Senior Staff Nurse - Inpatient Unit, Hospice of the Good Shepherd, Chester

30 hours per week – £31,967 to £33,736 (FTE £39,959 to £42,170) per annum

Job overview

Are you looking for a role where you have the time to provide outstanding care to patients, support their families and friends, develop your clinical and communication skills, gain specialist knowledge in symptom management, and build a rewarding career in specialist palliative care?

The Senior Staff Nurse will lead a small nursing team who provide pain and symptom control, complex psychological support and end of life care for patients and their families. Implementing your current knowledge and skills, the role will allow you to develop your specialist knowledge of symptom control, enhance your communication skills and progress your career in specialist palliative care. Most importantly, in addition to your knowledge and skills, your values must align to those of the Hospice of the Good Shepherd.

Hours for the role will be 30 hours per week, on a variable shift pattern across 7 days.

The post holder will:

• Be responsible for overseeing the planning and delivery of outstanding care for an identified group of patients.
• Be responsible for providing initial and ongoing assessment of nursing needs and the development, implementation and evaluation of effective care plans and direct delivery of patient care on a daily basis.
• Act as nurse in charge, leading a well-coordinated effective shift. This will involve dealing with complex situations and having to take appropriate action in emergency and unforeseen circumstances.
• Proactively contribute to integrated MDT meetings, including assessing the needs of referred patients into Specialist Palliative Care Services across West Cheshire and Deeside.
• Have line management responsibility for a group of health care assistants.
• Respond to Out of Hours queries via the Hospice Advice Line once identified as competent.

and will be able to:

• Demonstrate clear organisational, time management, personal and professional resilience and leadership skills.
• Demonstrate their passion to promote comfort, dignity, independence and patient choice.
• Use own initiative and work well under pressure.
• Demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities which are integral to the delivery of holistic specialist palliative care.

Working for the organisation

You will be joining a friendly and welcoming team with a shared commitment to making a positive difference to the lives of those in our care. You will receive support and guidance through a dedicated induction programme, designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of caring for patients with advanced life-limiting illnesses. You'll also benefit from a range of support and benefits, including:

• Continuation of the NHS Pension Scheme for existing members or join the hospice pension scheme.
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• A staff support programme including clinical supervision, confidential counselling and occupational health services.

Want some more information before making your decision?  We would welcome the opportunity for informal discussion with you prior to your application, please contact Louise Hodgkinson, Hospice Lead Nurse on 01244 851091

Please note we do not currently have a sponsorship licence, and the successful candidate will need to be able to provide evidence of right to work in the UK

We reserve the right to close the vacancy earlier than the above closing date, should we receive a high number of suitable applicants.

The Hospice is a great place to work and volunteer. Based in Backford, Chester (with retail shops in Chester and Ellesmere Port), the Hospice provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care in a welcoming and compassionate environment.

Our specialist team of medical and nursing staff deliver end of life care to our patients and support their families, carers and friends but our services are varied across a number of disciplines and reflect the diverse nature of our care and support. In addition to Doctors, Nurses and Health care roles, we employ staff in a wide range of roles including Fundraising and Retail in our charity shops, Housekeeping and Catering, Social Work and Family Support such as Counselling and Spiritual Care, Living Well / Day Services as well as Business Support functions such as Administration, People & Development and Finance.

We also have a large number of Volunteer roles in all these service areas. We have been supported by our volunteers ever since the hospice was established and we now have over 400 people contributing their time in so many different ways. Every hour volunteered allows us to continue providing specialist care and we are always welcoming applications for new volunteers so please get in touch.

We believe that equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination is a fundamental right for everyone, and that diversity within our organisation and our community is a strength to be valued, promoted and developed. 

Being a part of and supporting such a diverse community, it is vital that our staff and volunteer team represents the community in which we work. We welcome applications from people from all walks of life and backgrounds irrespective of people’s age, disability, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. 

We understand that people perform better when they can be themselves and that by creating an environment that includes everyone, our staff will perform to their full potential. 

We do not discriminate against employees and volunteers or applicants and select the best person for each job or role based on relevant skills and experience.