Job summary
The Advanced Nurse Practitioner will be the first point of contact for patients with all types of
health problems in-house. He/she will make decisions and apply appropriate nursing
interventions to the patient. This will include initial history taking, clinical assessment,
diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of care. He/she will work autonomously but within
the Hospices and NMC policies, protocols, and guidelines, demonstrating safe clinical
decision making, high levels of critical thinking and holistic practice. The post-holder will be
expected to act independently but will have access to a GP for advice or access to the
specialist teams for those children under the specialist teams and additional support as
necessary.
The ANP is expected to be a senior clinical leader and expert within in-house and at times
work across the other care teams where indicated.
Main duties of the job
Main responsibilities
Practice as an ANP within own sphere of competence and agreed acceptable limits
of practice.
Be responsible for assessing, diagnosing, interpreting investigations, and treating
patients within the In-House Hospice service within a developing scope of
competence.
To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team in providing quality evidence-based
health care to meet the immediate needs of the patient.
To be responsible for contributing to the assessment of care needs and the
development, implementation, and evaluation of programs of care.
To teach other clinical and non-clinical staff.
To provide day-to-day clinical leadership to the clinical team, participating fully in the
delivery of healthcare provision.
To utilise clinical expertise and experiences towards developing and enhancing
services within the Hospice and the wider health and social care economies
Demonstrate the development and implementation of advanced skills and
competencies and ensure that evidence-based practice is inherent in all aspects of
care and treatment.
Ensure full and accurate documentation in patient notes of clinical history, physical
examination, diagnosis and treatment plan.
Co-ordinate, and participate as required in any research projects and clinical audits.
Member of the Medicines Management Committee.
Responsible for clinical leadership in-house.
Responsible for line management of band 6 nurses in collaboration with lead nurse.
About us
Shooting Star Children's Hospices
Shooting Star Children's Hospices provides specialist care and support to families who have
a baby, child or young person with a life-limiting condition, or who have been bereaved.
Rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, we support families across Surrey,
north-west London and south-west London from diagnosis to end of life and throughout
bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.
Our specialist care and support is free of charge to families and available 24 hours a day,
365 days a year. It includes specialist nursing in the community, symptom management and
pain relief, overnight respite stays, end-of-life care, specialist bereavement care and a
comprehensive range of therapies, groups and clinics for the whole family.
At the heart of what we do are our dedicated staff; their exceptional commitment and
professionalism means every family has the opportunity to make every moment count.
It costs £10 million a year to run Shooting Star Childrens Hospices. Just 30% of our funding
comes from the government, so we rely on our supporters generosity to keep the service
running. We employ 175 members of staff, including 98 nursing and medical staff, and
support around 700 families.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Practice
Assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate treatment/interventions and care for
patients presenting with undifferentiated and undiagnosed conditions and complex
needs.
Clinically examine and assess patient needs from a physiological and psychological
perspective, and plan clinical care accordingly.
Proactively identify, diagnose and manage treatment plans for patients at risk of
developing a long-term condition (as appropriate).
Diagnose and manage both acute and chronic conditions, integrating both drug and
non-drug-based treatment methods into a management plan.
Ensure that any patient who requires referral to a service for their health needs must
be made by the same day.
To refer patients appropriately to other healthcare professionals as required.
Prescribe and review medication for therapeutic effectiveness, appropriate to patient
needs and in accordance with evidence-based practice and national/local protocols
and within scope of practice.
Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication on
medication regimens, side-effects and interactions.
Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist patients in complex,
urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care.
Always working within your scope of professional practice and recognising your
limitations and when to seek advice and support from peers.
To ensure you provide patients with robust safety netting advice in relation to their
health need providing a safe discharge.
Work supportively alongside clinical and administrative colleagues in ensuring the
highest standards of care for all patients.
Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records.
Communication
Utilise and demonstrate high level communication skills and knowledge.
Act as an advocate for the patient and communicate effectively with carers, parents,
guardians and a wide range of Health Care Professionals on their behalf.
Apply the principles of consent to ensure patients are fully informed and consent to
treatment.
Communicate effectively with patients and carers; recognising the need for
alternative methods of communication whilst anticipating barriers to communication
and take action to ensure you provide patients with any adaptations, they may need
to meet their communication needs
Maintain effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
Liaise with other services and organisations regarding services provided and current
practises to develop best evidence-based practice.
Delivering a quality service
Work within own competence and standards for professional practice as defined by
the NMC.
Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records consistent with
legislation and policy.
Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and
promotes quality.
Deliver care according to NICE guidelines and evidence-based practice.
Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking
and evaluation.
Initiate and participate in quality governance systems and processes across the
Hospice.
Utilise the audit cycle to evaluate the quality of work of self and the team,
implementing improvements where required.
In partnership with other clinical teams, collaborate on improving the quality of health
care responding to local and national policies and initiatives.
Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care.
Identify, assess, manage and escalate risks, support and participate in shared
learning within the Hospice following incidents and or examples of good practice.
Contribute in the application of frameworks to support lessons learnt to manage,
review and identify learning from patient complaints, clinical incidents and near-miss
events.
Assess the impact of policy implementation on care delivery.
Be fully up to date in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children legislation.
Engage in the process of regular Clinical Supervision.
Leadership personal and people development
Take responsibility for own learning and performance.
Acting as a positive role model.
Support staff development to maximise individual potential.
Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the
area of work.
Enlist support and influence stakeholders and decision-makers to bring about new
developments.
Contribute to planning and implementing changes within the area of care and
responsibility.
Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards.
Promote the role of ANP across all service delivery areas.
Team working
Demonstrate commitment to developing the ANP role within the team.
Acting as a positive role model.
Work as an effective and responsible team member, supporting others and exploring
the mechanisms to develop new ways of working.
Delegate clearly and appropriately, adopting the principles of safe practice and
assessment of competence.
Prioritise own workload, ensure effective time-management strategies are embedded
in the team.
Work collaboratively to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon
care delivery.
Work collaboratively with the team to create opportunities to continually improve
patient care.
Agree plans and outcomes by which to measure success.
Management of risk and others
Manage and assess risk, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff
and patients.
Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe, free from hazards and
conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and
guidelines.
Apply infection-control measures within practice according to local and national
guidelines.
Line manage staff in accordance with Hospice Policies.
Conduct investigations when requested.
Adhere to the Hospice Behaviours Framework.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, and all employees are required to act in
such a way that always safeguards the health and well-being of children and
vulnerable adults.
Employees must be aware of the organisational procedure and raising concerns
about the welfare of anyone and whom they must contact.
To fulfil these duties, you will be required to attend training and development to
recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse, or individuals at risk, and those who
may not have capacity to give or withhold, informed consent to treatment at the time
they need it (as per the Mental Capacity Act 2005) and to report and act on any
concerns you may have appropriately.
Ensure that you consider safeguarding factors when taking history and examining
transitioning (adult) and paediatric patients.
Ensure you have professional curiosity during consultation and examination of your
patients.Any immediate adult or paediatric safeguarding concerns must be acted upon without
delay and discussion with appropriate professionals to safeguard the
patient/family/carer.
Concise documentation must be recorded in patient notes and any actions / referrals
made to other professionals.
Managing information
Use technology and appropriate software as an aid to management in planning,
implementation and monitoring of care, presenting and communicating information.
Manage information searches using the internet and local library databases.
Understand responsibility of self and others regarding the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
Adhere to GDPR and Caldicott principles.
Learning and development
Understand own role and scope and identify how this will develop over time.
Undertake mentorship for new staff, assessing competence against set standards.
Actively engage in clinical supervision, self-reflection and learning through the audit
process.
Engage with yearly appraisal.
Regularly reflect on your practice and keep an up to date professional learning
portfolio
Assess own learning needs and undertake learning as appropriate.
Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an
environment that facilitates learning.
To be actively involved in health promotion in line with Hospice objectives.
c) Other Requirements
These requirements will be applicable to some posts.
The post holder must be able and willing to get to and work in both hospices.
The post holder should be prepared to attend SSCH meetings in different parts of the
country. Some meetings may be during evenings or weekends.
The post holder will be required to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring
Service (DBS) check.
d) Mandatory Criteria
Other duties
The post holder will be working in a developing environment and they will therefore be
expected to undertake other appropriate duties as required for the effective operation of
Shooting Star Childrens Hospices.
Professional Codes of Conduct
The post holder will be required to respect professional codes of conduct and practice
relevant to their role, as appropriate.
Health and Safety
The post holder will be responsible for health and safety in the area under their control and
they must ensure that they are familiar with Shooting Star Childrens Hospices policy on
health and safety at work.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Safeguarding knowledge
- Clinical leadership skills
- Proven communication skills
- Negotiation and complex conversation management skills
- Prioritisation and organisation skills
- Clinical audit skills and experience
- Scope of prescribing practice
- Knowledge of national agenda
- Clinical governance and patient safety
- knowledge
- Safer staffing knowledge
- Budget management
Desirable
Qualifications
Essential
- MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice qualification
- Independent & Supplementary Prescriber qualification
- Registration with NHSBSA as a Prescriber
- Clinical Examination and Diagnostics Level 7
- Eligibility to work as a Nurse in the UK and
- with UK current work permit if required
- RN with current NMC registration
- Mentoring/teaching qualification
Desirable
- Safeguarding level 3
- Ventilation trained
- Clinical supervisor qualification
Personal Qualities/ competentices
Essential
- Evidence of policy and guideline development and implementation
- Ability to interpret and implement local, regional and national policy
- Experience of education design, lesson planning and reviewing poor performance
- Participation in research or audit projects.
- Demonstrates negotiating and influencing
- skills
- Assertiveness skills and the ability to deal with interpersonal conflict
- Ability to adapt communication methods to a wide variety of people
- Experience in making operational judgements to needs
- Advanced Clinical Practice competencies
- Prescribing competencies
- Leadership and management competencies and behaviours
- Communication skills that facilitate building honest and trusting partnerships
- Demonstrates ability to develop services
- Digital skills
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with children with complex conditions
- Experience of working with life limited children
- Experience of palliative and end of life care
- Experience of working as an ANP in a Ward environment
- Line management experience
- Teaching experience
Desirable
- NICU/PICU experience
- Hospice experience
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website .
Employer details
Employer name
Shooting Star Children’s Hospices
Address
Christopher’s Shooting Star Hospices
Old Portsmouth Road
Artington
Guildford
GU3 1LP