Heart Failure Nurse Specialist (Band 6/7)

Heart Failure Nurse Specialist (Band 6/7)

We are looking for a committed and motivated Community Heart Failure Nurse Specialist to join our team, supporting patients across Airedale, Wharfedale, Craven and Bentham. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to make a genuine difference to patients living with chronic heart failure within the local community. The Community Heart Failure Nurse Specialists provide high-quality, evidence-based care to patients with chronic heart failure. The service aims to improve patients' quality of life by optimising treatments, support self-management, support palliative care, and reduce avoidable hospital admissions and primary care contacts. The post holder will work autonomously and within a small team, managing a defined caseload, delivering nurse-led clinics and home visits, and supporting patients and carers across the community.

Main duties of the job

• Provide expert assessment, care planning, and evaluation using advanced clinical skills for people with chronic heart failure.
• Manage a patient caseload, working autonomously and making clinical decisions, treatment plans, medication regimes, and referrals as required.
• Conduct nurse-led heart failure clinics and undertake home visits.
• Utilise non-medical prescribing skills to optimise heart failure medications in line with national and local guidance.
• Provide education, advice and support to patients, carers and other healthcare professionals.
• Work collaboratively with small heart failure nurse specialist team and the wider community specialist nurse team. Work with multidisciplinary teams including cardiology, general practice, palliative care and community services.
• Support continuity of care by ensuring effective communication across agencies and care settings.
• Contribute to service monitoring, audit, evaluation and development activities.

About us

We are delighted to offer a wide range of benefits to employees including:

• Cycle to Work
• Travel Scheme
• Childcare Vouchers with Salary Sacrifice
• Onsite Nursery
• Buying and Selling Annual Leave
• Car Leasing
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee Health and Wellbeing
• Extensive Reward Scheme
• Counselling Service
• Financial packages including Vivup and Wagestream
• Staff Networks, Enable, Rainbow, Gender, Race Equality Ecoaware & Admin Network.

Our values:

We understand that it's down to the hard work, effort and dedication of our staff that makes a difference for our patients. Our people really do make our Airedale experience - we take pride in fostering a friendly, effective and caring work environment. Our values are part of our DNA, which are:

• Committed to Quality of Care
• Compassion
• Working together for patients
• Improving Lives
• Everyone Counts
• Respect and Dignity

Got questions before you apply, please contact the recruiting manager to find out more.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

• Provide expert assessment, diagnosis, and treatment using advanced clinical assessment skills.
• Monitor clinical status symptoms before initiating and following medication changes, adjusting care as appropriate.
• Review patients medication regimens to ensure safe, effective pharmacotherapy.
• Assess suitability for devices and cardiology interventions, referring to cardiology services where appropriate.
• Provide palliative and supportive care, including sensitive discussions around prognosis and advanced care planning.
• Deliver personalised education and selfmanagement advice to patients and carers.
• Promote lifestyle changes and signpost to relevant services based on individual needs.
• Ensure timely communication and act as a point of contact for patients and carers.

Service Responsibilities

• Lead on incorporating evidencebased practice into holistic heart failure management.
• Organise and prioritise workload according to clinical need and service demand.
• Support the triage of new referrals and advise administrative staff as required.
• Participate in MDT meetings to optimise health outcomes and resource utilisation.
• Monitor, audit and evaluate the service to ensure high standards of care and improved outcomes.
• Contribute to heart failure education for primary and community care teams.
• Support the development of colleagues through mentoring, preceptorship and clinical leadership.

Leadership and Professional Responsibilities

• Act as an expert resource for healthcare professionals and others involved in heart failure management.
• Support service and policy development and in collaboration with the Team Leader.
• Work closely with regional partners, including the West Yorkshire Heart Failure Cardiac Network, to meet local and national targets.
• Maintain and develop specialist knowledge through CPD and reflective practice.

Person Specification Qualifications

• Clinical experience within cardiology nursing
• Non-medical prescriber
• First Level Degree in health-related subject
• ENB 998/SLIP or equivalent teaching and assessing qualification
• Advanced clinical assessment skills

Knowledge/Experience

• Knowledge of a range of cardiac nursing issues
• Knowledge of current ESC and NICE guidelines for CHF & ACS
• Knowledge of current issues affecting the NHS
• Substantial post registration including clinical experience working with cardiology patients
• Working knowledge of SystmOne
• Experience of working in the Community
• Managing patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes
• Case management or chronic disease experience

Skills

• Advanced communication skills
• Demonstrates excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including IT
• Demonstrates leadership and management skills
• Presentation Skills
• Counselling skills
• Accurate history taking and assessment skills
• Basic ECG interpretation skills
• Experience of audit/service evaluation

Other

• Car driver with valid UK driving licence

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Team Leader, Community Specialist Nurses