Dermatology Support PractitionerNHS

Job summary

To work within a multi-disciplinary team and under the supervision of a registered nurse assist in delivering a high quality of specialist dermatology care, to a broad spectrum of patients. The post holder will undertake tasks and duties delegated by the clinical team or Dermatology Nurse Specialists, working both supervised and unsupervised/autonomously where appropriate.

The successful candidate will join the team of existing band 3 support practitioners working closely with our staff nurses, and nurse specialists, carrying out enhanced roles once deemed competent, and supporting consultants in the smooth running of their dermatology clinics.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.

Main duties of the job

To assist nurse specialists, staff and medical team with;

General clinics

Minor surgery assistance

Supporting the skin cancer service

Carrying out screening investigations including phlebotomy

Preparation of biologic clinics

Application of topical creams and bandages

To support the minor ops clerk to book appointments when needed.

Job description

To assist nurse specialists in phototherapy/hand and foot PUVA

To ensure and be responsible for the smooth running of the urticaria recovery area, monitoring patients observations (blood pressure, sats etc) for signs of anaphylaxis alongside the nurse specialist urticarial clinic, and to alert trained nurses/doctors/MET team if appropriate

To assist Consultant in patch test clinics, removing patch tests, correctly marking patch tests prior to removal and preparing the patient for their results readings

To assist nurse specialists in minor surgery at St Helens and Newton Hospital, in particular for ad hoc urgent skin cancer patients/ patients on 2WW skin cancer pathways/ skin cancer see and treat clinics, and provide support for Dermatology Clinics held offsite. Competent in Aseptic Non-Touch technique, scrub in to assist surgeons in minor ops and applying basic dressings, educates patients in post-operative care

To support the Skin cancer Nurse specialist in providing ongoing emotional support to patients diagnosed with skin cancer, to monitor the skin cancer helpline and deal with basic patient needs independently within realms of competence and refer on to specialist nurse specialist when appropriate. Support the skin cancer nurse specialist with documentation and recording of telephone consultations for both coding and patients clinical notes in line with Trust Policies and Procedures.

To carry out screening investigations such as taking swabs, pregnancy testing, blood pressures, urinalysis, weight, INR coagucheck, nail clippings and fungal scrapings, phlebotomy

Assist in application of leg ulcer dressings (non-compression)

To assist in paediatric clinics, able to safely apply prescribed topical treatments and specialised dermatological bandaging.

To be competent in removal of sutures and basic post op wound dressings, to work alone and unsupervised and the ability to work autonomously where appropriate e.g., removal of suture clinic.

To support Skin cancer specialist nurse with health promotion /well-being events

Assists in research and databases e.g., assisting Skin cancer nurse input data onto Somerset database, BADBIR.

To undertake reviews of patients returning to clinic for specified follow up care and manage appropriately using guidelines and protocols.

To provide education, health promotion support and encouragement to patients to self-manage their conditions appropriate to own knowledge/experience.

Housekeeping and maintenance of Dermatology admin packs for Nurse Specialists eg Phototherapy packs, minor op paperwork, patient information leaflets, patch test leaflets and documents, BADBIR packs

Recognise the workload of colleagues and provide support as necessary.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.