Dental Nurse

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a Dental Nurse to join our Oral Surgery Outpatient Department on a full time 37.5 hours per week basis.

We are a patient focused service and a dedicated team that offer a variety of treatments and procedures among which are: caring for patients with Head and Neck and skin Cancer: Orthodontic, Restorative, Oral surgery clinics and nurse led clinics as well as minor operative procedures.

The candidate will be required to take on board new skills and knowledge, and have a sensitive approach towards, patients, staff, visitors and colleagues. You will be expected to use your own initiative and work alongside the existing team members, including our medical team.

Radiology, Orthodontic experience and impression and photo taking is desirable.

Advert

Department hours are 8am-5.30pm 7 day service.

General duties will include:

Chaperoning patients during clinic consultations and treatments.

Preparing theatre for Minor Operation sessions and assisting in the same.

Assisting the Orthodontist and Orthodontic Therapist.

Preparing clinic rooms and house-keeping duties

Acting as a co-ordinator on the arrival of patients to the department

Liaising with other wards and departments, as required

We require a motivated, enthusiastic person who will be sensitive and caring

Have good numeracy, literacy and IT skills

Reliable.

Able to work on own initiative, as well as in a team

Willing to work flexible hours and to work across sites, as the service dictates.

Working for our organisation

We are committed to delivering the best possible healthcare services to the local population while ensuring the future viability of our services. This will be achieved by continually improving the productivity and efficiency of services. Our core focus has enabled demonstrable improvement in our key access, quality and performance indicators.

Our objectives and values

At ELHT our objectives are to:

Put safety and quality at the heart of everything we do
Invest in and develop our workforce
Work with key stakeholders to develop effective partnerships
Encourage innovation and pathway reform, and deliver best practice

Our values are:

Put patients first
Respect the individual
Act with integrity
Serve the community
Promote positive change

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties

• Preparation of equipment and assisting in Orthodontic, restorative and oral surgery clinics.
• Clinic preparation - prepare notes,lab work,devices etc as needed.
• Ability to work 'four handed' with the Orthodontist and with the Restorative Clinicians. That is to pre-empt what instrumentation will be required by the consultant and to have the instrument ready to pass. ( manual dexterity and co-ordination)
• Clearing away instruments, preparation of instruments for re-use and preparation of the surgery for the next patient, using correct infection prevention controls/procedures.
• Good care and preparation of instruments, ensuring instrumentation is in good working order and reporting to sister if repair or sharpening is required.
• Preparation and mixing of restorative materials, also impression materials.
• To work within the department providing the necessary professional and technical support and assistance required for all aspects of dental care.
• Preparation of minor operation theatre and assist in dental and skin minor operation sessions including taking patient observations, such as blood pressure and blood sugar or INR( international normalised ratio or blood clotting) if required and trained to do so.
• Taking telephone enquiries giving advice or directions within scope of practice.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations.
• Taking, processing and monitoring of X-ray films, initially under supervision until appropriate training has been undertaken
• Carry out dental photography and impressions on Orthodontic patients following successful in house training.
• Give information for pre and post-operative care to patients and carers, including verbal and written instructions. I.e. leaflets.
• Give information and instructions to patients undergoing orthodontic treatment on how to care for their appliances on a one to one basis.
• Give information and instructions to patients undergoing restorative treatment on how to care for their dental work on a one to one basis. This includes implants, bridges and crowns as directed by the consultant.
• Provide reassurance and support to patients and carers/relatives.
• Give information to patients about dental health on a one to one basis
• Provide information to enable the effectiveness of care to be evaluated and records maintained
• Maintain confidentiality at all times. Act in a professional manner to ensure that effective communication with patients and/or carers is maintained at all times regarding all aspects of their care
• Liaise closely with medical and nursing staff, and associated departments, to ensure that clinics are conducted effectively and efficiently.
• Carry out post-consultation duties, such as making follow up appointments and liaising with the dental laboratory.

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will £27.38.

This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post

The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.

We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.