Senior Surgical Care Practitioner

Job overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic, knowledgeable and motivated Clinical Nurse Specialist to join the Nursing team for the South East London Breast Screening Service.

The post holder will provide excellent clinical skills and work in partnership with the Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist to develop and implement a clinical strategy for staff development, recruitment and retention that is in line with the overall Trust strategy.

To help you succeed you will have the support of the Lead CNS.

This is an exciting and demanding role therefore we are seeking a very well organised, energetic and self-motivated person who is able to manage their own time and workload. You must have current professional registration and recent relevant clinical experience. You will be required to demonstrate excellent Clinical, Professional, communication, IT / data analytical, and persuading / influencing skills.

Main duties of the job

To deliver a high quality specialist nursing service for clients within the South East London (SEL) Breast Screening Service.

• As a core member of the MDT, attend meetings and work collaboratively with the service providers both from the breast screening service and the wider treatment service teams across SEL.
• Ensure all patients are supported throughout the diagnostic process, receiving personalised nursing care, appropriate information and psychological support delivered in a sensitive manner.
• Support the Lead CNS within Breast Screening, demonstrating a supportive and flexible approach and a proactive and responsible attitude in order to promote confidence in the team and the service.
• Contribute to work with the Lead CNS for the strategic development of Breast Radiology and the National Breast Screening Programme.
• Provide professional and clinical expertise in the speciality of Breast Care Nursing within Breast Screening and to act as a resource for education and clinical expertise in both hospital and community settings.
• Work with the Lead CNS for setting and monitoring standards of care and to be responsible for a high quality patient experience through the Breast Screening trajectory.
• Take part in staff training, development of junior colleagues with staff appraisals and recruitment.
• With the Lead CNS explore current practice, identifying areas for development, and plan any appropriate changes using research and experience to evaluate the outcomes.

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. Transforming Healthcare is the vision at the heart of the King’s Strategy – 2026 to 2031. Together, we are pursuing six strategic ambitions: delivering high-quality patient care; being a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.  Achieving these ambitions will require all of us to work as one Team King’s, united by a shared commitment to our values of being caring, collaborative, inclusive and innovative. By living these values every day, we will transform healthcare for our patients, our communities and each other

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a continuing supportive service to both outpatients and inpatients ensuring optimum care to all patient attending breast radiology and have or fear they may have breast cancer.

To be responsible for ensuring that each woman, throughout the screening process, receives the personal individualised care, information and psychological support in a sensitive and timely manner.

To have a broad knowledge of the overall function of the National Breast Screening programme, to have an understanding of its processes and procedures and the quality assurance aspects of the programme.  

To be expert in understanding and explaining breast radiology terminology and how this relates to the diagnosis of breast disease.

To be competent in discussing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment options including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and endocrine treatments.

To assess and identify each patients need for information and support whilst undergoing a breast cancer diagnosis.  

To provide treatment teams with an appropriate nurse referral, highlighting relevant patient issues in order to maintain continuity of care from breast screening to treatment.

To work in close liaison with multidisciplinary teams in the hospital and community and act as a key worker or resource where appropriate.

To recognise those patients with complex needs and refer to other agencies or counselling services as appropriate.  

To support women through their treatment decision process and to act as patient advocate when appropriate, respecting patient confidentiality privacy. 

To communicate effectively with patients and families to assess needs and provide relevant support, information, education and advice where and when necessary.

To act as a point of contact for patients recalled following screening, pre and post assessment and during transfer to treating centres. 

To advise clients with a family history of breast cancer how to access risk assessment and genetic services.  

To assess, manage and advise on biopsy site care.

To support and take part in health promotion activities specifically relevant to breast screening and breast health. 

To contact women who have not attended appointments (DNA’d) and to sensitively encourage them to attend taking into account, patient understanding, cultural beliefs and family and work commitments.

To maintain an overview of the standards of care being delivered across breast radiology and instigate remedial action if necessary.

To work within the breast screening nursing service assessing the clinical skills required to deliver a safe and high quality service, identifying any deficits in this and developing programmes to address these issues. 

To act as a resource for junior staff. To guide and support developmental projects and advise on further resources inside and outside the trust as appropriate.

To provide advice as required both internally and externally. 

To act as a coach/ mentor for relevant members of staff.

To maintain a high clinical profile through multidisciplinary discussions on best approaches to patient issues. 

To partake in infection control initiatives, ensuring that all staff within the unit comply with Trust and NHS policies.

To oversee the day to day running of the symptomatic and screening assessment clinics coordinating with the administration team, reception and Health Care Assistants (HCA’s), ensuring all clinic rooms are covered.

To actively liaise with the lead consultant radiologist with regard to the very high risk screening pathways and processes and family history screening and genetics services.

To be aware of the processes for Disclosure of Audit and provide advice and support to patients as required.

To assist the Lead CNS to maintain and develop any nurse led clinics ensuring that staff are appropriately trained and supported.

To partake in the review and update of patient information leaflets that are used in the service.

Education and Training
To promote the development of the educational environment by actively contributing to the educational development of all qualified and unqualified staff. 

To contribute to the overall knowledge of breast screening through involvement in teaching and education, particularly in relation to psychological care and information giving.

To contribute to the development of the nursing team in training of band 6 CNSs and Health Care Assistants. 

To promote the development of an evidence-based approach to clinical care.

To support, initiate and participate in appropriate nursing research.

To support representation at local, national and international conferences.

To develop a culture of empowerment for staff to be accountable for their practice through professional education.

To promote and undertake where appropriate nursing research, write up and publish outcomes in a reputable journal, updating own knowledge to promote excellence in clinical practice.

To participate in and be aware of clinical trials for patients within breast screening, including study specific protocols and treatment plans.

Research and Service Development

To support the Lead CNS on any service developments required by the role and service changes.

To work with the Lead CNS to inform and influence local management teams so that the breast screening service responds to regional and national initiatives.

To work collaboratively with the Lead CNS to ensure there is service alignment, where appropriate, and optimise patient pathway through clinical areas.

Governance / Quality Control
To actively participate in benchmarking and quality audits including patient experience surveys, ensuring that staff receive feedback on the results, and to implement action as directed by the Lead CNS. 

To participate in the review of adverse incidents with investigations as required from the Lead CNS. 

To participate on the delivery of both work instruction and MEG audits relevant to nursing and practice within the department. 

People Management and Performance 
Participate with the Lead CNS to coach and manage the performance of the team in line with good people management practices. Ensuring excellence is recognised and underperformance is addressed.

Participate in regular performance appraisal meetings and ensure staff members have a clear set of objectives and development plans.

Participate with the Lead CNS to ensure the team is compliance with all statutory, mandatory training together with any professional training requirements, ensuring they are up to date and fully compliant.

To support the Lead CNS in the management of team absences including sickness in line with Trust policy ensuring the appropriate return to work meetings occur, e-roster is updated and productivity is at keep to the highest possible level.

To participate with the recruitment of any vacancies that arise within the team in line with the Trust’s recruitment policy and process.

To assist the Lead CNS to ensure the overall wellbeing of the team is maintained. Continuously support in improving the morale of the team and implementing a culture of zero-tolerance for bullying and harassment.

General
The post holder has a general duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues, visitors and patients within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post.

To observe the rules, policies, procedures and standards of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust together with all relevant statutory and professional obligations.

We want to be an organisation where everyone shares a commitment to delivering the very best care and feels like their contribution is valuable and valued.

At King’s we are a kind, respectful team:
Kind. We show compassion and understanding and bring a positive attitude to our work
Respectful. We promote equality, are inclusive and honest, speaking up when needed
Team. We support each other, communicate openly, and are reassuringly professional

To observe and maintain strict confidentiality of personal information relating to patients and staff. 

To be responsible, with management support, for their own personal development and to actively contribute to the development of colleagues.

This job description is intended as a guide to the general scope of duties and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder.

All employees must hold an 'nhs.net' email account which will be the Trust's formal route for email communication. 

Everyone is responsible for promoting inclusion no matter their role or team. At King’s, we want to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected and welcomed

S afe Guarding 
The Trust takes the issues of Safeguarding Children, Adults and addressing Domestic Abuse very seriously. 
All employees have a responsibility to support the organisation in our duties by;
- attending mandatory training on safeguarding children and adults
- familiarising themselves with the Trust's processes for reporting concerns
- reporting any safeguarding child or adult concerns appropriately

Infection Control Statement

The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene procedures and requirements when in clinical areas.

The post holder has an important responsibility for and contribution to make to infection control and must be familiar with the infection control and hygiene requirements of this role.

These requirements are set out in the National Code of Practice on Infection Control and in local policies and procedures which will be made clear during your induction and subsequent refresher training. These 
standards must be strictly complied with at all times

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NMC Registered Nurse
• UK recognised degree in nursing/equivalent
• Post registration qualification in breast cancer/breast care

Desirable criteria

• Advanced Communication Skills Course

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• In-depth knowledge of the National Breast Screening Programme, discipline roles and expectations within breast screening
• Proven experience and ability to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate individualised and evidence-based nursing care to screening patients and patients diagnosed with breast cancer
• Proven advanced theoretical and practical knowledge of breast cancer diagnostic and treatment pathways

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust’s criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

AI tools like chatbots and virtual assistants can support you as you complete your application. For example, they can check for spelling or grammar errors, or help you to decide what to include. They shouldn’t however replace your own responses or be used to write the application for you.

Relying too much on AI can negatively impact your chances of success because automatically generated answers:

• might not be specific or relevant enough to address the criteria in the recruitment profile
• often seem generic and not personalised enough – an AI response won’t show your unique voice and perspective
• could misrepresent information about you, such as your qualifications, skills and experience 

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.

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King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.