Nursing Associate - Pre Operative Assessment Unit

Job summary
We are a busy pre-operative assessment department, assessing patients' fitness for elective surgery. We are looking for an enthusiastic Band 4 nursing associate to join our team.

The post holder will be be responsible for delivering high quality, patient centered, compassionate care under the direction of a Registered Nurse (or other registered care professional dependent on setting) with a focus on promoting health and independence. They will be an accountable professional and have the ability to work without direct supervision, at times delivering care independently in line with the individual's defined plan of care, within the parameters of practice of the Nursing Associate role, accessing clinical and care advice when needed.

Main duties of the job
Perform and record clinical observations including blood pressure, temperature, respirations, pulse, BMI & MUST scoring.

Be prepared to undertake additional skills such as venepuncture and ECG training.

Assess patients according to the pre-op elective surgical pathway and be able to escalate concerns effectively & appropriately.

About us
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.

Job responsibilities

• Take responsibility for the delivery of care to a group of patients ie within pre-op clinic or worklists in the hub.
• Undertake and interpret a range of patient observations as required in clinical area e.g. temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, blood glucose, body mass index, oxygen saturation levels, VTE risk assessment & ECG.
• Escalate any concerns swiftly to the nurse in charge of the patient, as well as involving other professionals such as pharmacist, anaesthetist and specialist nurses.
• Obtain requested specimens and ensure transportation to appropriate department.
• Order pre-operative bloods/investigations according to patient history & consideration of planned surgery to be undertaken. Document results of blood tests demonstrating a basic understanding of normal and altered values, reporting adverse results in accordance with the Trusts escalation policy.
• Assist with basic and where agreed intermediate cardio-pulmonary resuscitation procedures
• Associate cannot administer intravenous medications; this must be performed by the Registered Practitioner.
• Performs administration of medications within a defined scope of practice and a defined exclusion criteria and the administration must be supported with a valid prescription.
• Undertake a range of procedures relevant to area of work e.g. venepuncture, pregnancy testing, supervised practice and formal assessment of competency.
• Refer appropriately patients to other departments as required eg SDEC or A&E. Utilising IT systems such as IPM and NerveCentre when transferring patients to theatre.
• Provide and promote health education specific to the clinical area and in line with local and national. Actively participate in optimising patients for surgery

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Foundation Level Degree: Nursing Associate Qualification
• NMC Registered Nursing Associate
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• Essential induction training and experience

Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• Be able to demonstrate ability to work in the area for which an application is made
• Good experience of working in a team
• Experience of with the public demonstrating good customer care skills
• Experience of health coaching and promoting independent living
• Insight into how to evaluate own strengths and development needs, seeking advice where appropriate
• Understanding of the scope of the role of the Nursing Associate in context of the team and the organisation, and how the role may contribute to service development
• Knowledge of when to seek advice and refer to a registered care professional
• Understanding of the importance of the promotion of health and wellbeing (Making Every Contact Count)
• Awareness of own limitations.

Desirable

• Previous experience of working within an Acute health / care setting
• Evidence of involvement in support / development of less experienced staff
• Understanding of evidence based practice
• Understanding of basic physiology, e.g. normal vital signs, fluid balance, nutritional requirements etc.
• Evidence of recent work-based learning or self-directed learning

Communication Skills
Essential

• Able to communicate clearly and effectively, both written and verbal
• Good interpersonal skills

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Ability to work effectively as a team player under appropriate supervision, and as part of a multi-disciplinary team

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

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