JOB DESCRIPTION
1. JOB DETAILS
Job Title:
Rowcroft Hospice at Home Staff Nurse
Band:
5
Hours:
37.5 hours a week
Department:
Rowcroft Hospice at Home
Reports to:
Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters/Charge Nurse
Location:
Rowcroft Hospice as base, mainly working in the community
Tenure:
Permanent
2. JOB PURPOSE
To work with the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters/Charge Nurse and Manager to
establish, coordinate and develop the Rowcroft Hospice at Home service.
Under the supervision of the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters/Charge Nurse the post
holder is responsible for the provision of patient care, including assessing, care planning,
implementation and evaluation of individual care needs and to ensure equity and
prioritisation of care.
To practice effective communication with the multi-disciplinary team members in order
to maintain a high standard of specialist palliative care for patients and their families.
To actively participate in clinical governance programmes.
To participate in the planning of service delivery.
To provide additional support to both personal and professional carers in achieving the
patient’s expressed wish to die at home.
3. DIMENSIONS
This post is primarily to support the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters and Charge Nurse
in managing their day to day caseload throughout the Hospices catchment area of South
Devon. The role will include lone working with patients and families either in their own
private residence or care home. Patient allocation will be decided on a daily basis, with
delegation by the Sisters/Charge Nurse on duty.
Although based within the Rowcroft Hospice at Home team it is expected that the post
holder will work flexibly, according to the needs of the service. This flexibility may also
include working occasional night shifts to help provide cover for unexpected leave or if
there is a patient need for overnight Registered Nurse cover. At quiet times the staff
nurse may be asked to work on the Rowcroft Inpatient Unit for all or part of a shift.
The post holder;
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Has no direct budget responsibilities but must be aware of cost implications and
make effective use of resources.
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Will make recommendations to the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sister and Charge
Nurse regarding the purchase of equipment for the Hospice at Home service.
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Will have the ability to negotiate with other healthcare providers to ensure a high
standard of specialist palliative care provision to patients and their families.
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Has the ability to support the team in the absence of the Rowcroft Hospice at Home
Sisters/Charge Nurse
4. PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Clinical
 To be a safe practitioner and work within the NMC Code of Professional standards of
practice and behaviour.
 To provide support and advice to Rowcroft Hospice at Home Senior Healthcare
Assistant’s and other health care professionals as required.
 To assess and provide care to address patient/carer needs in response to changes in
patients condition or carers circumstances and in collaboration with patients
primary care team
 To liaise closely with the patient's GP and other health and social care professionals
involved in their care.
 To liaise with appropriate members of the multi-disciplinary team in order to
ensure co-ordination and continuity of care and also to adhere to set hospice
protocols.
 To work with the team to meet agreed standards and objectives in order to deliver
physical, emotional, social and spiritual support of the patients and carers.
 To ensure care is delivered in a style appropriate to the patient’s individual needs.
 To attend mandatory training.
 To liaise with on-call specialist palliative medical team as appropriate for advice
out of hours (evenings and weekends)
Educational

To participate in further training and to maintain a commitment to professional
development.
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To contribute to the team development, whenever appropriate.
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To assist with in-service training as required for both staff and volunteers.
Management/Leadership
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To act as a role model for junior staff and provide encouragement and motivation
in order to achieve clinical goals for service.
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To complement the leadership role of the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sister /
Charge Nurse and to maintain high standards and ethos of care in their absence.
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To take responsibility for various aspects of service management as designated by
the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters/Charge Nurse in order to maintain an
efficient service and to develop own managerial skills.
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To participate in the development and support of volunteers working within the
hospice.
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To actively participate in team meetings and ensure that accurate information is
fed back to the appropriate members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To keep concise records in terms of patient documentation, staff records and
his/her own portfolio.
Professional
 To be aware of own accountability and limitations and when necessary to extend
sphere of responsibility as required in order to ensure safe practice.
 To have read and be competent in adhering to Rowcroft Hospice policies and
procedures.
 To support the Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters/Charge Nurse in appraising junior
staff strengths and weaknesses to provide appropriate support.
 To demonstrate clinical ability by constantly reflecting on own practice and
using research as an integral part of such practice.
Quality
 To actively participate in clinical audit as a means of monitoring and improving
standards of care.
 To act in a collaborative manner when changes in practice are identified for
purposes of improving quality and practices.
 To support the clinical team in setting, monitoring and developing standards of care,
policies and procedures.
5. COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will have the most frequent contact with:
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Rowcroft Hospice at Home Manager
Rowcroft Hospice at Home Sisters / Charge Nurse
Rowcroft Hospice at Home Staff Nurses
Rowcroft Hospice at Home administrator
MDT members in IPU and Community
Referrers to the Rowcroft Hospice at Home service
GP Practices
Devon Docs Ltd
Patients and their relative/carers
Primary Health Care Teams
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Education facilitator
Acute and community hospitals A&E/MAU’s
6. MOST CHALLENGING PART OF THE JOB
 To constantly revise and develop new skills and remain clinically up-to-date
 To develop new initiatives to promote the Hospice at Home service.
 With support and training, provide occasional cover for the Rowcroft Hospice at
Home Sister/Charge Nurse role.
7. AUDIT CLAUSE
All members of staff are expected to participate in audit assessments as appropriate.
8. INFECTION CONTROL CLAUSE
Infection Control is everyone's responsibility. All staff, both clinical and non clinical,
are required to adhere to the organisation's Infection Prevention and Control Policies
and make every effort to maintain high standards of infection control at all times,
thereby reducing the burden of Healthcare Associated Infections including MRSA.
All staff employed by Rowcroft Hospice have the following key responsibilities:
 Staff must decontaminate their hands prior to and after direct patient care or
contact with the patient's surroundings;
 Staff members have a duty to attend mandatory infection control training provided
for them by the Hospice;
 Staff members who develop an infection (other than common colds and illness) that
may be transmittable to patients have a duty to contact Occupational Health.
9. PERSON SPECIFICATION
(Please see attached)
10. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT
This job description is subject to review. The post may include other duties and
responsibilities as determined by the recruiting manager in consultation with the
postholder.
The post is subject to Rowcroft Hospice Foundation Ltd. Terms and Conditions of
Service.
Postholder’s Signature:
Date:
Head of Department’s Signature:
Date:
PERSON SPECIFICATION – Band 5 Rowcroft Hospice at Home Staff Nurse
Attributes
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Qualifications,
special training
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
and general
intelligence
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Knowledge and

skills
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Experience
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Personal
requirements
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e.g.
communication,
interpersonal
Other
requirements,
e.g. Rotas
November 2015
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Essential
Registered Nurse
Relevant post registration
experience
IT literate
Evidence of sound
understanding of the
principles of palliative care
and community working
Willingness to complete
appropriate training in
palliative care
Assessing and planning skills
Ability to prioritise and
organise own workload
Evidence of knowledge and
skills in end of life symptom
control and care
Effective communication
skills
Evidence of team working
Significant post registration
experience
Ability to demonstrate
relevance of previous
experience in relation to
palliative care nursing
Able to demonstrate an
understanding or experience
of community services
Ability to work as an
autonomous practitioner
Self-motivated and able to
support and motivate team
members
Good interpersonal skills
Ability to provide and receive
complex, sensitive
information
Ability to develop own skills
with appropriate training
A flexible approach to
delivering care
Flexible working hours
Ability to travel around the
South Devon area as required

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
Desirable
Teaching Qualification or
evidenced experience
Palliative care qualification
at Level 5
Experience of Clinical audit
and research
.
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Hospice experience
Palliative care / oncology
experience
Community experience
Telephone assessment/triage
experience
Teaching experience
Communication skills training
Desire to educate health
professionals within the team
Evidence of written, verbal
and non-verbal
communication skills.