Job description
Diabetes Nurse Specialist (Band 6)
As part of the exciting developments across Frimley Health Foundation Trust, we are pleased to offer a new opportunity for aDiabetes Nurse Specialistto join our team for fixed term of 1 year at Wexham Park Hospital.
Within the hospital setting you will be responsible for our 6 day in patient service with daily review of diabetes patients in the hospital setting, undertaking in-patient follow up clinics and coordinating the treatment plans for patients diagnosed with Diabetes. You will also be responsible for running the telephone advice line and email service, and ensuring that written/electronic documentation is kept up to date.
You should have previous experience working with people with diabetes and be able to demonstrate up to date knowledge with diabetes management.
You will be working with the DSN’s cross site, ward nurses, practice /community nurses, Diabetologist, GP’s, dieticians and podiatrists within Frimley ICS
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
As well as delivering excellent general hospital services to local people, we provide specialist heart attack, vascular, stroke, spinal, cystic fibrosis and plastic surgery services across a much wider area.
We have three main hospitals - Frimley Park in Frimley near Camberley, Heatherwood in Ascot and Wexham Park near Slough.
Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.
We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital's NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties.
- To be responsible for the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of patient care within the diabetes team.
- To manage/complete episodes of care for patients with diabetes in the hospital setting in hospital and community clinics. To provide follow up care when patients discharged from hospital.
- To act as an expert resource and provide advice about the management of diabetes to health care professionals within primary and secondary care.
- To use advanced clinical experience in diabetes care, as well as theoretical knowledge to provide a high level of specialist care to people with diabetes.
- To teach patients/clients to manage their medication and own blood glucose monitoring.
- To introduce insulin to patients and promote self-management of insulin regimens and advice patients and medical/nursing staff on appropriate adjustment and changes in type or dose of insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents.
- To provide on-going care and information on how to self-manage their chronic disease with a view to reducing long term complications, through altered medication and lifestyle modification.
- To provide highly specialised advice about diagnosis and treatment of diabetes to senior colleagues.
- To act as an expert resource and to provide highly specialised advice about diagnosis and management of diabetes to other health professionals in primary and secondary care.
- To manage a defined patient caseload, working unsupervised and using specialist diabetes nursing skills to assess needs of the person with diabetes, and to plan, implement, document and evaluate programmes of care.
- To implement advice and support at an advanced level, directly to patients or relatives/carers, providing information to those who are newly diagnosed or with longstanding diabetes. This could be through nurse lead clinics or via the telephone.
- To undertake assessment of patients/groups with complex problems by using clinical, investigative and analytical skills to make difficult decisions about treatment and management plans.
- To identify, develop and implement specialised diabetes services and programmes of care to meet the health care needs of the person with diabetes.
- To use counselling skills where appropriate to identify problems with patients and to facilitate their resolution or acceptance.
- To take referrals directly to nurse led clinics from other disciplines without supervision and refer to other health care professionals where appropriate.
- To provide support to staff, and provide treatment to patients in nursing homes in the community.
- To work alongside DN and practise nurses and GP’s providing support, advice and education in the community.
- To work alongside other members of the diabetes team, attend team meetings and ensure effective communication with all team members to the benefit of the service as a whole.
- To be able to function effectively in an environment where there is an unpredictable work pattern and conflicting demands.
- To ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times.
- Ensure that adequate and precise records are maintained.
- To ensure an effective high standard of verbal and nonverbal communication, providing complex information to patients using advanced interpersonal skills to deal with people who may be very distressed, anxious, challenging or aggressive.
- To undertake the audit and evaluation of diabetes care within both, the community and hospital setting.
- To develop subspecialties in diabetes care, under the direction of the Lead Diabetes Nurse Specialist.
- To direct standards in the promotion of health and prevention of long term complications.
- Provide legible and comprehensive patient records to agreed Trust and NMC standards and guidelines.
- To participate in clinical supervision and regular performance reviews within the Medical Directorate.
- To act in accordance with Trust policies and nursing procedures.