Structural Heart Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

King’s is one of the UK’S largest and busiest teaching Trusts and has a unique profile of local services and focused tertiary specialities, together with an international reputation for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, fetal medicine, cardiac and blood cell cancer and major trauma.

We are seeking sixteen exceptional individuals to act as ETOC (Enhanced Therapeutic Observations and Care) Clinical Support Workers. Postholders will provide direct care and support to our most vulnerable patients, developing therapeutic relationships quickly and facilitating meaningful engagement and emotional support. They will deliver care and activity plans, and participate in providing physical health care, supported by a dedicated, trauma-informed enhanced care team.

Please note that this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Main duties of the job

• Providing hands-on care to patients
  Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non- judgmental way.
• Monitoring and recording service patient clinical observations, such as physical observations and vital signs, and escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration
• Encouraging and supporting patients to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest.
• Advocating for the patient’s needs and rights.
• To assist patients with activities of daily living whilst encouraging independence, as appropriate.
• To assist with patient nutritional needs.
• Engage with patients who may present with challenging behaviour; utilise enhanced verbal de-escalation skills to support safe and appropriate management.
• To support the risk assessment of patients, proactively seeking to address causes of distress before they occur.
• Escorting patients off ward where appropriate to do so.
• Ensure relevant electronic notes and incident reports are completed in a timely manner and to a high standard.
• Participate in MDT handovers providing excellent holistic nursing observations including behavioural triggers and de-escalation techniques.
• To ensure that all patients and relatives are welcomed and orientated to the environment; facilitate supportive contact with the patients wider support network.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical Duties:

• Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non- judgmental way.
• Recognising and valuing patients as individuals, acknowledging the importance of maintaining patient respect and dignity at all times and ensuring that the care provided respects equality and diversity.
  Escalating any concerns immediately to a Registered Nurse.
• Monitoring and recording service patient clinical observations, such as physical observations and vital signs, and escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration to the relevant professional. (Registered Nurse or other senior staff).
• Implementing the principles of ‘recovery’ - encouraging and supporting patients to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest.
• Advocating for the patient’s needs and rights.
• To assist patients with activities of daily living whilst encouraging independence, as appropriate.
• To assist with patient nutritional needs – eating, drinking, menu selection, meal delivery and special diets according to the individual patient’s needs
• Engage with patients who may present with challenging behaviour; utilise enhanced verbal de-escalation skills to support the safe and appropriate management of patients.
• To support the risk assessment of patients – providing and recording observations, information and clinical thinking to support safety, and using tools such as DASA, DASA-YV or BVC as a method of assessing and proactively seeking to address causes of distress before they occur.
• Escorting patients off ward where appropriate to do so.
• Ensure relevant electronic notes and incident reports are completed in a timely manner and to a high standard.
• Participate in multidisciplinary team handovers providing excellent holistic nursing observations including behavioural triggers and de-escalation techniques.
• To assist in the maintenance and safekeeping of patients property in line with Trust policy
• To ensure that all patients and relatives are welcomed and orientated to the environment; facilitate supportive contact with the patients wider support network.
• To be a reflective practitioner; engage in de-briefs, supervision and staff support sessions, and to be mindful of own mental wellbeing, personal boundaries and self-care.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Completed Care Certificate.
• Evidence of basic counselling skills
• Completed Trust Band 2 Competency document (internal candidates only).

Desirable criteria

• Reflective practice in effectively working in this setting.
• Functional Skills Level 2 in Numeracy and Literacy or GCSEs Maths and English Grades A-C

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience working with people presenting with behaviours that challenge
• Experience of motivating people to engage in activities
• A working knowledge of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and psychosis

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with people in an acute mental health setting

Skills and Competencies

Essential criteria

• Able to communicate with the multi-disciplinary team, update others in the team and use handover effectively.

Desirable criteria

• Skills in managing challenging behaviours or difficult situations

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants can support you as you complete your application. For example, they can check for spelling or grammar errors, or help you to decide what to include. They shouldn’t however replace your own responses or be used to write the application for you.

Relying too much on AI can negatively impact your chances of success because automatically generated answers:

• might not be specific or relevant enough to address the criteria in the recruitment profile
• often seem generic and not personalised enough – an AI response won’t show your unique voice and perspective
• could misrepresent information about you, such as your qualifications, skills and experience

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

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King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.