Job summary
The Practice Nurse will work delivering person-centred long-term condition management to our patients. You will work both independently and as part of a multi-disciplinary team, using expert clinical judgement and decision making to ensure safe and effective care.

The practice nurse will work as part of the primary healthcare team providing General Medical Services to the practice patients.

To provide a high quality, professional Health Care service to the patient and staff team at the surgery. To be trained and competent to meet the duties set out below.

Main duties of the job
The Practice Nurse will work autonomously and as part of the wider team to deliver high-quality care, including:

• Management of long-term conditions, including diabetes, asthma, COPD and Ischaemic Heart Disease
• Providing follow-up and continuity of care for patients
• Delivering health promotion, preventative care, and self-management support
• Supporting the practice in achieving QOF targets and enhanced services
• Contributing to service development and quality improvement initiatives
• Health screening, cervical cytology and childhood/adult immunizations
• Supporting the practice's commitment to personalised care planning, particularly for patients with long-term conditions.

About us
Betts Avenue Medical Centre has an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, experienced Practice Nurse to join our friendly and committed nursing team. The position is for up to 37 hours per week (full time) working across both of our sites in Benwell and Kenton.

You will be joining a great team led by an experienced ANP, 1 ACP, 2 Practice Nurses and 1 HCA.

Job responsibilities
Main duties of the job
The Practice Nurse will work autonomously and as part of the wider team to deliver high-quality care, including:

• Management of long-term conditions, including diabetes, asthma, COPD and Ischaemic Heart Disease
• Providing follow-up and continuity of care for patients
• Delivering health promotion, preventative care, and self-management support
• Supporting the practice in achieving QOF targets and enhanced services
• Contributing to service development and quality improvement initiatives
• Health screening, cervical cytology and childhood/adult immunizations
• Supporting the practice's commitment to personalised care planning, particularly for patients with long-term conditions.

About the Practice
Betts Avenue is a long-established GP Practice operating over two sites (Kenton and Benwell) in Newcastle upon Tyne.

We are a team of 2 GP Partners supported by 3 salaried GPs, 2 long-term Locum GPs, a Lead practice Nurse/Advanced Nurse Practitioner, 1 Advanced Care Practitioner, 2 Practice Nurses, 1 HCA as well as an experienced managerial and admin team.

We deliver a range of GMS services to a population of approximately 10,500 patients. We also have support from Care-Coordinators, Workflow Team, Pharmacy Hub, PCN pharmacists and Technicians, House Visiting team, our 2 own Practice Clinical Pharmacists, a Physiotherapist, 2 Mental Health co-ordinators for adults and a team of Social Link Workers.

We use SystmOne, Accurx and AnalyzeRx.

The GPs are also delivering weekly Ward Rounds in two large local Care Homes. We currently teach Year 5 Medical Students and Nursing Students.

Our practice is a member of the Inner West Primary Care Network, LMC, NGPS and North East North Cumbria ICB.

Job Purpose
To provide a high quality, professional Health Care service to the patient and staff team at the surgery. To be trained and competent to meet the duties set out below.

Job Summary
The practice nurse will work as part of the primary healthcare team providing General Medical Services to the practice patients.

Job Responsibilities:

• Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care as directed by senior nursing staff and GPs.
• Management of Chronic Diseases including COPD/Asthma/Diabetes/CVD and hold a recognised qualification in one or more of these areas and be willing to work towards a graduate certificate.
• Experience in Diabetes or Coronary Heart Disease.
• Cytology.
• Wound Care.
• Doppler.
• Travel Health.
• Removal of Sutures.
• ECGs.
• Routine immunisations/Childhood immunisations/Seasonal Immunizations.
• Chaperoning and assisting patients where appropriate who are being examined by another clinician.
• Requesting Pathology tests on ICE, for example blood tests, urine culture, swabs etc.
• Following agreed clinical protocols with referral to senior nurses or GPs as appropriate.
• Supporting junior nursing staff.

Other Tasks will include:

• Supporting junior nursing staff.
• House Calls for the delivery of Annual Reviews to the Frail Housebound patients.
• Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of nurses and treatment rooms, including stocking and rotating items as required.
• Maintain and cleaning equipment used by the nurses and GPs.
• Participation in administrative systems in the Practice.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records.
• Attend and participate in Practice meetings when required.
• Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post.

RESPONSIBILITIES EXPECTED OF ALL MEMBERS OF THE PRACTICE TEAM:
Confidentiality:

• In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder will have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers of the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Health & Safety:
The post holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety Handbook and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures.

This will include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
• Actively reporting of health & safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
• Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas clean, assisting the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the post holders role.
• Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
• Reporting potential risks identified
• Waste management, including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection

Equality and Diversity:
The post holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:-

• Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures, policies and current legislation
• Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues.
• Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to of the individual, is non-judgemental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities and rights.

Personal / Professional Development
The post holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
• Training responsibility for own development, learning, performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.

Quality:
The post holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will

• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources

Communication:
The post holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to

• Communicate effectively with other team members
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers
• Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

Contribution to the implementation of services:
The post holder will

• Apply practice policies, standards and guidance, agreed clinical software and protocols
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
• Participate in audit where appropriate

Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential

• Needs of patients with long-term conditions
• Health promotion strategies
• Aware of accountability of own role and other roles in a nurse-led service
• Awareness of clinical governance issues in primary care
• Patient group directives and associated policy

Desirable

• Public health issues in the local area
• Awareness of local and national health policy
• Awareness of issues within the wider health economy

Skills
Essential

• Clinical skills including immunisation and vaccination
• Management of long-term conditions with support from lead nurses
• Excellent interpersonal and teamworking skills
• Ability to communicate complex messages to patients and families
• Excellent time management skills/ability to prioritise and manage own time
• Negotiation and conflict resolution/management skills
• IT Skills

Desirable

• Doppler
• Contraceptive advice, sexual health screening and advice
• Cervical Cytology
• ECG'S

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse (NMC)
• UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK Professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers Website.
• Disclosure and Barring Service Check
• Significant Primary care of relevant experience
• Management and education of patients with chronic disease/long term conditions
• Evidence of ongoing CPD and revalidation
• Certified in immunisations and vaccinations
• Cervical Smear Taker

Desirable

• Relevant Nursing/Health Degree
• Experience in managing diabetes in primary care
• Mentor/Teaching
• Independent and Supplementary Prescribing qualification or be willing to work towards this in the future should the Practice's needs require this.

Experience
Essential

• Minimum 2 years post- registration experience
• Management of Long-term conditions
• Involvement in implementing and using protocols and clinical guidelines
• Experience of audit

Desirable

• At least 1 year recent primary or community nursing experience
• Experience of working with the SystmOne clinical system
• Knowledge of QOF, NICE guidance and national screening programmes

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 (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name
Betts Avenue Medical Centre

Address
2 Betts Avenue
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE15 6TQ
United Kingdom

Employer's website
Apply through our website

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Assistant Practice Manager
Kelsey Hewitt
kelsey.hewitt@nhs.net
01912461546

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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.