safeguarding

All Admiral Nurses have a responsibility to themselves, clients, service users and other staff in ensuring the effective Safeguarding of Children and Adults. Admiral Nurses must follow the agreed local policies and procedures in both these domains

Other

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To undertake any other duties as appropriate within the competence and general level of responsibility of the post under the direction of the post holders line manager.

The job description reflects the immediate requirements and objectives of the post. It is not therefore an exhaustive list duties but gives a general indication of the level of work undertaking, which may vary in detail in the light of changing demands and priorities.

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Person specification

Post: Admiral Nurse Clinical Lead

Essential DesirableQualifications Registered Nurse (RMN/RGN/RNLD)

Formal knowledge of dementia/ older people acquired through clinical post graduate education

Degree level qualification in a relevant area

Evidence of further study in end of life care.

Additional nursing qualification.

Leadership qualification and/or formal management development e.g. DMS, CMS etc

Working towards or prepared to work towards an Masters qualification

Relevant teaching qualification

Mentorship Qualification

Advanced communications skills training

Training in loss, grief and bereavement.

Work Experience & Attainments

Significant post-registration clinical experience of working with people with dementia and their carers/supporter/ representatives at end of life.

Experience of assessing people with dementia and providing pain and symptom control advice.

Experience of recent involvement in practice/ service development.

Experience of specialist palliative care.

Experience of undertaking staff performance reviews and planned development of staff

Experience of working with clients to develop practice

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Experience of working with advanced communication skills regarding complex, sensitive issues with people with dementia, carers and professionals

Experience of working with groups and individuals in a variety of roles and settings

Demonstrated experience of working as an autonomous practitioner managing a caseload

Demonstrated ability to lead and manage services

Experience of implementing change

Experience of professional supervision of staff

Experience of audit/ evaluating clinical practice

Experience of working in the community

Skills and Knowledge

In depth knowledge about dementia and how this can affect individuals day-to-day life, relationships, family and support networks

Demonstrate clear and advanced communication skills, written, verbal and non-verbal skills in both individual and group settings.

Understanding and experience of assessment of people with dementia / family carers

Understanding and demonstrated ability to deliver a range of therapeutic interventions for supporting people with dementia and their family carers

Understanding of and promotion of evidence based best practice including contribution to multi- disciplinary team

Facilitation skills

Knowledge of palliative care and end of life care issues

Knowledge of research methods and methodologies.

Understanding of competency frameworks

Experience of supporting systematic practice development/ quality improvement

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IT literate

Knowledge of relevant national policy and practice initiatives.

Ability to develop services and manage change

Presentation and teaching skills

Leadership ability

Evidence of recent continuing professional development

Aptitudes & Attributes

Able to uphold Hospice values.

Excellent communication skills.

Ability to provide supervision, critical companionship and support to team members.

Ability to operate effectively with a constantly developing relationship with key stakeholders and associated agencies.

Able to work on own initiative.

Ability to work in groups/one to one.

Ability to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy.

Ability to treat families affected by dementia with respect and dignity, adopting a culturally sensitive approach that considers the needs of the whole person.

Positive mental attitude and a willingness to discuss and negotiate issues and ideas with the appropriate team / individual

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Ability to learn through practiceOther requirements

A full valid driving license and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 and a reasonable adjustment can be made).

Flexible approach to meet the needs of the service.

Working Arrangements

Fulltime. Mon-Fri. Post holder may on occasion be expected to work outside normal working hours.

signed A Egdell/S Gordon

dated Feb 2018

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