General Practice Elderly Care Nurse

You will visit our frail elderly patients at their home or schedule appointments at the surgery in order to conduct comprehensive geriatric assessments and co-develop advanced care plans.

Following on from these assessments you may need to make referrals to community, voluntary, and social care organizations. Some patients will require case management with a series of visits or appointments to achieve their specific health goals.

Experience of working in general practice, geriatric nursing, or palliative care is desirable but not essential. We will provide any required training for conducting comprehensive geriatric assessments and developing care plans.

JOB TITLE: General Practice Elderly Care Nurse

REPORTS TO: The GP Partners (Clinically)

The elderly care nurse will work as part of the primary healthcare team providing Personal Medical Services to the patients of the practice. The nurse will be responsible for the management of frail elderly patients.

Assist in and perform routine tasks related to patient care

Comprehensive geriatric assessments for frail elderly patients

Creating care plans with patients

Requesting pathology tests, for example urine culture, swabs

Following agreed clinical protocols with referral as appropriate

Chaperoning and assisting patients who are being examined by another clinician.

Maintain general tidiness and cleanliness of treatment rooms

Participation in administrative systems in the Practice

Maintain accurate records into our clinical system

Attend and participate in weekly Practice meetings.

There will be regular requirements to undertake home visits.

Any other delegated duties appropriate to the post

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons, in accordance with practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

Health & safety

The post-holder will promote and manage their own and others health and safety and infection control as defined in the practice Health & Safety policy, the practice Health & Safety manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include (but will not be limited to):

Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines

Awareness of national standards of infection control and cleanliness and regulatory / contractual / professional requirements, and good practice guidelines

Responsible for the correct and safe management of the specimens process, including collection, labelling, handling, use of correct and clean containers, storage and transport arrangements

Management and maintenance of their own Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Responsible for their own hand hygiene

Active observation of current working practices across the practice in relation to infection control, cleanliness and related activities, ensuring that procedures are followed and weaknesses / training needs are identified, escalating issues as appropriate

Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks across clinical and patient process

Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills across the full range of infection control and patient processes

Monitoring practice facilities and equipment in relation to infection control, ensuring that provision of hand cleansing facilities, wipes etc are sufficient to ensure a good clinical working environment. Lack of facilities to be escalated as appropriate.

Safe management of sharps procedures including training, use, storage and disposal

Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy, clean and sterile, and safe way, free from hazards. Initiation of remedial / corrective action where needed or escalation to responsible management

Actively identifying, reporting, and correction of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised

Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, sterile, identifying issues and hazards / risks in relation to other work areas within the business, and assuming responsibility in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness across the business in consultation (where appropriate) with the practice manager.

Routine management of own areas, and maintenance of work space standards

Waste management including collection, handling, segregation, container management, storage and collection

Spillage control procedures, management and training

Decontamination control procedures, management and training, and equipment maintenance

Maintenance of sterile environments

Working in line with safeguarding policies and promoting the welfare of children.

Equality and diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues by:

Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation

Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues

Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:

Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development

Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work

Quality

The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:

We are a GP Partnership in Dulwich (SE24) with high patient satisfaction and outstanding health outcomes.

The surgery team is experienced, with many of our colleagues having worked at Elm Lodge for over 10 years. We are welcoming to new team members.

We prioritize providing a good service to our patients, and seek to work in a way that is environmentally sustainable.

Experience

Essential: - Experience of working as a nurse; - Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Desirable: - At least one of:; - Experience of working in primary care; - Experience of working in palliative care; - Experience of working in geriatric care

Qualifications

Essential: - Qualified nurse registered with the NMC