Job Description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Lead Practice Nurse to join our well established, hardworking, and dedicated team.

Perfectly located in one of Europe's most vibrant waterfront cities, Southway Surgery is situated in Plymouth, Britain's ocean city.

General practice in Devon is of a high standard, making it a great place to work. Our vision is to deliver high quality healthcare to our patients, by a highly skilled, motivated, and constantly improving team, supported in a nurturing work environment.

Job summary

To be responsible for delivery of evidence-based nursing services, working as part of the practice multi-disciplinary team by providing leadership and direction to the nursing team.

Working autonomously, the Lead Nurse will be responsible for a number of clinical areas such as chronic disease management, minor illness, health promotion and wellbeing clinics, as well as supporting the management team in reviewing clinical policy and procedure.

Main responsibilities

Patient Support and Clinical Services

The following are the core responsibilities of the Lead Practice Nurse. There may be, on occasions, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

To help develop the nursing services offered by the practice To provide clinical leadership within the nursing team To ensure high standards of care are provided for patients To deliver a high standard of patient care using specialist Practice Nurse skills To work with the GP Partners and Practice Manager in maintaining chronic disease registers To be the Infection Prevention Control (IPC) lead and to work to the IPC Policy providing the implementation of audits, training, support and evidence of compliance to the relevant manager To produce the IPC annual statement in conjunction with the Practice Manager To develop, implement and embed an effective care management programme for the frail and housebound patients registered at the practice To assess the needs of patients ensuring the provision of healthcare is appropriate, incorporating evidence-based practice To develop, implement and embed health promotion and wellbeing programmes To implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for chronic disease patients that promote health and wellbeing To provide a safe and effective minor illness clinic, referring to the GP as appropriate. To identify, manage and support patients at risk of developing long-term conditions, preventing adverse effects to patients' health As required, to provide routine nursing care to patients in accordance with clinical based evidence and NICE guidelines To implement vaccination programmes for adults and children and administer immunisations to patients in accordance with PGDs and own scope of practice To review patient medications to enhance compliance To provide guidance to patients in the use of prescribed and over-the-counter medications regarding side effects and dosages To offer travel health advice based upon assessment and current recommendations and provide travel vaccinations in line with PGDs and refer on as needed To perform venepuncture at the request of GPs and in accordance with the practice policies To oversee the provision of chronic disease clinics, delivering patient care as necessary To maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation To ensure read codes are used effectively To carry out cervical cytology screening and offer contraceptive and sexual health advice and services To ensure compliance with the practice chaperone policy To prioritise health issues and intervene appropriately To support the team in dealing with clinical emergencies To recognise, assess and refer patients presenting with mental health needs To support patients in the use of their prescribed medicines or over-the-counter medicines (within own scope of practice) To maintain and authorise up to date PGDs for the nursing team To liaise with external services/agencies to ensure the patient is supported appropriately (vulnerable patients etc.) To delegate clinical responsibilities appropriately (ensuring safe practice and the task is within the scope of practice of the individual) To support the clinical team with all safeguarding matters, in accordance with local and national policies To understand practice and local policies for substance abuse and addictive behaviour, referring patients appropriately To deliver opportunistic health promotion where appropriate

Systems and Administrative Support

Lead the planning and implementation of changes within the nursing team, enhancing the provision of services to patients Ensure accurate data is recorded on the patient's computer records Embrace and support changes in Information Technology To communicate effectively with all multidisciplinary colleagues ensuring timely and appropriate exchanges with others. Provide guidance and leadership to all members of the nursing team Participate in local initiatives to enhance service delivery and patient care Support and participate in shared learning within the practice in order to improve patient care Continually review clinical practices, responding to national policies and initiatives where appropriate

Managerial/Team-working

To manage the nursing team and phlebotomist with regard to annual and study leave ensuring adequate clinic cover To perform annual appraisals for nursing team and phlebotomist To oversee staff training, ensuring all mandatory training is completed and encouraging and supporting further training to benefit the team and surgery needs. To plan nursing clinics and co-ordinate with the Practice Manager To report any risks to the Practice Manager To ensure staff are maintaining stock levels of treatment room/clinical items whilst being cost effective To arrange and lead Practice Nurse meetings in-house To attend practice meetings as appropriate To participate in annual appraisal process Participate in the review of significant and near-miss events applying a structured approach, i.e., root cause analysis Support the practice team with the reviewing and implementation of practice policies and protocols, ensuring conformance to extant legislation Recognise the importance of effective communication within the team Communicate effectively with patients, carers and other team members Recognise people's needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly

General Duties

To support others by maintaining filing and administrative systems so that written or electronic information is easily accessible and secure Open and secure premises if required

Person specification - Lead Practice Nurse

Qualifications

Essential

:

Registered Nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Council)

Mentor or teaching qualification

Post graduate diploma or degree (Chronic Disease Management)

Nurse prescriber

Family planning/sexual health qualification

Recognised Spirometry training (interpretation)

Up to date with CPR and anaphylaxis

Desirable:

Minor Illness qualification

Experience

Essential

:

A minimum of five years of experience of working in a general practice environment

Experience of chronic disease management

Experience of working autonomously

Experience of working as a senior practice nurse

Experience of infection prevention and control measures

Experience of managing elderly and housebound patients

Clinical knowledge and skills

Essential

:

Wound care/removal of sutures and staples/doppler

ECGs

Urinalysis

Venepuncture

Health checks

Ear Irrigation

Requesting pathology tests and processing the results, advising patients accordingly

Understanding the importance of evidence-based practice

Understand the requirement for PGDs and associated policy

Ability to record accurate clinical notes

Ability to work within own scope of practice and understanding when to refer to GPs

Chaperone procedure

Women's health (cervical cytology, contraception, etc.)

Immunisations (routine, childhood and travel)

Chronic disease management

Travel medicine

Peak flow readings/Spirometry (interpretation)

Broad knowledge of clinical governance

Knowledge of public health issues in the local area

Awareness of issues within the wider health arena

Knowledge of health promotion strategies

Maintenance of stock and equipment to include refrigeration and emergency equipment

To assist in the monitoring/supervision of nursing or medical students

Skills

Essential

:

Excellent communication skills (written and oral)

Effective time management (planning and organising)

Ability to work as a team member and autonomously

Good interpersonal skills & telephone manner

Problem solving and analytical skills

Ability to follow clinical policy and procedure

Desirable

:

Strong IT skills/experience of working with EMIS/SystmOne

Personal qualities

Essential

:

Polite and confident

Flexible and co-operative

High levels of integrity and loyalty

Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations

Effectively able to communicate and understand the needs of the patient

Commitment to ongoing professional development

Punctual and committed to supporting the team effort

Motivated, forward thinker

Problem solver with the ability to process information accurately and effectively, interpreting data as required

Ability to work under pressure/in stressful situations

Effectively utilise resources

Other requirements

Essential:

Ability to deal with all matters confidentially with an understanding of GDPR

Flexibility to work outside of core office hours

Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check

Occupational Health clearance

Meet the requirements and produce evidence for nurse revalidation

Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) commensurate with the role of a Practice Nurse

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Expected hours: 25 - 30 per week

Benefits:

Free parking On-site parking
Schedule:

Day shift Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 13/06/2025
Reference ID: Lead Practice Nurse