Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Neurology service at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS trust.

Depending on experience this may be offered as a band 6 developmental Epilepsy specialist Nurse Role. Within this developmental role you will commence as a band 6, over approximately 12 months you will be required to complete your Epilepsy competency pack. Following successful completion you will be uplifted to a band 7.

We are seeking a knowledgeable Senior Nurse with highly developed interpersonal and excellent communication skills who has a passion for delivering excellence in care and is committed to driving improvements and developments across the Epilepsy and Neurology service.

You will be involved in the wider Neurology team meetings and actively participate and on occasions lead these regarding the care of adults with Epilepsy.

If you have an interest in developing your clinical knowledge and skills as well as welcome service development and innovation then we are interested in hearing from you.

Please note that this role will involve clinics within the hospital setting as well as both Clacton and Harwich community hospitals. Due to this it is essential that you hold a full driving licence and have access to your own car.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder is responsibility for the provision of a specialist nursing service by acting autonomously to assess and manage own caseload of adults with epilepsy in North East Essex.
• Develop, facilitate and provide education of specialist knowledge for nursing, medical and paramedical staff through extensive knowledge of Epilepsy and its management.
• The post holder will be an advocate for patients and their families, promoting holistic care and act as a resource for professionals involved in the care of patients with epilepsy.
• The post holder will provide expert nursing interventions and support to patients and their families, and will participate in audit research and development of the epilepsy service.
• To work as part of the Neurology team to ensure that criteria for Best Practice Tariff (BPT) are met and that there is system in place to record information that demonstrates BPT criteria are achieved.

About us
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are the largest NHS organisation in East Anglia, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is thatTime Mattersto everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here -www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Job responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse in Adult, Learning Disability, or Mental Health nursing, with current NMC registration
• BSc
• Epilepsy related course or recognised qualification or proven experience working within the epilepsy speciality, with a willingness to undertake recognised epilepsy specific training if not already completed
• Mentorship / teaching equivalent (or willingness to undertake)
• Teaching and Assessing qualification (or willingness to undertake)

Desirable

• Community qualification/experience
• Non-medical prescriber
• 1st degree and or working towards MSc

Experience
Essential

• Proven post experience of working within a relevant field, e.g Neurology/epilepsy
• Experience supporting people with learning disabilities and/or mental health needs
• Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
• Mentoring/supervision of other professionals
• Management experience

Desirable

• Evidence of change management to improve the patient experience
• Experience of working with patients with long term conditions

Knowledge
Essential

• Articulates understanding of NMC Code of Professional Conduct, Scope of Professional Practice and its application to clinical practice
• Sound clinical knowledge of current issues affecting patients with epilepsy
• Articulates understanding of prioritizing clinical issues
• Articulates understanding of relevant nursing research / evidence based practice and can apply findings to practice
• Articulates understanding of National guidelines, including the safety agenda, relating to patients with epilepsy and current legislation/guidance
• Articulates understanding of managing clinical risk
• Able to work across professional team and organisational boundaries

Desirable

• Experience supporting patients with the psychological and emotional aspects of epilepsy, including anxiety and stress, and ability to sign post to appropriate support services

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 (opens in a new window).