Respiratory Specialist Practice Nurse

Job summary
Would you like to join our friendly and resolute team of clinicians and non-clinicians at a large NHS general practice based in Slough, Berkshire?

We are looking for a motivated enthusiastic, and hard-working Respiratory Specialist Practice Nurse to join our team. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, as well as the opportunity to work in a supportive and collaborative environment, with a diverse committed workforce from different ethnic backgrounds ensuring the quality of our services to our patients are to a high standard.

You will be part of nursing team providing expert autonomous nursing care within the practice with a specialist focus on respiratory disease to its patients through primary care. This will include leading the delivery of structured asthma reviews and the provision and interpretation of diagnostic and monitoring spirometry for patients with COPD and other respiratory conditions. You would be based at Farnham Road Practice but would be expected to travel to our other sites within Slough, to be involved in the wider running of the practice, such as contributing to the wider nursing service, working as part of the multidisciplinary team to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care and to support the practices long-term condition, QOF, and IFF respiratory objectives.

Main duties of the job

• Lead and deliver structured annual and interim asthma reviews for adults and children, in line with current national guidance (NICE, BTS SIGH and GINA), including assessment of symptom control, adherence and trigger management.
• Assess asthma control using validate tools (e.g., the Asthma Control Test or RCP three questions), risk-stratify patients, and adjust treatment up or down in accordance with current guidance and within own scope of competence.
• Plan, perform and interpret quality-assured diagnostic and monitoring spirometry (including bronchodilator reversibility testing where indicated) to support the diagnosis and ongoing monitoring of COPD, to ARTP / national spirometry quality-assurance standards.
• Interpret spirometry results in the clinical context, distinguishing obstructive from restrictive patterns, and formulate and agree appropriate management plans; recognise abnormal or borderline results requiring onward referral or GP review.
• Deliver structured COPD reviews, including symptom and exacerbation-risk assessment (e.g. MRC dyspnoea scale / CAT score), optimisation of inhaled and other therapies, and rescue-pack and self-management planning.
• Maintain accurate respiratory disease registers and support call and recall, ensuring timely and complete SNOMED CT coding of reviews, spirometry, diagnoses and QOF / IIF-relevant data on EMIS Web.

About us
Farnham Road Medical Group (FRMG) is an outstanding group of training GP practices that are approved by Health Education England. With four clinical sites based in Slough, we now have a team of over 100 people looking after 38,730 patients. The practice is committed to innovation in providing high-quality health care for our patients and a protected working and learning environment for our staff. Our team includes pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants, paramedics, MSK practitioners, Mental Health Practitioners, managers, social prescribers, and care coordinators as well as GPs and a large Patient Services team. This resolute team provides an evolving healthcare and medical service to meet the varying needs of our patients and, in turn, provides what we believe is a sustainable model of modern General Practice. We have expanded our expertise and have transformed how we provide medical services to try to ensure we meet the demands of Sloughs diverse population.

Our vision is simple: Looking after our staff to Put Patients First and providing services that tailor to their needs, which we strive to achieve through brilliant leadership, mentoring, teamwork, communication, problem sharing and solving, support, integrity, fun, training, education, and continued development.

Job responsibilities

• Lead and deliver structured annual and interim asthma reviews for adults and children, in line with current national guidance (NICE, BTS SIGN and GINA), including assessment of symptom control, adherence and trigger management.
• Assess and optimise inhaler technique, agree personalised asthma action plans with patients, and provide self-management education and support.
• Assess asthma control using validated tools (e.g. the Asthma Control Test or RCP three questions), risk-stratify patients, and adjust treatment up or down in accordance with current guidance and within own scope of competence.
• Plan, perform and interpret quality-assured diagnostic and monitoring spirometry (including bronchodilator reversibility testing where indicated) to support the diagnosis and ongoing monitoring of COPD, to ARTP / national spirometry quality-assurance standards.
• Interpret spirometry results in the clinical context, distinguishing obstructive from restrictive patterns, and formulate and agree appropriate management plans; recognise abnormal or borderline results requiring onward referral or GP review.
• Deliver structured COPD reviews, including symptom and exacerbation-risk assessment (e.g. MRC dyspnoea scale / CAT score), optimisation of inhaled and other therapies, and rescue-pack and self-management planning.
• Undertake FeNO testing to support asthma diagnosis and monitoring, where available and within competence.
• Provide brief smoking cessation advice and onward referral, and promote referral to pulmonary rehabilitation where clinically indicated.
• Recognise and manage acute respiratory presentations and exacerbations, initiating appropriate treatment and escalation as required.
• Maintain accurate respiratory disease registers and support call and recall, ensuring timely and complete SNOMED CT coding of reviews, spirometry, diagnoses and QOF / IIF-relevant data on EMIS Web.
• Contribute to the practices performance against the QOF respiratory domains and to related audit and quality-improvement activity.
• Assess, plan, develop, implement and evaluate programmes to promote health and well-being, and prevent adverse effects on health and well-being.
• Implement and evaluate individual treatment plans for patients with a known long-term condition.
• Identify, and manage as appropriate, treatment plans for patients at risk of developing a long-term condition.
• Assess and care for patients presenting with leg ulceration and general wound care.
• Support and advise women requesting information relating to contraception and sexual health issues.
• Support and manage the health needs of women presenting for cervical cytology consultations.
• Implement and participate in vaccination and immunisation programmes for both adults and children.
• Promote and deliver evidence-based care for patients presenting with aural conditions.
• Undertake minor ailment clinics or triage.
• Assist in the supervision and support of health checks.
• Prioritise health problems and intervene appropriately to assist the patient in complex, urgent or emergency situations, including initiation of effective emergency care.
• Provide information and advice on prescribed or over-the-counter medication, including medication regimens, side effects and interactions.
• Support patients to adopt health promotion strategies that encourage them to live healthily, and apply the principles of self-care.
• Awareness of and compliance with all relevant practice policies and guidelines.
• Reporting of significant events.
• Contributing to evaluation, audit and clinical standard setting within the organisation.
• Contributing to the development of computer-based patient records on EMIS Web.
• Contributing to the summarising of patient records and SNOMED CT coding of patient data.
• Participating in regular staff training sessions to ensure development of skills and knowledge; assessing own learning needs and undertaking learning as appropriate.
• Participating in clinical, multidisciplinary and whole-team meetings.
• Observing and complying with all appropriate statutory requirements in relation to child and adult safeguarding, and being familiar with the reporting process should this be required.
• Contributing to policy development and the implementation of procedures and guidelines in relation to their own area of work.
• Attending any protected learning time sessions provided for the practice or by the practice itself.
• Attending training where appropriate.
• Strive to maintain quality within the organisation.
• Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk.
• Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
• Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance.
• Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs.
• Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
• Be an ambassador for FRMG, displaying commitment and loyalty to the Group at all times and treating internal practice discussions as confidential.

Qualifications
Essential

• Qualified Registered Nurse & Registered with NMC, with 2 years in Nursing.
• Recognised, accredited asthma qualification (e.g., a diploma-level asthma module or equivalent experience).
• Recognised, accredited COPD qualification (e.g. a diploma-level COPD module).
• Certificate of competence in performing and interpreting spirometry (ARTP or equivalent), with current registration on the national spirometry register.
• Enhanced DBS check required.

Desirable

• Non-medical (independent) prescribing qualification (V300) is desirable.
• Competence or qualification in paediatric asthma care is desirable.
• Competence in FeNO testing is desirable.

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working in primary with a minimum of one year.
• Demonstrable experience of independently running asthma and COPD clinics.
• Demonstrable experience of performing and interpreting spirometry to a quality-assured standard.
• Sound knowledge of relevant national guidance (NICE, BTS/SIGN, GINA and GOLD).
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, ability to work independently and as part of a team and performed effectively under pressure, with excellent consultation skills.
• Knowledge of needs of patients with long-term conditions.
• Be highly motivated with excellent clinical timekeeping.
• Ability to interpret clinical data and make sound, autonomous clinical decisions within scope of competence.
• Knowledge of patient group directions and associated policy and clinical governance awareness.
• Expertise in urgent primary care presentations, with strong triage and risk management skills.
• IT literacy (EMIS / SNOMED CT, Anima, MS Office).

Desirable

• Experience of QOF and IIF respiratory domains is desirable.

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).

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.