Staff Nurse - Critical Care Unit

Job summary

An excellent development opportunity has arisen for Registered Nurses to join the Critical Care Team.

The Critical Care Unit is located on Ward 4E, and is a purpose built department with state of the art facilities. The Unit is funded for 14 beds - 8 level 3 patients, and 6 level 2 patients.

The department is committed to the ongoing development of its service, in supporting improvement within its service provision. The professional development of our staff is important to us, with an established programme in place for new staff supported by the Practice Development Nurse.

The post holder should be committed to providing first class care to all patients, and are desired to have previous experience or knowledge of working within the Critical Care environment.

Please note, this vacancy may close early should a sufficient number of applications be received.

An Enhanced DBS with barred lists for both Adults & Children is required for this post.

Main duties of the job

• To provide/develop skills and competence in caring for critically ill patients requiring level 2 and 3 care
• Adhere to the trust 5-star patient care, nursing strategy and the values of 6 Cs
• Promote a safe working environment in accordance with risk management principles
• Liaise with senior medical staff to provide a high-quality service to critical care patients and their families
• Following completion of critical care competencies (18 months) supervise staff, identify their development needs and act as a mentor
• Provide advice and clinical practice in advanced support systems within the critical care environment
• Support staff in noncritical care areas as required
• Work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team and maximise the best use of resources

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Date posted: 14 April 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 5

Salary: £28,407 to £34,581 a year per annum (pro rata if part time)

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time

Reference number: 409-7074577

Job responsibilities

KEY DUTIES

• To provide/develop skills and competence in caring for critically ill patients requiring level 2 and 3 care
• Adhere to the trust 5-star patient care, nursing strategy and the values of 6 Cs
• Promote a safe working environment in accordance with risk management principles
• Liaise with senior medical staff to provide a high-quality service to critical care patients and their families
• Following completion of critical care competencies (18 months) supervise staff, identify their development needs and act as a mentor
• Provide advice and clinical practice in advanced support systems within the critical care environment
• Support staff in noncritical care areas as required
• Work collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team and maximise the best use of resources

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain Professional Registration
• Adhere to NMC Code of Conduct
• Provide/develop the skills in caring for critically ill patients requiring level 2 and 3 care.
• Ensure patient records are maintained and documentation reflects care that is given.
• Involve patients/carers/relatives in the planning and delivery of services within critical care.
• Promote and maintain effective communication, delivering sensitive/unpleasant/complex information in a caring compassionate manner.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations.
• Liaise with the medical and multidisciplinary team to ensure a high-quality service for critically ill patients and their families
• Following completion of critical care competencies supervise staff identifying their development needs and act as a mentor.
• Provide advice and clinical practice in advanced system support within the critical care environment.
• Independently/under supervision perform comprehensive assessments of critically ill patients. Plan, implement and evaluate care delivery according to changing health needs and varying levels of complexity.
• Undertake/develop skills to undertake specialist nursing care in accordance with the Scope of Professional Practice
• Administration of intravenous drugs and titration of inotropic support
• Setting of ventilator parameters to optimise ventilation or weaning, including safe delivery of advanced respiratory support IPPV, HFOV, BIPAP/CPAP
• Rotational therapy / proning
• Actively record and interpret observations, including performing blood gas analysis in accordance to patient condition and respond appropriately
• Effectively monitor haemodynamically, both non-invasive and invasive performing and analysing cardiac output calculations
• Renal replacement therapy including setting up / implementation / monitoring and completion of haemodialysis / haemofiltration / plasmapheresis.
• Ensure that equipment is in safe working order and complies with the Health and Safety at Work Act / HE1 98

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensure accurate documentation in assessment, planning, implementation and evaluating care of critically ill patients.
• Ensure completion of key patient electronic systems ie.CIS, ADT, e-discharge, e-VTE
• Ensure compliance with policies, procedures and clinical guidelines for self and others.
• Report untoward incidents in accordance with trust policy and the datix system.
• Respond in accordance with trust guidelines to patient and relatives complaints

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Following completion of critical care competencies (18 months) supervise staff identifying their development needs and act as a mentor.
• Attend trust induction and mandatory training.
• Promote an effective learning environment.
• Clinically support staff in achieving their work-based competencies.
• Act as a mentor / preceptor to nursing staff.
• In the role of mentor / preceptor, review staff performance and address issues of poor performance / competence.
• Continue to develop own knowledge through training, education and professional updates.
• Provide advice and clinical practice in advanced systems within the critical care environment

LINE MANAGEMENT/SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as an effective role model and demonstrate leadership skills.
• Report any untoward incident/complaint/concern liaising with the lead nurse as appropriate.
• Create a climate conducive to the practice of high standards of care. Ensure that the safety and care of patients, visitors and staff is a priority.
• Represent critical care in external/internal meetings as required

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Ensure effective and efficient use of both physical and financial resources

RESEARCH & AUDIT

• Participate in activities that lead to service improvement, through benchmarking, audit or research.
• Encourage the use of new nursing techniques that are based on current evidence.
• Assist in research projects in conjunction with Lead Nurse / Clinical Director and research nurses.

Person Specification

Qualifications Essential

• Registered Nurse with current NMC Registration
• IV Drug Administration Certificate or Competencies

Desirable

• Post-Registration Qualification in Critical Care
• Teaching & Assessing/Mentoring Qualification, or equivalent
• Management & Leadership Qualification
• ALS/ILS Qualification

Knowledge & Experience Essential

• Knowledge of Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Procedures
• Knowledge of clinical skills required to undertake the role
• Knowledge of current professional and clinical issues
• Knowledge and understanding of how audit may influence quality of patient care
• Evidence of quality improvement in patient care
• Substantial post registration experience in an Acute Hospital

Desirable

• Experience in Critical Care Nursing

Skills Essential

• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent record management and organisational skills
• Excellent time management and prioritising skills
• Ability to negotiate and demonstrate a sound problem solving approach to work issues

Other Essential

• Flexible in working pattern

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address:

Whiston Hospital

Warrington Road

Prescot

L35 5DR

Employer's website: https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)