Eating Disorders Clinical Nurse Specialist

Eating Disorders Clinical Nurse Specialist

The post holder will provide high quality and effective support to the multi-disciplinary professional team in the implementation of care, support and treatment to patients referred to the Adult Community Eating Disorders Team (CEDS) in Bedfordshire and Luton. They will work closely with the team Psychiatrist and Specialist Interest General Practitioner to offer medical monitoring and intensive support to service users with severe and complex eating disorders in the community, which includes physical examination, investigation, ECG, and phlebotomy skills. Working closely with the team therapists and dietitians, they will also provide support to service users to engage in intensive treatment support to prevent admission to hospital where clinically appropriate; support with effective transitions for service users; and meal planning, delivered in a sensitive and motivational manner. This would be carried out in the outpatient's clinics and home environments.

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitate Medical Monitoring clinics to monitor the physical health of service users referred to and being supported by the service
• Undertake assessments of routine and urgent cases referred to the Community Eating Disorders Service
• Develop collaborative care plans in collaboration with service users, carers and other professionals and services involved in a person's care
• Deliver physical and mental health interventions to support the recovery and care of people using the services
• Undertake monitoring and review of physical and mental health needs and risks, and ensure safe management and referral of people presenting with escalating risks
• Support the safe engagement of service users with virtual intensive treatments
• Support with transitions as per Eating Disorders Transitions Standards
• Promote awareness, understanding and the safe and effective support of the needs of people with disordered eating

About us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

As a member of the multidisciplinary team, contribute to the safe and effective care of patients referred to the eating disorders service.

Provide comprehensive assessment, formulation, care planning, treatment and review of care in line with the relevant clinical guidelines and Trust policies.

Conduct risk assessment of the individual and of the potential hazards in the service users environment, and develop risk management plans in collaboration with service users, carers and other professionals and agencies involved in the person's care.

Attend multi-disciplinary meetings and contribute actively to team review and support of service users with eating disorders.

Conduct and oversee physical health care checks and act upon the findings.

Act as a key worker for allocated cases as required.

Offer therapeutic interventions for eating disorders within bounds of competency and training eg psychoeducation, motivational enhancement, person/client centred counselling as part of specialist supportive clinical management and CBT-informed approaches.

Provide psycho-social intervention, education and support to develop service users understanding of mental illness with aim to prevent relapse and admission.

Undertake, supervise and sign-off nursing needs assessments.

Be competent in use of relevant screening and assessment tools and supervise lower banded staff to undertake this function.

Administration

• Maintain clear records of all client work carried out in Trust client case notes. Maintain high standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording and report writing and responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of conduct and practice and Trust policies and procedures.
• Maintain a high level of written and verbal communication with multidisciplinary colleagues, GPs, service users, and carers.
• Use all Trust information systems as required and in a timely manner to enter patient data, activity data, and incident reporting.
• Use email and diaries, and any other systems in compliance with NHS information governance and local Trust requirements.

Management & Human Resources

Participate in the recruitment process for clinical staff as required.

Work closely with the Operational Manager and Clinical Lead with development and implementation of team operational policies.

Contribute to the induction and oversight of lower banded staff as delegated.

Professional Development

Complete mandatory training in line with the Trust Policy.

Participate in annual appraisal for own review and development.

Contribute to annual appraisals for lower banded staff where appropriate.

Attend and participate in own supervision in line with Trust policies.

Provide mentorship and supervision to lower banded staff as required.

Comply with CPD and practice hours requirements set out by Nursing Midwifery Council NMC.

Attend external and internal CPD events.

Attend Trust meetings / forums relevant to role.

Deliver training to other Trust staff in areas of expertise to raise awareness and confidence of working with disordered eating.

Performance and Quality

Participate in SI investigations, disciplinary and grievance procedures plus any relevant investigations in line with Trust policies.

• Take part in service development and review.
• Participate in audit and research.
• Comply with all performance and reporting requirements in line with Trust and national requirements and professional guidelines.

Financial and Physical Resources

• Responsible for the safe and secure use and storage of all Trust-supplied equipment, in line with Trust policies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse (RGN, RMN, RNLD).
• Post-qualification training in psychosocial interventions; Post-qualification training relevant to working with people with disordered eating; Dual qualified.

Experience

• Experience of working with people with Eating Disorders or in a similar setting.
• Experience in working with people with severe and enduring mental illness, including those presenting with high risk requiring assessment and management under the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act.
• Experience in acting as a care co-ordinator for a group of patients with severe and enduring mental illness.
• Experience in working in multidisciplinary mental health teams in the community.
• Experience of delivering structured psychosocial interventions.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge and skills in physical health monitoring.
• IT literate (including expertise in using Microsoft Office applications) to a good standard.
• A commitment to contributing to delivering anti-discriminatory and inclusive service; Ability to manage difficult situations sensitively by listening, showing tolerance, and remaining objective; Ability to identify barriers to change and develop strategies to overcome them;
• Skills in engaging positively with a wide range of people with respect for diversity and encouraging inclusion; Ability to create and maintain effective collaborative relationships within the Clinical team and with a range of professionals.
• A high standard of written and verbal communication skills to enable effective multidisciplinary and multi-agency working.
• Ability to manage competing tasks and prioritise workload effectively.
• Understanding of Eating Disorders including the associated physical and mental health risks.
• An Understanding of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act and Safeguarding requirements in relation to people presenting with Eating Disorders.

Travel / Other

• Access to a car to travel between sites in order to deliver services from various community bases across the county.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£37,338 to £44,962 a year Per Annum, Pro Rata