Senior Night Nurse (Inpatient Unit)

Job summary
Help us make a difference to people with life-limiting illnesses...

At The Myton Hospices, we provide specialist care and support for people with life-limiting illnesses, and their loved ones, from the point of diagnosis to end of life. We are a much-loved and well supported charity, at the heart of our community. We have three hospices, a range of community services, & 26 charity shops in Coventry and Warwickshire.

We are seeking an experienced & motivated Senior Staff Nurse to provide clinical leadership & operational support across our inpatient services during night shifts.

This is a key leadership role where you will act as a visible and accessible point of contact for night staff, ensuring high standards of patient care, supporting colleagues with complex clinical situations, & coordinating resources across both inpatient units.

Full time & part time hours are available.

We are committed to building an inclusive workplace & encourage everyone to bring their true selves to work. However you identify, & whatever background you bring with you, we welcome you to apply. If there are any adjustments that would help improve your experience with Myton, we encourage you to share this with us.

We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities & from ethnic minorities, who are currently under-represented in our hospices. We also believe our interview process should be inclusive & transparent. If there is anything missing, or a way we can improve, please do let us know.

Main duties of the job
Our Senior Night Nurses:

• Are clinically based on the inpatient unit with the highest level of complexity, patient acuity, dependency needs, or staffing pressures.
• Provide leadership, advice, guidance, and hands-on support to nursing and care staff working night shifts.
• Act as the primary point of contact for night staff requiring clinical or operational support.
• Assist with the management of complex patient care issues and challenging situations as they arise.
• Support and coordinate out-of-hours escalations, liaising with the Senior Nurse and Doctor On-Call when required.
• Promote safe, effective, and person-centred care throughout the night.
• Respond flexibly to changing service needs and priorities across both inpatient units as they may arise.

This is a nursing role, providing adult healthcare, so it will require an enhanced DBS check, including the adults barred list. We will cover the cost of this check.

This role involves working at both the Warwick and Coventry inpatient units. You must therefore be able to travel to both sites.

About us
Myton is an amazing place to work, where the role every person plays has a positive impact for our patients, living with terminal illnesses, and their families. In recognition of this, we offer a wide range of benefits including:

• NHS pension
• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays, increasing with long service
• Additional leave purchasing
• Free parking at our hospice sites
• Winter savings club
• Discount schemes including Blue Light Card
• Dedicated staff wellbeing team & mental health first aiders
• Colleague Support Service: confidential financial, legal & mental health support
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free on-site flu jabs
• Free feminine hygiene products
• 24/7 GP access
• Free eye tests
• #DoingOurBit online fitness and wellbeing platform

We now share interview questions with all candidates in advance, to help reduce nerves and enable you to truly show your best abilities. You are also welcome to bring any notes with you to your interview, if you would find this helpful.

Job responsibilities
Summary of the role:

• Working across both Inpatient Units, with a main base in Coventry, deploying at short notice to the Warwick inpatient unit, where staffing shortages and/or increase in patient acuity may arise. As an unassigned nurse (float), coordinate clinical activity across both inpatient units, providing expert support, advice and guidance to staff, and attending either unit as required to ensure safe, effective and responsive care delivery at night.
• To coordinate the assessment, planning and evaluation of individualised patient centred care. Facilitating a holistic approach; that is sensitive and responsive to the ever-changing needs of both patients and their carer. Providing clinical leadership in the absence of the Inpatient Unit Manager/Deputy ensuring an evidence-based approach is promoted at all times within a multidisciplinary team framework.
• Practice an approach that facilitates and fosters learning for students, junior staff and those on placement to Myton. Sharing expertise appropriately and supporting each learner to achieve their learning needs.

Myton Core Values:
Our Core Values underpin everything we do and all employees are expected to comply with our Values and reflect these in their day-to-day work.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:
1. Leadership and Management:

• Be clinically based on the inpatient unit with the highest level of patient acuity, complexity, dependency needs, or staffing pressures, ensuring visible clinical leadership and hands on support where it is most needed.
• Provide leadership, advice, guidance and hands-on clinical support to nursing and care staff working across both inpatient units during night shifts.
• Act as the primary point of contact for night staff requiring clinical, professional or operational support, promoting effective decision-making and problem-solving.
• Support the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of complex patient care, providing expert guidance in challenging clinical situations as they arise.
• Coordinate and manage out-of-hours clinical and operational escalations, liaising appropriately with the Senior Nurse and Doctor On-Call to ensure timely and effective responses.
• Promote and uphold safe, effective, evidence-based and person-centred care throughout the night.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration across both inpatient units, attending either unit as required to provide support, advice and clinical leadership.
• Support staff wellbeing, development and confidence by acting as a role model, mentor and resource for colleagues working overnight.
• Supporting patient flow, where appropriate, for example, emergency admissions/out of hours admission coordination, support teams to complete relevant discharge paperwork in order to support timely discharges.
• Monitoring and responding to deteriorating patients in line with their ceiling of care.
• Identifying and escalating risks relating to staffing, patient safety or service delivery.
• Supporting learning, development and reflective practice amongst night staff.
• Recognise patients, families and carers as partners in the care team. Promoting a person centred approach and working collaboratively with all members of the wider multi-disciplinary team.
• Promote a multi-disciplinary approach to care delivery which may include participating in MDT meetings, proactively preparing and presenting clinical information at handover, MDTs, case reviews etc.
• Participate in group reflective practice to support the professional and personal wellbeing and development of the team.
• Participate in the process of recruitment, induction and retention of staff and volunteers.
• Provide emotional / spiritual support to patients and families throughout the disease and dying trajectory, providing, and receiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
• Take responsibility for the Ward on a shift basis including the supervision of junior staff and students.
• Support the Unit Manager and Deputy in supporting the volunteers on the Ward ensuring effective communication is established and maintained.
• Work collaboratively with nursing and care teams and have a proactive approach in facilitating discharge and ensure that standards of discharge are implemented and maintained in liaison with the discharge co-ordinator.

2. Quality, Safety and Governance:

• Uphold and ensure compliance with the organisation's policies and procedures; ensuring all volunteers are clear in relation to their roles and responsibilities for Health and Safety, Infection prevention and control, Safeguarding Adults & Children, Data protection and other relevant policies.
• Utilise a range of communication skills to instruct, inform and negotiate in order to achieve active patient participation in their treatment programme; respecting their dignity, wishes and beliefs throughout all interventions.
• Take an active role in risk assessment, supporting implementation of strategies to minimise risk. Ensuring incidents and clinical adverse events and near misses are reported and assist in the the investigation at clinical level through promotion of a no blame culture.
• Provide out of hours telephone support and advice for patients, relatives and external healthcare professionals regarding symptom control and psychological care and advice when required within sphere of responsibility and contact on-call Medical Consultant as appropriate.
• Verify death of patients, perform last offices, provide bereavement support for families and transfer deceased patients to the mortuary whilst ensuring the philosophy of the hospice is respected and maintained.
• Participate in clinical audit as required by the organisational requirements and the Clinical Governance agenda.
• Work in partnership with colleagues internally and externally to ensure that all information pertaining to the patients condition and care needs are communicated effectively and efficiently.
• Ensure that documentation is completed accurately and legibly in accordance with the organisation's information governance guidance and confidentiality is maintained using Caldecott Guidelines.
• Support a culture where the reporting of concerns, incidents and complaints are encouraged and documented promptly.

3. Training and Education:

• Support and participate in informal and formal programmes of education as required.
• Be responsible for own continued professional development, maintaining up to date evidence-based knowledge including an awareness of the national and local influences affecting palliative and end of life care.
• Ensure own compliance with mandatory training and professional development requirements, maintaining records of training and development undertaken for self in preparation for NMC revalidation.

General Responsibilities & Obligations of all Employees:

• Policies and Procedures: The post holder is required to have a good understanding of, and to comply with, all relevant Myton policies, procedures and guidelines. Any contravention of Myton policies or procedures may result in disciplinary action.
• Volunteers: Myton recognises the valuable contribution that volunteers make and we expect all employees to be able to support and work effectively with our volunteers.
• Confidentiality and Data protection: It is a requirement of employment with Myton that all staff must comply with the obligation of confidentiality relating to personal information that could identify individuals. The Data Protection Act 1974/1998 safeguards the handling of information held in both electronic and manual filing systems and it is the duty of all staff employed by Myton to uphold the principles of the Act, adhere to Myton policies and to maintain strict confidentiality at all times.
• Infection Control: All employees of Myton must be aware of infection prevention and control policies and are expected to follow them at all times. Any breach of infection control policies which places patients, visitors or colleagues at risk may result in disciplinary action.
• Equality & Diversity: The post-holder must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities in line with Mytons Equality & Diversity Policy.
• Health & Safety: Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed upon them under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, to ensure the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe working environment for patients, visitors & colleagues. The post holder is required to conform with Mytons policies on Health & Safety and Fire Prevention, & to attend related training as required.
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Children: Its the duty of all staff working for Myton to safeguard children and vulnerable adults and undertake safeguarding training at an appropriate level.
• Code of Conduct: Employees are required to represent Myton in a positive light and embody the corporate identity in appearance, demeanour, values and ethics.
• Review of Job Description: This job description is an outline of the key duties and responsibilities of the role and is not intended as an exhaustive list. The job description may change over time to reflect the changing needs of the service. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties that could reasonably be considered commensurate with the post. This job description is subject to periodic review and may be changed/updated following consultation with the postholder(s).

Person Specification
Other
Essential

• Flexible working hours
• Commitment to the Myton values
• Ability to work alone and as a member of a team
• Good IT skills
• Occupational Health Clearance
• Ability to travel between sites
• The right to work in the UK (we cannot provide sponsorship)

Accountability for Staff & Volunteers
Essential

• Experience of appraising and supporting junior staff members

Desirable

• Experience of working with volunteers

Skills and Attributes
Essential

• Demonstrates ability to place patient and family at centre of care
• Excellent personal and communication skills
• Teaching and assessing skills
• Excellent organisational ability
• Motivated and enthusiastic
• Creative, resourceful and imaginative
• Excellent role model
• Familiarity of systems for quality, clinical governance and clinical audit

Qualifications
Essential

• Registered Nurse (Adult) degree or diploma level
• Current NMC registration
• Evidence of continual professional development and education

Desirable

• Specialist Qualification in Palliative Care
• Relevant specialist course, e.g. Palliative care / advanced communications.

Experience
Essential

• Significant post registration experience
• Experience of needs assessment / care planning
• Experience of Multi-disciplinary Team working
• Caring for patients at the end of life
• Experience of caring for patients and families with life limiting / life threatening conditions
• Good knowledge of assessment and symptom management

Desirable

• Experience caring for patients with complex health needs
• Experience working in palliative care setting

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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.