Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

Act as a resource/advisor to all staff in the delivery of nursing care, ensuring that specialised needs of patients are met.

Develop methods for identifying, maintaining, and improving the quality of patient care through facilitation of best practice and clinical benchmarking.

Maintain patient records in accordance with NMC, Trust and Divisional standards.

Ensure effective communication with staff, patients, and their family/carers

Liaise with nursing, medical and other colleagues to ensure that all aspects of the patient’s care is covered.

Ensure effective communication with families, community nursing staff, other hospitals and local agencies to facilitate the smooth transfer and after-care of patients/clients

Ensure and oversee that due regard is given to the customs, values and spiritual beliefs of patients/clients.

Ensure that nursing care is based on sound, current research, encouraging and initiating nursing audit and research, assisting with the implementation of findings where appropriate.

Ensure adherence to Trust and local policies, local guidelines, and current legislation in relation to Critical Care

Keep Divisional Director of Nursing and Quality and Lead Nurse informed of changes in patient/staff circumstances which may affect the delivery of care

Attend meetings as directed and feedback information as appropriate, ensuring robust ward/departmental communication strategies are in place.

Monitoring of standards within Critical Care.

Explore and undertake extended practice to optimise patient care in accordance with Trust policies.

Managerial/Leadership

Take the lead for nursing in Critical Care working directly for the Lead Nurse reporting to the Divisional Director of Nursing for Clinical Services.

Support patient and family engagement within the Trust, identifying and supporting change within LHCH.

Develop services in conjunction with the Divisional Director of Nursing and the senior nursing team, initiating and implementing any service improvements.

Participate in recruitment and selection of staff.

To attend operational and professional meetings on a regular basis as required.

Provide leadership when addressing improvements in care across the complete patient pathway, influencing patient centred individualised and holistic care.

Assist with the implementation of the Trust Nursing Strategy within critical care unit .

Act as role model, leading by example for agreed standards of nursing profession and patient and family care, be a care ambassador and challenge unacceptable behaviour.

Ensure that performance and sickness management issues relating to nurses in the area of practice are dealt with promptly, sensitively, equally and without discrimination in accordance with Trust policy.

Education and Development

Act as an effective role model, imparting specialist knowledge to all nursing staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary team

Oversee compliance with those KPI’s pertinent to this role

Assist staff in developing clinical/professional competence by providing learning opportunities

Ensure own compliance regarding mandatory training and revalidation requirements and oversee that of the wards

Attend any relevant study days/ courses specific to role development

Continue to develop own skills and knowledge and contribute to development of others, maintaining accurate records of training and development

Professionally responsible for the supervision and management of nursing services and patient care in SICU, whilst taking into consideration other clinical and management issues within the unit.

Lead patient flow and patient safety considering clinical need and skill mix. Support strategies and plans to manage this.

Support the 6-monthly review of the critical care workforce (or more frequently if required)

Provide clinical leadership to facilitate developments and change within the unit, demonstrating high standards of nursing care.

Work collaboratively across the Trust across all professional boundaries to improve services and performance, in keeping with Trust strategies and national directives.

Be responsive to innovations for both Trust and directorate service developments.

Daily visibility and contact with SICU staff, patients, and families.

Support all grades of staff but in particular work with the unit co-ordinators in resolving clinical and operational issues.

Participate with patient and public involvement activity in the clinical area, contributing to service improvement, for example, complete patient and family stories, undertake patient and family shadows

Ensure delivery of formal and informal education/teaching programmes

Work with the Divisional Director of Nursing for Clinical Services to ensure that the annual plan for the Directorate and work required is carried out.

Support the Critical Care Lead Nurse to ensure all investigations into complaints/litigation/adverse events are completed competently and within agreed timescales. 

Quality

      To deliver the Clinical Quality priorities

Ensure that the ESCS is undertaken on an annual basis or more frequently required.

       Oversee the standards of cleanliness in SICU, contributing to PLACE and other external inspections as required

.Participate in safeguarding activities and provide support as determined by the Safeguarding Lead Nurse

Ensure that lessons are learnt from complaints and incidents and communicated to the team.

Complete audits as necessary, liaise with information teams and present findings when required.

Be proactive with patient safety, include a human factors approach, provide education, and advise