Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Registered general nurse or Paramedic to undertake a band 7 nurse practitioner role or paramedic practitioner role in Halewood WIC.

The UTC/WIC assess and treat patients with minor illness and injuries. They are open 8am to 8pm 7 days per week.

The service is nurse led and offers both an appointment or walk-in service

Main duties of the job
The post holder will work within a team as an autonomous practitioner and be accountable and responsible for the health care management of the client/patient group.

The post holder will have the ability to perform holistic assessments to interpret, diagnose and treat, concluding to discharge with an appropriate outcome or determining the most relevant pathway for the patient.

The post holder will have responsibility for taking charge of the shift and managing service provision in the absence of the Clinical Nurse Manager/ Team Leader.

The post holder must show commitment to the support and development of others to ensure a consistent, high quality delivery of service underpinned by the Personal Performance Planning process and Clinical Supervision.

A flexible approach is essential to this role. Whilst the post holder's base will be Halewood WIC, they will be required to work across all Walk-in Centre services and through all shift patterns as required across Merseycare's 8 sites in Merseyside to support service delivery.

Ensure the delivery of the quality strategy within the designated area incorporating establishment of systems and processes.

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 act as a nurse/ paramedic practitioner and shift lead to manage and promote the development and clinical effectiveness of a high quality service in the unpredictable environment of the Walk in Centre's using a multi-skilled team approach.
• To maintain effective multidisciplinary team working and communication, utilising effective referral pathways.
• To co-ordinate the day to day running of the clinical area including shift leader responsibilities.
• To provide leadership and exercise a professional advisory role in relation to clinical practice.
• To continue to extend the scope of own professional practice by improving and enhancing knowledge and competencies.
• To report sickness and absence to the Clinical Nurse Manager/ Team Leader and take immediate action to manage the safe running of the shift in the absence of the Clinical Nurse Manager/ Team Leader.
• To report accidents, incidents and complaints to the Clinical Nurse Manager/ Team Leader in accordance with Trust policies and procedures and to take immediate action to implement measures to reduce risk and resolve complaints in the absence of the Clinical Nurse Manager/ Team Leader.
• To provide high quality, evidence based care and advice to all patients attending the Walk-in Centre.
• To work autonomously and provide holistic assessment, interpretation of results, treatment, advice and health promotion resulting in discharge or referral of patients as appropriate initially presenting with undifferentiated and undiagnosed conditions.
• To continually develop knowledge of a wide range of minor illness and minor injuries by achieving competencies in all areas of Walk-in Centre work to effectively assess, treat, discharge and refer appropriately to health and social care professionals.
• To support the professional development of peers and junior staff in developing and achieving competencies and working towards autonomous practitioner status over the whole spectrum of patient presentation at the Walk-in centres.
• To demonstrate a positive commitment to the teaching, training, assessment and development of all learners and facilitate programmes for learners.
• To supervise Band 6 Nurse Practitioners, Band 5 Associate Nurse Practitioners, B4 Assistant Practitioners and Health Care Assistants.
• To act as a mentor/teacher to peers, other team members and all students including nursing and other professional disciplines.
• To work flexibly to support all Walk-in Centres to ensure capacity meets service demand and initiate escalation policy procedures as appropriate to ensure the safe and efficient running of the service.
• To work within the scope of professional practice whilst providing an integrated primary care service by initiating and working collaboratively with other key stakeholders to ensure continuity of patient care.
• To support the Clinical Team Leader and contribute to developing new ways of working to provide a responsive service to patients needs.
• This may require a moderate physical effort for several short periods during a shift and involves intense concentration for frequent periods of the shift to ensure correct management of patients via the use of VDU equipment and patient interaction.
• To exercise a high degree of personal and professional autonomy and critical judgement.
• To have proven skills in x-ray and a requirement to undertake assessment and subsequent management; wound assessment and management; suturing; and the diagnosis and management of a wide range of minor injuries/ailments.
• To empower others and demonstrate an ability to make effective clinical decisions based on recent evidence.
• To act as a mentor to team members.
• To assist in the development and implementation of policies/procedures and guidance relating to nursing practice and ensure clinically effective health interventions are provided utilising the latest available evidence.
• To have clear understanding of legal issues and professional accountability and responsibility.
• To administer medication following training under patient group direction or as a nurse prescriber as clinically indicated.
• To be responsible for the specialist diagnostic procedures and subsequent out of hours management of patients as outlined in local service plans.
• To adhere to Professional body standard of practice.
• To maintain skills and competencies required for the post.
• To utilise relevant training and experience and clinical skills in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and management of patients. eg wound management, venepuncture, vaccinations and immunisations, health promotion, V300.
• To communicate with patients and their relatives or carers in providing or receiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information were there may be significant barriers requiring the highest level of interpersonal communication skills.
• Support the efficient use of physical and equipment resources.
• To support and adhere to all administrative policies and procedures within the service.
• All staff should be familiar with relevant IT systems. IT security policies and procedures.
• The service operates an electronic record keeping system. The post holder will have IT skills to enable to them to use a clinical system.
• The post holder will be able to send and receive communications via email.

Person Specification
Skills

• Demonstrate ability to identify training and development needs of self and others
• Demonstrates ability to work under pressure and use own initiative
• Demonstrable leadership skills
• Demonstrates high level communication skills with patients /carers/across professional and organisational boundaries
• Demonstrable basic IT literacy
• Risk Management skills
• Demonstrates flexibility to work across all Walk in Centres and all shift patterns supporting a positive approach to team working
• Empathic and understanding nature
• Committed to change management opportunities to ensure the service continually develops in line with local and national initiatives
• Demonstrates commitment to Clinical Supervision

Experience

• Experience of working autonomously in clinical decision making
• Experience of clinical team leadership and taking charge of a department
• Recent demonstrable professional experience in paediatric nursing
• Significant experience of working in a relevant role e.g. Walk In Centre, Primary Care, A/E
• Experience of participating in nurse development agendas, e.g.: preceptorship, mentorship, clinical supervision
• Experience of setting standards and quality service delivery

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration. (RSCN for Smithdown Childrens WIC) or Allied Health Professional (AHP)
• Mentorship qualification level 4
• Additional qualifications, PGC in advanced practice

Desirable

• A degree or degree level post registration qualification
• Non-medical prescribing Supplementary/Independent

Knowledge

• Significant knowledge of communicating across professional and organisational boundaries
• In depth awareness of current legislation in relation to Walk in Centres and the Clinical Governance agenda including risk management
• Proven high level clinical competency in injury and illness assessment clinical examination, history taking, diagnosis and treatment
• Understanding of wider political NHS agenda
• Evidence of contributing to nurse development agendas
• Demonstrate commitment to teaching others

Values

• Continuous Improvement
• Acountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Support
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented

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.