Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our Community Specialist Palliative Care Team serving St Helens and Knowsley.

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic nurse with advanced, evidence-based palliative care skills, a V300 Independent prescribing qualification, and excellent advanced communication abilities.

We welcome applications from both full-time and part-time candidates. The service operates seven days a week, delivering specialist palliative care support between 08:00 and 20:00. The role is primarily based on 12-hour shifts worked on a rota basis, and flexibility to work across the service hours is essential.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a dedicated multidisciplinary team committed to providing high-quality, patient-centred palliative and end of life care within the community.

Main duties of the job
To provide professional leadership, advice and support in palliative care for health professionals, patients and carers to enhance the quality of life for people with life limiting illness requiring palliative care, including complex physical, psychological and emotional needs.

Our vision, is to provide a comprehensive and patient-focused approach for people with complex symptoms associated to advanced progressive disease who are in the last 12 months of life, creating a forward thinking and innovative approach to supportive care. The role requires an understanding of current Initiatives in Palliative and end of life care. The successful candidate will work as part of a specialist team consisting of clinical nurse specialists, providing holistic needs assessment for patients, advice and support for health professional providing palliative and end of life care in the community setting including community inpatient. Working in collaboration with our partner organisations across the St Helens and Knowsley geographical area.

We have an excellent staff supervision system enabling our staff to be committed to developing both their service and themselves through continued professional development and appraisal systems.

About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.

Job responsibilities
To work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist within the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team across St Helens and Knowsley geographical area, supporting patients to be symptom managed in their usual place of residence. The focus of the role is to provide clinical expertise and leadership within the community setting.

To work in collaboration with our partner organisations so that patients are directed to the right service at the right time to meet their needs.

Person Specification
Skills
Essential

• IT literate
• Ability to work under pressure and manage a diverse workload
• Excellent communication, organisational and interpersonal skills
• Ability to understand and analyse complex data
• Risk assessment skills
• Ability to network with multidisciplinary colleagues
• Self -management and motivation skills
• Report writing skills
• Confidence to challenge poor practice and ability to address difficult issues
• Ability to travel to work across boundaries

Experience
Essential

• Demonstrable post registration/qualification experience
• Experience of management and clinical leadership
• Experience of successful multi-agency working

Desirable

• Experience of delivering education and training programmes in specialist area
• Research skills

Qualifications
Essential

• Degree or equivalent qualification
• Evidence of CPD/Short courses
• Registration with relevant professional body
• Appropriate prescriber (V300)

Desirable

• Clinical Examination and Diagnostics (or working towards)
• First line management qualification

Knowledge
Essential

• Evidence of influencing, motivating and negotiating with others to achieve change in relation to care
• Awareness of current national and local agenda in NHS and Social Care
• Evidence of being able to communicate complex, sensitive information and advice on healthcare to patients/clients, carers and colleagues
• Understanding how other agencies work
• Awareness of factors that contribute to good health and the importance of promoting these in line with organisational public health policy

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.