Surgical Ward Nurse

The Primary focus of the post is to ensure that all patients receive high quality, confidential and compassionate patient centred care, delivering private healthcare that reflects the needs of patients first. This will be driven by a hardworking ethic, having high standards of delivering quality care and a passion for the role.

Department: Theatres

Accountable/Responsible to: Theatre Manager

Location: The Regent Hospital - Liverpool

Job Summary

The role of the Surgical ward nurse is to deliver specialised care for patients before and after surgical procedures, working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team, monitoring patients’ vital signs, administering medication and ensuring patient comfort and safety.

• The post holder will be responsible for maintaining high standards of patient care.
• The post holder will ensure effective and efficient channels of communication are maintained with all disciplines of staff, patients and visitors.
• The post holder will have clinical knowledge of surgical nursing practice and be actively involved in the teaching and assessing of junior staff in line with current national and local standards and best practice.
• The post holder will support the patient and the surgical multidisciplinary teams providing the care through an efficient, productive perioperative journey maximising resources and clinical skills.
• The post holder will be responsible for their own professional conduct in line with NMC code of conduct and will undertake their role in accordance with all procedures, protocols , policies and guidelines to support the ward areas.
• The post holder will act as an advocate for all patients and work autonomously or as part of a team.
• The post holder will act in accordance with hospital policies and nursing procedures.

Key Responsibilities

1. Accurately assess, plan, implement , monitor and evaluate the holistic nursing care needs of patients.

2. Liaise and integrate with the multidisciplinary team, ensuring patients receive comprehensive care and promote a team approach to working.

3. Develop good working relationships and promote effective communication between all clinical staff within the multi disciplinary team.

4. Co-ordinate the team/ward in absence of the team leader or ward manager.

5. Perform all administrative and nursing duties as delegated by the team leader and ward manager.

6. Prepare patients for theatre in a timely manner.

7. Work as a skilled member of the nursing team, carrying out duties including comprehensive handover, reviewing patients’ medical history, assessing their current needs with a head-to-toe assessment, monitoring vital signs, drain and indwelling catheter and line management, administering medication as required and assisting with personal care.

8. Assist with patient Mobilisation following surgery, working closely with specialist physiotherapists to support patients with early mobilisation.

9. Provide education to patients on postoperative care to ensure their safety and recovery are optimal, such as falls, pressure ulcers, wound prevention.

10. Develop and maintain clinical skills and knowledge necessary to provide holistic evidence based nursing care.

11. Provide clear communication with the ability to give and receive complex and sensitive information identifying individual needs and being responsive to barriers of understanding.

12. Ensure confidentiality of patient records and high standards of nursing documentation.

13. Ensure proficiency with all medical equipment before use in accordance with the hospital medical device policies.

14. Ensure that all prescribed drugs and treatments are given correctly and in accordance with hospital policy, including the correct care and custody of controlled drugs.

15. Ensure effective hand over of care to teams on patient admission and discharge to other areas within the hospital including Theatres and recovery.

16. Cleaning and maintenance of all clinical and non clinical areas adhering to infection control standards and policies at all times.

17. Preparation of surgical equipment ahead of surgery and checking of consumables and prosthesis availability.

18. Rotation of stock and stock replenishment of all hospital stock,consumables and sundries.

19. Safely dispose of clinical waste and sharps in accordance with waste management policies.

20. Ensure comprehensive and accurate documentation at all times, including inputting of patient data on to the electronic medical record system and IT systems in line with hospital policies.

21. Assist in the manual handling of patients, patient positioning and transferring of patients between beds and trolleys

22. To communicate effectively with the ward teams, theatre teams and other members of the multidisciplinary team, escalating any concerns as appropriate, and reporting any untoward incidents via the incident management reporting system.

23. Be aware of a safe environment, reporting any hazards which may endanger both patients, staff and visitors and where suitable take appropriate action.

The above duties and responsibilities are intended to represent current priorities and are not intended to be a conclusive list. The post holder may from time to time be asked to undertake other reasonable duties. Any changes will be made in discussion with the post holder considering the service needs.

Training and Development

• Be proactive in identifying your own educational needs and maintain compliance with all mandatory training requirements
• Complete relevant competencies and resuscitation courses.
• Participate in annual PDR (personnel development reviews)
• Help maintain a suitable learning environment for staff and act as a mentor/buddy in the supervision and teaching of new staff, students and medical professions
• Participate in post registration learning programmes to facilitate an effective learning environment.
• Lead and support the development of hospital policies and procedures in line with hospital requirements to enhance patient care.

Risk and Governance

• Participate in audit processes for monitoring and reviewing ward and hospital quality assurance.
• Participate in risk assessments and risk mitigation ensure a safe working environment.
• Report clinical incidents to ensure effective learning and patient safety.
• Escalate any safeguarding concerns in line with hospital policies and ensure safeguarding of all patients at all times.
• Ensure full adherence to hospital policies and procedures ensuring knowledge is kept up to date.

Health and Safety

• All staff must act in line with relevant health and safety hospital policies and in line with the health and safety at work act (1974) to ensure a safe environment for patients,visitors and staff.
• Take all reasonable care of health and safety at work for yourself, team, patients and visitors and undertake delegated tasks in relation to health and safety record keeping, risk assessment and aspects of procedural compliance.

Equality and Diversity

• The hospital values diversity and actively works towards promoting equality both in terms of its healthcare provision and within its current and potential workforce.
• Promote equality and diversity in the department ensuring that all members of staff provide a professional approach.