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Job summary

Main area
Tobacco Dependency Treatment Services
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (Potential extension/permanence on confirmation of further funding)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Monday to Friday - Core Hours)
Job ref
382-IMPF55-24
Employer
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Moor Park Health & Leisure Centre
Town
Blackpool
Salary
£28,407 - £34,581 per annum (pro rata)
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
22/05/2024 23:59

Employer heading

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Tobacco Dependence Specialist

NHS AfC: Band 5

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.

We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.

We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance.  Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored. 

 


Job overview

It is the vision of Fylde Coast partners to create a tobacco free Fylde Coast and in turn remove all the health harms associated with tobacco addiction. Key to this is supporting all partners to ensure that helping people to stop smoking and recognising smoking as an addiction is a collective and collaborative effort.

The NHS Long Term Plan identifies smoking as one of the top five risk factors that cause premature deaths in England. As such, the NHS is investing in front line services to tackle tobacco dependence for all inpatients, pregnant women and their partners and high-risk outpatient service by 2023/24.

Our Local Authority commissioned Tobacco Dependency Treatment Service offers an integrated, safe, effective, and person-centred tobacco addiction and treatment service, providing high quality care through a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychological support, contributing to improving the health of Blackpool residents and tackling health inequalities as part of the wider Fylde Coast smoking cessation pathway.

Main duties of the job

As a Tobacco Dependence Specialist within our Local Authority commissioned Tobacco Dependency Treatment Service, you will contribute to tackling inequalities in health through promoting and supporting people to stop smoking across Blackpool. You will be responsible for pro-actively identifying clients and settings in which to deliver relevant interventions and work towards improving population health and reducing inequalities. You will provide individualised and group support to people who wish to stop smoking, working in partnership with a wide range of individuals and organisations including primary care, acute hospitals, local authorities, workplaces, and local community groups. You will also support the delivery of training in smoking cessation methods and brief interventions to other health professionals and those working in other organisations. You will work collaboratively to delivery and support the development of the service.

Working for our organisation

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.

The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents, including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year.

We welcome and encourage applications from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Service Provision

  • Provide an evidence-based specialist smoking cessation service within the designated locality contributing to the achievement of the services stop smoking targets.
  • Work with the Service Lead to arrange clinics, venues, and times in response to service specification priorities and to facilitate access to key target groups.
  • Deliver one to one support to service users based on their needs carrying our comprehensive assessments of referred or self-referred clients and working with the client to plan and develop a smoking cessation programme which will meet the needs of the individual.
  • In consultation with the service user, assess for and advise upon the most suitable pharmacological product and make a recommendation to the GP requesting an appropriate prescription if the service users choose a prescription only medicine. Where nicotine replace therapy is required, to facilitate the safe delivery of this product to the service user.
  • Monitor the effects of the treatment programme and adjust as appropriate.
  • Employ the use of carbon monoxide monitoring as a motivational and validation tool, understanding how to use it supportively and explain its use to service users.
  • Plan, implement and evaluate smoking cessation groups in a variety of settings including primary care, community, and workplaces, arranging venues and times to respond to waiting times and caseload.
  • Implement the theory of group processes in managing groups and adapt the framework and content of the session where necessary. Organise resources and appropriate information for service users.

Communication & Relationship Skills

  • To liaise with and empower patients to develop, implement and evaluate their own stop smoking plan, considering scientific evidence, NICE guidance, and the experiences of the individual patient.
  • Following assessment of the patient, to provide tailored support and motivational interviewing to patients, to gain commitment to quit.
  • To work within a framework of flexibility, acknowledging individual patient preferences and accommodating the needs of each individual patient.
  • To educate and motivate patients in relation to tobacco control, particularly with respect to second-hand smoke and approaches to minimising risk.
  • To develop and maintain effective communications and working relationships with all key smoking cessation and tobacco control partners.
  • To liaise with and influence relevant health and other professionals to ensure that the service retains a high profile and acts as a key priority service for patients suffering from chronic disease.
  • To continually promote the service, including distributing promotional literature, attendance at events and presentations to groups when requested.

Knowledge, Training & Experience

  • Extensive relevant knowledge of evidence-based information on smoking cessation approaches and methods.
  • Attend bespoke training events as requires by the Trust, local Public Health and Commissioning authorities and management for career and continuous professional development.
  • Participate in the delivery and organisation of smoking cessation training for new practitioners and other health and care professionals in line with agreed standards.
  • Extensive knowledge of health-related behaviour change evidence.
  • Responsible for continuous learning knowledge of smoking cessation using the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) online training packages.
  • Comply with statutory and mandatory requirements in line with Trust policy.
  • Contribute and engage in service local induction programmes.

Analytical, Monitoring & Evaluation Skills

  • To meet measurable objectives including performance and quality standards in line with Trust procedures.
  • Be responsible with your line manager for identifying appropriate personal development plans.
  • Ensure that the service provided is monitored and evaluated in accordance with local, regional, and national guidelines and that mandatory data is submitted.
  • Contribute to the audit cycle within Tobacco Dependency Treatment Services.

Planning & Organisational Skills

  • To support the planning, delivery and recording of an effective intervention that is matched to patient need.
  • To ensure that a secure, confidential record system is maintained that allows prompt access to individual patients records when necessary.
  • To liaise with staff within the hospital to ensure a timely and appropriate service of high quality is delivered according to demand, need and availability.
  • To prioritise patients according to pre-set criteria, effectively establishing and managing own caseload.
  • To be autonomous and responsible for assessing and agreeing patient requirements on a daily basis, including planning appropriate activities and products to meet those needs, considering own annual leave as well as seasonal fluctuations in demand.
  • Support the implementation of specific and ad-hoc tobacco control events to link in with national and local campaigns.

Clinical Governance

  • To educate and discuss with patients the advantages and disadvantages of smoking cessation pharmaceutical products, aiding the patient to choose the product or products which best suit their lifestyle and health status.
  • To keep up to date with the changing evidence base, relevant policy pronouncements including NICE guidance, clinical developments and changes as directed by management, to provide an effective, high quality, safe service for patients.
  • To undertake diverse training as the opportunity arises to acquire the specialist skills needed to develop the role.
  • To ensure all patient records are stored correctly and confidentially in accordance with Caldicott guidelines.
  • To support flexible working practices, ensuring continuity of service provision during period of fluctuating demand.
  • To be accountable for ensuring adherence to Trust systems and processes for monitoring and improving services, contributing to quality service improvement, safeguarding high standards of care, and enhancing the safety of service users and staff.

Service Modernisation

  • To liaise with NHS colleagues to ensure a streamlined system.
  • To support the development of innovative approaches to increasing referrals to the service.
  • To be an advocate for the community-based services across the Fylde Coast and respond appropriately to requests for information, and partnership working.
  • To contribute to planning, implementation and evaluation of service developments as directed.

Person specification

Qualifications & Training

Essential criteria
  • Degree or equivalent level of knowledge gained through courses and significant experience
  • Smoking Cessation Training Level 2 or willing to undertake within 3 months of starting post
  • Willingness to undertake further training and work towards professional certification
Desirable criteria
  • Counselling qualification Training in relation to health promotion and/or health education

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of working in the NHS in the community or hospital setting
  • Experience helping people with behavioural change and delivering health promotion
  • Experience of managing own workload without day-to-day supervision
  • Experience of working proactively and unsupervised on a day-to-day basis
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of delivering presentations that are sensitive, delicate or contentious

Knowledge & Understanding

Essential criteria
  • Knowledge of evidence based smoking cessation initiatives
  • Good knowledge and understanding of evidence-based practice in smoking cessation, the consequences of smoking and the benefits of quitting
  • Understand and maintain confidentiality issues
Desirable criteria
  • Understanding of audit and evaluation
  • Knowledge of principles of health promotion and issues of health inequality

Skills & Competencies

Essential criteria
  • Computer literate, experience of using Microsoft Office software
  • Ability to work and communicate in group settings
  • Ability to build and maintain good working relationships with professionals/individuals from different professional backgrounds
  • Excellent communication (written and verbal) and listening skills
  • Excellent literacy and interpersonal skills including active and reflective listening, empathy and the ability to motivate
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of using clinical systems
  • Ability to research, implement and disseminate evidence-based practice

Personal Attributes

Essential criteria
  • Well-developed interpersonal skills
  • Enthusiasm and ability to motivate self and others
  • Commitment to the promotion of equality of opportunity
  • Fully supportive of Trust’s smokefree policy acting as a smokefree champion
  • Current non-smoker – due to nature of post

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareNo smoking policyDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - SilverDisability confident employer

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Adele Shields
Job title
Service Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07867 160112