Senior Nursing Assistant-Enhanced Care Team

Senior Nursing Assistant-Enhanced Care Team

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Would you like to be part of a team that supports mental health patients or those experiencing psychological distress at St Thomas' hospital?

We are seeking confident, caring, compassionate, responsive and recovery-focused individuals with excellent communication skills to provide care and support to patients identified as needing therapeutic engagement and observation in our emergency department and across the hospital wards.

You will be required to demonstrate the ability to act calmly in challenging situations and form positive therapeutic relationships with patients. In return, you will be supported daily by experienced senior mental health nurses and you will have the opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge through in-house training, regular supervision, and reflective sessions.

You will also have the opportunity to further develop nursing skills in managing both the physical and mental health care of patients with an understanding of the interface between the two.

If you have applied or interviewed for this post in the last 3 months and not been successful, your application will not be considered.

Closing Date: 24th November 2024 at Midnight

Interview Date: 4th December 2024

Main duties of the job

The Mental Health Enhanced Care Team provides therapeutic interventions towards maintaining safety, reducing agitation, distress, promoting mental health wellbeing and recovery for patients identified as having a mental health support need while awaiting treatment/assessment or transfer to mental health services.

Our criteria for enhanced care involvement includes persons with acute mental illness, experiencing psychological distress, drug/alcohol intoxication, acute confusion likely to wander/abscond and deemed at risk of harm to themselves or others.

The role of the enhanced care nursing assistants involves working under the direction of a registered professional to participate in the development and maintenance of high-quality patient care:

1. Providing 1:1 engagement and observation to therapeutic engagement with patients.
2. Providing activities where appropriate.
3. Supporting with personal care needs.
4. Clinical observations.
5. Continually assessing needs/risks and communicating these to relevant other members of the multidisciplinary team in accordance with the mental health care plan and least restrictive principles.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best-known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high-quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK's busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - we are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Duties

1. To therapeutically engage with patients who have a mental health condition or are experiencing psychological distress.
2. To always deliver care in accordance with the principles of least restriction and in line with national guidance including NICE guidelines for managing disturbed behaviour.
3. To understand continuous risk assessment of the patient and escalate any increase in risk.
4. To identify when patients are experiencing anxiety/distress and therapeutically engage with them to alleviate these symptoms.
5. To identify escalation of risk and actively de-escalate the situation.
6. To undertake therapeutic activities with the patient that are appropriate to their presentation.
7. To identify an issue that prevents the therapeutic engagement of the patient.
8. Provide excellent customer care skills to ensure patients come first.
9. Undertake a range of delegated clinical care duties to deliver agreed plans of care, acting on own initiative.
10. To ensure that patients receive high-quality clinical care and a good patient experience, having regard for their customs, religious beliefs and doctrines.
11. Recognise and avoid situations that may be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the individuals.
12. To act as an advocate for patients within the department, to ensure a patient-oriented approach to the delivery of care and to meet standards within the NHS Plan and other relevant guidelines.
13. Provides support and assistance to professionals in the implementation of plans of care for individual patients.
14. Assist with fluid and dietary needs of patients including completion of menu cards and recording intake and output of fluids and solids.
15. As directed to collect specimens from patients and to record routine observations of weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respiratory rate. Report any abnormalities and concerns to a Registered Nurse.
16. Recognise when patients are in pain and discomfort and report to nurse in charge.
17. Under the direction of trained staff maintain and develop own skills including:

• Monitoring and recording of vital signs to include blood pressure.
• Simple, aseptic dressings including removal of sutures, clips and venflons.
• Monitoring and recording of blood glucose levels.

Please see attached job description for full details.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Evidence of general education e.g. GCSE's or equivalent.
• NVQ III in Health care or equivalent qualification in the area of speciality (e.g. Operating Dept. Practice for posts in Theatre).
• Training in safe physical interventions / restraint/ Breakaway (for example PMVA, PSTS, PPI).

Experience

• Previous experience of working with patients that present a risk to themselves or others.
• Substantive experience working with patients who have mental health conditions.
• Experience of working with people with serious and enduring mental health problems.
• Customer care experience.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of different mental health presentations.
• Understanding of the requirements of patient confidentiality.
• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act / Mental Capacity Act.

Skills

• Proven ability to work within a team as well as on own initiative.
• Proven ability to understand and comply with detailed procedures.
• Demonstrate ability to manage priorities under pressure.

Values & Behaviours

• Demonstrates Trust Values and Behaviours.

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.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust