Clinical Assessor (Band 7) - Hospice at Home

Join us as we develop Hospice at Home at St Michaels

Hospice to provide a more responsive service for patients and those important

to them, supporting care in their preferred place.

As Clinical Assessor, your main focus will be holistic

assessment, referral triage, symptom management and coordination of complex

care. You will identify changing needs, agree individual care and anticipatory

plans, and work with primary care, community nursing, specialist palliative

care and hospital teams to support safe care at home and timely discharge.

You will work alongside a Band 7 Operational Manager in a

complementary partnership. The manager will lead operational delivery and team

management while maintaining regular clinical practice. You will participate in

operational reviews, referral prioritisation and capacity planning, keeping the

knowledge and skills needed to provide agreed day-to-day management cover

during the managers absence.

Your role will include providing specialist advice,

supporting colleagues learning and contributing to audit and service

improvement. You will report to the Clinical Lead.

Current NMC registration as an Adult Nurse is essential.

A non-medical prescribing qualification is desirable; where appropriate, an

agreed development pathway may be considered, subject to organisational

approval and support.

specialist autonomous assessment, triage, symptom management and coordination

of care for patients with palliative and end-of-life needs and those important

to them. Work alongside the Band 7 Operational Manager, contributing to

day-to-day service decisions and maintaining the operational skills needed to

provide agreed management cover during absence.

Professional

accountability to the Clinical Lead.

Key working

relationships

Lead, Clinical Director, Operational Manager or Clinical Assessor, Hospice at

Home nurses and healthcare assistants, medical team, hospice multidisciplinary

services, quality and governance colleagues, primary care, community nursing,

specialist palliative care and urgent care partners. Work with Rowans Hospice

colleagues to share learning and align practice through agreed arrangements.

clinical assessment and response

Act as an autonomous specialist nurse, leading holistic assessment and triage

of referrals and patients with complex palliative and end-of-life needs.

Prioritise response according to urgency, clinical risk, service criteria and

available resources.

Undertake timely assessments in the home and other agreed settings, including

hospital assessment where this forms part of an approved pathway. Assess

physical symptoms, psychological, social and spiritual needs, family and carer

needs and risks to safe care at home.

Use history taking, physical assessment and clinical reasoning within

competence to identify deterioration, potentially reversible problems and the

need for medical or specialist review. Escalate emergencies and concerns

through agreed pathways.

Plan, deliver and evaluate symptom management and nursing interventions with

patients, those important to them and the multidisciplinary team. Develop

anticipatory plans, clear review arrangements and safety-netting advice.

Support advance care planning, preferred place of care and ReSPECT discussions

within competence. Undertake verification of expected death and other extended

procedures only following relevant training, assessment and hospice

authorisation.

and clinical leadership

Coordinate complex care and support timely discharge to the community,

confirming that necessary care, medicines, equipment, information and follow-up

arrangements are in place.

Provide specialist advice and clinical support to the Hospice at Home team and

partners. Lead or contribute to multidisciplinary discussions, case reviews and

clinical supervision.

Work with the Operational Manager to prioritise referrals, review the caseload

and allocate work according to patient need, staff competence and capacity.

Identify patients whose needs require another service or escalation.

Contribute to clinical standards, audit, service evaluation and improvement.

Collect accurate activity and outcome data and use patient and carer feedback

to improve the service.

participation and absence cover

Participate regularly in operational reviews, rota and capacity planning, team

communication and governance activity so that management knowledge and skills

are maintained alongside clinical practice.

Provide delegated day-to-day operational leadership in the Operational

Managers absence, including referral prioritisation, staff allocation,

immediate rota adjustments, escalation of staffing concerns and coordination of

the team.

Support staff with immediate concerns and document significant decisions and

actions for handover. Refer formal HR matters, budget decisions beyond

delegated authority and unresolved clinical or operational risks to the

Clinical Lead.

During cover, agree with the Clinical Lead how the clinical assessment workload

will be reprioritised or covered. Maintain safe clinical practice and escalate

when both functions cannot be delivered within competence and contracted hours.

Joint working

and service resilience

Work as a complementary Band 7 partnership with the other post holder,

maintaining distinct primary responsibilities and a shared understanding of

clinical priorities, staffing, risks and service pressures. Agree regular joint

reviews, documented handovers and planned overlap within contracted hours.

The Operational Manager retains substantive responsibility for team line

management and operational delivery. The Clinical Assessor provides day-to-day

operational cover during the managers absence under agreed delegated

authority. Both post holders remain accountable for their own professional

practice.

Agree cover arrangements with the Clinical Lead before planned absence and at

the earliest opportunity for unplanned absence. Record responsibilities,

decisions requiring senior approval and escalation routes. Cover does not

automatically transfer budget authority or formal employment decision-making

powers.

Balance clinical and operational work through an agreed work plan. Escalate

competing demands, staffing gaps or work beyond competence or available hours

to the Clinical Lead. These two part-time posts do not provide continuous

management or clinical cover for all service hours.

and partnership working

Communicate complex and sensitive information compassionately with patients and

those important to them. Support informed choices, assess decision-making

capacity within competence and follow hospice procedures where a patient cannot

provide consent.

Coordinate care with primary care, community nursing, specialist palliative

care, hospital teams, urgent and out-of-hours services and other partners.

Provide clear handovers, agreed responsibilities and escalation plans to

support safe transitions and timely discharge home.

Maintain professional boundaries, respect confidentiality and individual

cultural, spiritual and personal preferences, and promote constructive

communication and challenge within the team.

management and prescribing

Promote safe administration, storage, monitoring and use of medicines and

equipment, including controlled drugs, in accordance with hospice policies and

individual competence. Recognise, report and escalate medication concerns and

adverse effects.

Undertake independent prescribing only when appropriately qualified,

registered, authorised by the hospice and working within individual competence

and the agreed formulary and prescribing policy. Maintain prescribing

supervision and continuing professional development.

Where not qualified as an independent prescriber, work with authorised

prescribers to secure timely symptom management. Participate in an agreed

development plan towards non-medical prescribing where appropriate, subject to

organisational approval and support.

Education and

professional development

Maintain current clinical competence through direct practice, supervision,

reflection and continuing professional development. Undertake mandatory

training and maintain professional registration.

Teach, coach and support nurses, healthcare assistants, students and relevant

partners. Contribute to competency assessment within own competence and promote

reflective practice and staff wellbeing.

Participate in appraisal and agree a development plan covering the clinical and

operational skills needed for the partnership and absence cover.

and general responsibilities

Work in accordance with the NMC Code, St Michaels Hospice policies and agreed

clinical pathways. Maintain timely, accurate records and use electronic systems

only with appropriate authorisation.

Recognise and promptly report safeguarding concerns involving adults or

children. Follow agreed escalation procedures for deteriorating patients,

incidents, complaints and risks; contribute to investigation, learning and

improvement.

Comply with information governance, infection prevention, health and safety and

lone-working requirements. Promote equality, inclusion and the hospices

values, and use charitable resources responsibly.

Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the role, Band 7 level,

competence and contracted hours. The job description will be reviewed in

consultation with the post holder as the service develops.

St.

Michaels Hospice is a registered charity providing specialist palliative and

end of life care services since 1992, for the people of North Hampshire. We are

dedicated to providing care to people throughout North Hampshire who are

affected by life limiting illness to attain the highest possible quality of

life by providing a choice of specialist care and support.

As a

charity, we depend on the kindness and support of our local community to

continue offering our services free of charge. This care is made possible by

supporters donating, taking part in fundraising events and activities, playing

our lottery, shopping in our retail outlets, leaving gifts in their Wills or

giving freely of their time to volunteer.

We offer a competitive salary with attractive benefits,

including, free parking, life assurance, 27 days annual leave plus bank

holidays, and an extensive health and wellbeing plan and company pension.

For further information and to arrange

informal visits, please contact Jo Fricker, Clinical Director, on 01256 844744

or email: jo.fricker@stmichaelshospice.org.uk

Skills, Knowledge, Abilities

Qualifications

Experience

Desirable: - Experience in urgent response and supporting discharge from hospital to home.

Attitude, aptitudes, personal characteristics

Desirable: - Knowledge of working in an independent charitable hospice.

Other requirements