JOB DESCRIPTION JOB TITLE: Paediatric Pre Assessment Nurse CLINICAL UNIT: Paediatric Department BASE: The Portland Hospital for Women and Children MANAGED BY: Children s Services Manager ACCOUNTABLE TO: Children s Services Manager HOSPITAL PROFILE Internationally renowned for clinical excellence, The Portland Hospital is the only independent hospital in the UK entirely dedicated to women and children. Our inpatient and outpatient specialties reflect this, providing clinical expertise in Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Women`s Health. The hospital has been consistently growing over the past few years, almost doubling since 2008. Our Paediatric wards hold 56 inpatient beds + 11 day case and are equipped with the latest technology to provide advanced medical and surgical care, including a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit which reflects the acuity and complex nature of the children who are admitted to our hospital. The Portland Hospital has a large number of international Paediatric patients, often funded by relevant embassies. The Portland Hospital is the only fully private maternity hospital in the UK. The hospital provides for both consultant-led and midwifery-led deliveries, having an 18 bedded ward and 6 cot neonatal unit to facilitate this. Alongside this there is a 12 bedded Gynecology and Women s Health in-patient ward. The Portland Hospital also has a large outpatient department for all areas of its clinical expertise, to facilitate continuous care or simpler procedures. The culture at The Portland Hospital is to provide support, an inspiring environment and positive ways of working to ensure everyone has a better day. This is accomplished through our core set of Positively Portland values that all employees will work to: Greetings, Respect, Teamwork, Initiative, Responsibility and Acknowledgement JOB SUMMARY Responsible for the pre-operative assessment of patients being prepared for a variety of surgical procedures ensuring patients are physically and emotionally prepared for their surgery and delivering high standards of nursing care. Provide a comprehensive nursing assessment, including baseline outcome measurement, ensuring that all necessary investigations and results are collated prior to the patient s admission.
Liaise with anaesthetists/surgeons regarding potential medical problems and issues to ensure patient safety Act as a resource for patients requiring advice prior to surgery. Requirement to work flexibly when necessary. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Communication Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Maintain and promote effective communication with ward teams and all members of the multiprofessional team. Skilled in communicating with a range of people on a daily basis some of who may have communication barriers. To remain professional at all times, demonstrating politeness, courtesy and sensitivity in dealing with patients/clients, visitors/relatives and colleagues, maintaining good customer relations. Promote the corporate image of HCA International to all individuals, groups and organisations both within the hospital and to the community at large, displaying the Positively Portland values at all times. Maintain accurate and complete records of all activities ensuring communication is consistent with legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures. 2. Clinical Practice Assist with the development of assessment and referral protocols and guidelines with medical/anaesthetic/nursing staff. Perform and document nursing pre-operative assessment. This includes patient history, baseline observations and organising any pre-operative investigations as requested by the medical team eg blood tests, ECG, x-rays. Give pre-operative advice and support and initiate appropriate referral to other members of the multi-disciplinary team, as part of the patient s surgical pathway. Exercise clinical judgement and decision making about patient s needs in terms of suitability for surgery, consulting clinicians as necessary regarding abnormal test results or concerns raised in consultation Work with the play specialist team to ensure patient receive appropriate play preparation.
Maintain high standards of infection control within the pre-assessment area and during clinical care. Be aware of individual responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act and identify and report as necessary any untoward accident, incident or potentially hazardous environment Be responsible for recording all appropriate outcomes and communicating these to the appropriate personnel maintaining patient s privacy and confidentiality Liaise with multi-professional teams on the provision of the service to ensure the highest quality of patient care. Providing clinical advice to other multi-professional team members in the area of preoperative assessment. Ensure that evidence based written patient/carer information is compiled, as necessary, and available for patients to ensure they fully understand the proposed surgery and anticipated postoperative recovery. Continue the informed consent process by ensuring the patient is aware of the risks and benefits of the procedure. Initiate discharge planning and identify any potential problems that may delay discharge prior to admission. Liaise with specific ward teams as necessary. Provide patient and carer with realistic estimate length of hospital stay and advice on arranging home circumstances following discharge. To support and promote an integrated approach to quality, which will include health promotion and education. Work with the named nurses and midwives and liaise with the consultant for safeguarding children to ensure that safeguarding issues are managed effectively and appropriately by the relevant agencies. 3. Responsibility- Information resources Maintain data quality standards for Meditech for the pre assessment service. Undertake training for electronic information systems in place and under development. Be aware and adhere to HCA International / local Portland Hospital guidelines for ordering relevant tests and access results reported on Meditech. To have an active email account and access this regularly to keep in touch with relevant information. Professional use of HCA s intranet- Grapevine and the internet 4. Professional responsibility Act in accordance with NMC code of professional conduct, ensuring NMC registration is maintained
Adhere to and promote HCA s policies/procedures and guidelines related to both professional practice and general issues. Maintain own mandatory training requirements. Take responsibility for own personal and professional development. Be proactive in developing own professional practice, demonstrating evidence of increasing advanced autonomy skills, clinical judgement and decision-making skills. Act as a role model and ensure the provision of a learning environment, which enables the educational and professional development needs of staff to be met. The post-holder may be required to undertake projects or tasks outside his/her normal responsibilities 5. Management Manage the pre-assessment workload liaising as necessary with other members of the pre assessment team Develop good interpersonal relationships with multi professional team through effective communication and sound management systems. Report to the Line Manager any complaints or untoward incidents Promote pre-assessment as the cornerstone of effective elective and emergency surgical care and throughput, liaising with ward staff and the multi professional team to provide an effective and efficient quality service 6. Education and Support Provide education to patients/carers as required to support through the pre assessment process Liaise with nursing and multi professional team regarding patient admissions to ensure all information is available to relevant staff Provide education /support for staff and nursing students as appropriate 7. Research and Audit Participate in audit for clinical practice and assist with data collection for trend analysis. Maintain accurate and complete records of all activities for purposes of audit and presentation of service outcomes. Work with service users and other stakeholders to evaluate the impact of the pre-operative assessment service on practice and patient focused outcomes. Initiate and participate in appropriate research and audit as required.
Demonstrate initiatives in the development of new knowledge and clinical skills aiming to ensure practice is evidence based. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING Essential Registered Nurse, RN Child /RSCN Experience and proven skills in Paediatric nursing Mentorship in Practice or equivalent with excellent leadership skills Level 3 safeguarding children training undertaken within the last 12 months Evidence of applying current research to practice Ability to work within a team Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines Knowledge of quality, standard setting and audit Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines/ effective time management for self and others Quality measurement/standard setting/audit Articulate with advanced written and verbal communication skills IT skills understanding of Microsoft Office including Excel and Powerpoint Evidence of continuing professional development Excellent presentation skills Excellent interpersonal skills with a flexible approach Ability to practice within the scope of the NMC Code of Professional Conduct Sufficient to fulfil the duties of the post with any reasonable adaptations Desirable Education to degree level Competent in tracheostomy care and gastrostomy care, IV access, central line access Valid APLS or EPLS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/POLICIES The post holder will have access to confidential information, which may only be disclosed to parties entitled to receive it. Unauthorised disclosure is a disciplinary offence in accordance with the HCA International Confidentiality and Security Agreement. The Portland Hospital is a regulated organisation and as such, all post holders must have their criminal record checked. You will be asked to declare any criminal convictions during the application process and if you are the preferred candidate for the post an enhanced CRB record check will be made by HCA International. The Portland Hospital is a dynamic organisation; therefore this job description maybe subject to change in accordance with the service provision of the ward and The Portland Hospital. Any proposed amendments to reflect or anticipate changes to the post will be amended in consultation with the post holder. Employee:
I agree that the attached job specification has been discussed with me and that I understand my primary responsibilities within this role. Name: Signature: Date: Manager/HR: Name: Signature: Date: