Job summary
We are looking to recruit a Nurse Practitioners to join our VAWAS (Vulnerable Adult Wrap Around Service) team.

Main duties of the job
The aim of the Vawas service is to provide a high level of personalised care to the elderly population within care homes and those patients living in their own homes. Their needs can be very complex and it is essential that the Vawas nurses, both ANP's and Nurse Practitioners work in conjunction with the aligned GP practice to provide and support the multi-disciplinary team as a whole. You will be required to work alongside GP's, Pharmacists, District Nurses and Care co-ordinators to carry out the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Specification.

About us
The VAWAS team currently comprises of 12 Advanced Nurse Practitioners and 2 Nurse Practitioner looking after elderly patients in approximately 60 care homes across Sedgefield and Easington.

Job responsibilities
HOURS: 25 hours per week

Job Summary
The Nurse Practitioner (NP) will act autonomously within their professional scope of practice providing care for patients face to face, telephone consultations and visits to local care homes as part of the bigger Vawas (Vulnerable Adult Wrap Around Service) team.

The postholder must hold an Independent Prescribing qualification.

The postholder will operate within their own sphere of competence and agreed acceptable limits of practice to provide expert professional clinical advice to patients, carers and colleagues, ensuring clinical safety and excellence in conjunction with the Advanced Nurse Practitioners within the team.

The Nurse Practitioner will need to prioritise and triage the needs of patients, accordingly, making any necessary referrals for investigations in the appropriate manner.

The postholder will use skills, knowledge and competencies as a qualified Nurse Practitioner in order to be responsible and accountable for managing patient caseloads for treatments, referral, admission and discharging patients as appropriate.

Job responsibilities:

Clinical Nursing Practice

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver safe and high quality care.
• Carries out clinical nursing practice at a nurse practitioner level using expert clinical skills, critical judgements & knowledge to deliver appropriate and safe care.

Delivery of care in line with NSF, NICE guidelines and evidence-based care

• Triage and treat patients, performing specialist assessment of their needs and make referrals as necessary to other members of the primary and secondary health care teams as appropriate.
• Co-ordinate the planning and delivery of care ensuring patients and carers/relatives are involved.
• Prescribing and reviewing medication that is appropriate to patient needs and in accordance with latest evidence-based practice, national and practice protocols and within the scope of qualified practice.
• Diagnose and manage acute and chronic conditions, including drug and non-drug based treatment methods into a management plan.
• Request diagnostic investigations and interpret within agreed protocols e.g. x-ray, blood tests, scans, etc.
• Assess, diagnose and treat patients in care homes and their own home who require medical attention and/or refer to appropriate agency.
• Refers patients to other members of the multi-disciplinary practice teams, secondary care organisations and other organisations as necessary.

Care Management

• Communicates confidential and sensitive information to patients, relatives and carers in relation to their condition.
• Provide highly specialised care advice beyond the scope of normal Nursing practice e.g. care treatment plans, making referrals as appropriate (including fast track referrals).
• Contribute to local targets as set out in the Vawas contract.
• To monitor and meet care outcomes against standards and recommend or initiate changes as necessary.

Health Improvement

• Management of health screening programmes and ensures other team members are aware of health priorities and screening objectives and programmes.
• Improve health outcomes for patients by introducing new developments and can demonstrate them as reports and presentations where appropriate.
• Supports practitioners in reporting the service population to promote health improvement and disease prevention.
• Makes referrals to appropriate agencies (statutory and voluntary) where necessary
• Providing assessment, screening services, health education advice:

These may include (but not restricted to);

• Blood pressure checks
• Urinalysis
• Routine immunisations and vaccinations
• Removal of sutures / clips
• General health advice
• Organise and plan the provision of nursing services for the Vawas service as appropriate

Administration and professional responsibilities

• Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures
• Participate in the administrative and professional responsibilities of the service team
• Accurate and legible notes of all consultations and treatments are recorded in the patients notes
• Ensure clinical systems kept up to date, recording and/or amending accurate details
• Ensure accurate completion of all necessary documentation associated with patient health care and registration with the practice
• Attend and participate in practice meetings as required

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Nursing Degree

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Registered with the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council)
• Be extremely adaptable, competent and motivated in caring for patients. An excellent communicator.
• Positive attitude.

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.