Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Team work directly with (LAS) and act as a liaison between Emergency Departments, Community and Care home settings, by identifying the most appropriate onward referrals and initiating integrated care pathways, ensuring seamless provision of care and the instigation of  on- going case management of long term condition management. The Rapid Response Team provides community follow up and support and review.

The post holder will assist with and directly triage urgent patient referrals with varied and complex needs in acute hospital and community setting acting as an expert nursing clinical resource to Rapid Response Team members by facilitating high quality evidence-based practise.

The post holder will also have the opportunity to work closely with our Community Consultant.

Rapid Response aims to:

• Avoid unnecessary Presentations to Emergency Departments.
• Avoid unnecessary Hospital Admissions
• Improve patient wellbeing through timely responsive interventions
• Reduce admissions to residential care
• Increase the number of people who feel  safe in their home

Main Responsibilities:

• Be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all professional activities
• Demonstrate theoretical knowledge of acute, multiple, complex, and long-term pathologies and impairments in the assessment of clients
• Work closely with other health professionals and social services and provide nursing advice in meeting the needs of the clients
• Conduct a thorough assessment of clients, obtaining consent in accordance with professional guidelines and local team procedures
• Recommend appropriate interventions to promote independence and safety, utilising effective clinical reasoning skills and evidence-based practice
• Complete a care plan for clients who require input from integrated community services (bed-based or home-based input)
• Maintain effective multidisciplinary communication with other members of the team and the wider clinical network to ensure that client’s needs are met
• Provide specialist advice to client, carers and relatives based on clinical evidence when required
• Participate in MDT meetings and family conferences as required
• Maintain up-to-date clinical written records and computerised records in accordance with local and professional standards; and also writing comprehensive reports on clients as required and inputting onto RiO
• Ensure management of clinical risk with clients under their care
• Be able to identify when and how to terminate involvement or refer onwards to appropriate teams/services and complete input in a timely, seamless manner
• Seek guidance from more experienced colleagues when required
• Be professionally curious in terms of safeguarding adults and children and promote professional curiosity  

Training and Education:

• Utilise communication and teaching skills to educate the diverse and multicultural population in a range of disease specific techniques, principles and guidelines when required
• Provide support and take a proactive role in the education and training of undergraduate and graduate AHP students, nurses and rehabilitation assistants
• Maintain continuing professional development by participating in regular in-service training, supervision, reflective practice and attending study days and training, giving feedback to the team where appropriate to disseminate learning
• Maintain competency in manually handling people
• Maintain up-to-date mandatory and statutory training

Management:

• Maintain high level of efficiency and effectiveness in work area to utilise resources to the full and report defects in equipment in a timely manner
• The ability to deputise in the absence of the Manager if required
• Coordinate staff activity to meet demands of service
• Ensure risk is managed for self, clients, colleagues and the work environment
• Participate in the development of the team by working proactively within the MDT
• Maintain throughput of casework and organise and prioritise own work tasks and activities, being flexible to the needs of the service
• Ensure all patient information is input onto RiO
• Ensure new team members are adequately introduced to the team during induction and providing peer support
• Undertake a proactive role in the ongoing in-service training programme
• Maintain efficient day-to-day running of the service

Organisational:

• Flexibly plan and organise own time
• Achieve the effective daily management of a caseload of clients, including prioritising clinical work and balancing other client related and professional duties
• Provide statistical information as required in a timely manner
• Keep up-to-date statistics in accordance with team requirements
• Be responsible for any organisational tasks related to the post
• Be flexible in the undertaking of any other duties as requested by line managers to meet the changing needs of the service
• Attend Team and trust meetings and case conferences as required

Professional:

• Participate in regular supervision and reflective practice
• Participate in regular supervision and PDR
• Comply with professional guidelines, codes of conduct of practice, trust and departmental policies
• Maintain links with the department, organisation and wider sector by attending meetings, seminars/case conferences etc as deemed appropriate

Research:

• Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate current research and apply it to practice 
• Broaden research and development skills through participation in local audit and research projects
• Instigate/Participate in Quality Improvement Projects 

Communication and Key Working Relationships:

• Communicate relevant medical/social information, assessment details, advice and recommendations across agencies following local and professional guidelines for sharing information and consent. This would include Consultants, GP’s, Social Services, other health care professionals and voluntary agencies
• Work in a co-ordinated, multi-disciplinary manner, communicating effectively with other team members and the wider clinical network involved in client care
• Convey complex and sensitive information relating to clients using skill in situations where there may be barriers to communication i.e. use of interpreters, receptive/cognitive pathologies or excess noise
• Be able to adapt complicated and sensitive information into a simplified form to clients who may be seriously ill or have complex or long-term conditions
• Clearly convey complex information to small and large groups during training and education sessions
• Promote and encourage the ethos of rehabilitation/enabling with therapy assistants/support workers/carers/relatives through demonstration, example, and support
• Promote an awareness of the nurse role within the team, negotiating priorities were appropriate
• Actively contribute to service & policy review and implementation
• Participate in the operational planning, implementation, evaluation and audit of practice, clinical care pathways and protocols within own clinical area