Job summaryAn exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated nurse to join our Frailty Service as a Band 7 Frailty Nurse Practitioner.
The successful candidate will become an integral member of our wider multidisciplinary Frailty Service, working across both the
front-of-house Acute Frailty Team and the
community Frailty Virtual Ward.
This varied and rewarding role provides the opportunity to deliver specialist, person-centred care to people living with frailty across both acute and community settings. You will contribute to comprehensive assessment, clinical decision-making and the delivery of timely interventions, working collaboratively with patients, their families and the wider multidisciplinary team.
Our aim is to provide responsive and coordinated frailty care that supports
patient choice, promotes independence and enables people to receive the right care in the right place. Wherever clinically appropriate, we strive to provide care closer to home, helping patients to remain safely within their own community and reducing avoidable hospital admissions and prolonged hospital stays.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and proactive practitioner who is passionate about improving outcomes and experiences for people living with frailty and who is keen to contribute to the ongoing development of our frailty services.
Main duties of the jobAs a
Frailty Nurse Practitioner, you will work across the
Acute Frailty Team and Frailty Virtual Ward on a rotational basis, providing specialist assessment and management for people living with frailty across acute and community settings.
You will:
- Use advanced clinical assessment and decision-making skills, alongside non-medical prescribing, to assess, diagnose, treat and manage patients under the care of the Acute Frailty Team and Frailty Virtual Ward.
- Work autonomously within your scope of practice, while collaborating closely with the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure patients receive safe, effective and person-centred care.
- Develop and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues across acute, community and primary care services, supporting effective communication, continuity of care and seamless transitions between services.
- Promote patient choice and independence, supporting the delivery of care in the most appropriate setting and, wherever possible, closer to home.
- Contribute to the ongoing development, delivery and evaluation of frailty services, identifying opportunities to enhance patient experience, outcomes and service effectiveness.
- Champion high-quality, evidence-based practice, ensuring care is delivered in accordance with relevant professional guidance, national standards and local clinical policies.
- Act as a positive role model within the service, promoting collaborative working and a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
About usBased in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.
Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.
Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym
ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.
Job responsibilitiesAdvanced Clinical Practice and Caseload Management- Work autonomously as an experienced Frailty Nurse Practitioner, using advanced clinical knowledge, assessment and decision-making skills to provide high-quality, person-centred care.
- Hold clinical responsibility for a defined caseload of patients with complex needs, including those living with frailty, multiple long-term conditions and co-morbidities.
- Undertake comprehensive assessment, care planning, intervention and evaluation, ensuring care is responsive to individual patient needs and promotes the best possible health outcomes.
- Provide specialist clinical advice and guidance to patients, carers and members of the multidisciplinary team in relation to assessment, care planning and management.
- Develop, deliver and oversee complex case management across acute, community and Frailty Virtual Ward settings.
- Work autonomously and collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team, ensuring appropriate escalation, referral and involvement of other health and social care services.
- Act as a caseload holder, maintaining oversight of clinical care planning and delivery and delegating appropriately according to competence, scope of practice and patient need.
- Promote continuity and coordination of care across acute, community, primary care and social care services, supporting safe and effective transitions between care settings.
Clinical Leadership and Quality of Care- Provide senior clinical leadership and specialist expertise to members of the multidisciplinary team in the assessment and management of people living with frailty.
- Monitor and promote high standards of care, ensuring effective assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of interventions.
- Support safe and effective multidisciplinary working, contributing to the development and maintenance of appropriate systems, pathways and processes.
- Act as a clinical role model and resource for colleagues across the local health and social care community.
- Promote professional accountability, ensuring practice is consistent with relevant professional standards, codes of conduct, policies and statutory and mandatory requirements.
- Support effective delegation and deployment of staff, taking account of patient dependency, caseload demands, staff competencies, skill mix and service requirements.
- Promote a culture of professional reflection, learning and continuous improvement through clinical supervision, support and constructive feedback.
Service Development, Evidence-Based Practice and Improvement- Participate in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of frailty services, using advanced clinical knowledge and expertise to support service improvement.
- Contribute to the development and evaluation of clinical pathways, protocols and guidance relating to advanced practice and extended clinical roles.
- Promote and deliver evidence-based practice across acute, community and Frailty Virtual Ward settings.
- Participate in clinical audit, research, quality improvement and service development activities, using learning and outcomes to inform and improve clinical practice.
- Identify opportunities to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness and patient experience of frailty services.
- Contribute to the development of innovative approaches to care that promote independence, patient choice and the delivery of appropriate care closer to home.
Multidisciplinary and Partnership Working- Work collaboratively across professional, service and organisational boundaries to ensure patients receive coordinated and comprehensive care.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the wider multidisciplinary team and with colleagues across health, social care and other partner organisations.
- Liaise with and refer to appropriate health, social care and voluntary sector services to support comprehensive patient management and optimise outcomes.
- Participate in cross-organisational and multi-agency working to support integrated frailty pathways and effective transitions of care.
- Communicate complex clinical information effectively with patients, carers and professionals, adapting communication appropriately to individual circumstances.
Education and Professional Development- Maintain and continually develop advanced clinical knowledge, skills and professional competence relevant to frailty practice.
- Actively participate in continuing professional development, clinical supervision, audit, research and learning activities.
- Facilitate the development of clinical expertise and advanced practice within the wider team through teaching, coaching, supervision and role modelling.
- Share specialist knowledge and learning with colleagues to support consistent, evidence-based practice.
- Support the development of leadership skills and competencies within the multidisciplinary team.
- Maintain awareness of developments in frailty care and use evidence, learning and best practice to support the continued development of the service.
Professional Accountability- Exercise a high degree of professional autonomy while recognising personal scope of practice and seeking appropriate support when required.
- Maintain responsibility and accountability for clinical decisions and the quality of care delivered within the role.
- Practice in accordance with all relevant professional standards, legislation, organisational policies and procedures.
- Ensure statutory and mandatory training requirements are maintained and incorporated into clinical practice.
- Promote equality, dignity, respect and person-centred care in all aspects of practice.
Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential- Registered General Nurse with current NMC Registration
- Physical Assessment Skills Qualification
DesirableExperienceEssential- Experience of working with Frailty
- Experience of autonomous clinical decision making
- Experience of safely supporting admission avoidance
SkillsEssential- Administration of Intravenous Antibiotics
- Cannulation and Phlebotomy
- Advanced Care Planning
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to work well as part of a wider MDT
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.Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). 
