Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist; Maternity Cover

St Luke's Hospice is a local charity providing compassionate care to people whose illnesses are no longer curable. We promote dignity in dying and empower people to make the choices they want, from the moment they are diagnosed.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist with a passion for working at a charity with a real purpose.

• To work as an accountable and autonomous practitioner and act as lead specialist and source of expertise in palliative care, providing strategic and clinical leadership to influence the development and delivery of local community palliative care services over a 7-day week.
• Use specialist skills and knowledge to manage patients on a caseload and their families/carers with complex needs associated with living with a life‑challenging illness.
• Link with Hospice staff primary healthcare teams, secondary care professionals, statutory and voluntary sectors, and promote fully integrated team working with partners and providers.
• Liaise with the referrer and undertake holistic assessment with the patient and plan the level of involvement required for each situation working collaboratively with all services to provide the highest quality of individualised palliative care to patients, families and carers within the resources available.
• Prioritise workload and plan and implement care in consultation with other health, social and voluntary care professionals, taking into account the physical, emotional, psychological social and spiritual needs of patients with a palliative diagnosis, cancer and other life‑challenging conditions and their families and carers. Evaluate care delivery according to changing health needs.
• Assist in the co‑ordination of care for patients and families/carers as appropriate, for example, facilitating admission to the hospice or discharge from hospital to home and participating in multi‑disciplinary case conferences.
• Provide patients and their families/carers with appropriate high‑quality information relating to their disease, treatment, and care.
• Contribute to MDTs and Gold Standard Framework (GSF) meetings (face to face/virtual).
• Work within Hospice community services team – One Response (rostered between the team).
• Undertake post bereavement visits, as necessary.
• Develop, support, contribute, facilitate services, and participate in meetings that are effective in achieving individuals Preferred Priorities/Place for Care/Death, whilst preventing hospital admissions.
• Assess patient and undertake advance care planning.
• May be required to administer medication by an injection or to set up a syringe driver in the absence of other professionals in order to meet the patient’s best interest. Other clinical skills as required.
• Maintain and utilise advanced clinical skills to analyse and interpret history of illness, presenting symptoms and physical findings to enable diagnosis, planning and treatment of the patient.
• Work within the community setting collaboratively and communicate effectively with the Hospice, Palliative Care Consultants, other Hospital Consultants and Clinical Nurse Specialists, General Practitioners, District Nursing Teams, Integrated care teams, Primary Care, Acute, Social Care, Voluntary Services, and other colleagues and organisations to ensure the best possible outcomes for the patient and their carers/families.
• Practice if qualified as a non‑medical prescriber within scope of practice.
• Undertake verification of expected death as required.

• Be a first level registered nurse
• Have significant post registration experience including proven palliative care experience at a Band 6/7 or above, or equivalent level
• Have the ability to work alone in the community setting, managing complex, challenging and unpredictable situations, problem solving, without judgement
• Be competent and confident to initiate and maintain specialist care to the dying person and their families/carers in their own home
• Have expert current knowledge of pain and symptom management, which underpins theory, usually gained through recent clinical practice at a senior level
• Be computer literate sufficient to input…