About this role
Job summary
The Community Adult Haemoglobinopathies Nurse will support the delivery and development of a specialist community service for adults with sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and related conditions across North Central London.
The post holder will provide expert nursing care, coordinate care pathways, and act as a key worker for patients across community, primary, secondary and social care settings.
They will lead nurse-led clinics, support transition into adult services, promote self-management, deliver health education and improve treatment adherence.
The role will focus on reducing health inequalities, preventing avoidable hospital admissions through early intervention, and supporting patients to manage the clinical, psychological and social impact of their condition.
The post holder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to ensure high-quality, person-centred care and improved patient outcomes.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide specialist nursing care and support to adults living with sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies, acting as a key worker, advocate and clinical resource for patients, carers and healthcare professionals. They will undertake holistic assessments, develop and review individualised care plans, and coordinate care for patients with complex physical, psychological and social needs.
The role includes leading nurse-led clinics, promoting self-management, treatment adherence, vaccination uptake and prophylactic medication. The post holder will deliver targeted interventions for patients with frequent hospital attendances, helping to improve outcomes, reduce complications and quality of life.
Working with primary, secondary, community and social care services, the post holder will coordinate patient pathways, facilitate timely discharges, support transition into adult services and reduce avoidable admissions. They will provide education, health promotion, psychosocial support and signposting, empowering patients and carers to manage their condition effectively.
The post holder will contribute to multidisciplinary team working, maintain accurate clinical documentation, participate in service development and quality improvement initiatives, and support staff and patient education. They will promote evidence-based practice and deliver safe, effective person-centred haemoglobinopathy care that meets local population needs.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Job description Job responsibilities
1. Duties and Responsibilities
1.1. Clinical
1.1.1. Empower patients and carers by providing health education enabling informed decisions about their care.
1.1.2. Enhancing compliance with preventative actions such as vaccinations and prophylactic medications
1.1.3. Provide guidance on self-management to prevent exacerbation of patients condition to reduce incidences of acute episodes requiring admission to secondary care.
1.1.4.Address social and lifestyle factors which impact on condition management and overall quality of life, directing to appropriate local support services and external agencies.
1.1.5. Act as a patient advocate through the application of ethical, legal, and professional knowledge and skills, considering the multicultural needs of the patient by identifying demographic factors that influence health care needs of this patient group.
1.1.6. Provide targeted support to high-intensity users of secondary care including directing patients into existing NCL programmes for frequent ED attenders.
1.1.7. Pre-contact with patients to reduce DNA rates to hospital.
1.1.8. Enable implementation of individual care plans for patients in all settings
1.1.9. Advise on appropriate drug management at home, including dosages and information on non-pharmacological management techniques. Follow up on a regular basis to monitor effectiveness of the regimen and compliance.
1.1.10. Where relevant, utilise advance prescribing skills within the guidance from NMC and Trust
1.1.11. Provide in-reach service to secondary care.
1.1.12. Implementation of a patient outreach health education group programme, and organisation of patient led education sessions.
1.1.13. Promote good clinical practice in line with evidence-based guidelines and policies.
1.1.14. Offer timely and appropriate community nursing interventions where appropriate seeking senior support when required.
1.1.15. Understand when a patients care is beyond own clinical limitation and to liaise with other senior members of the team, or other professionals for advice.
1.1.16. Initiate and contribute towards a multi-professional approach for the management of patients referred to the community service.
1.1.17. Work closely with haematologists, ward sisters and nurses to initiate timely early discharge planning and facilitate community services for early discharges.
1.1.18. Provide individualised advice, education and support to patients, and their relatives/carers to manage their treatments effectively in preparation for early discharge.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications Essential
First level Registered Adult Nurse (with the NMC) Relevant educational/ training qualification/certificate/experience
Desirable
Qualified non-medical prescriber
Knowledge and Experience Essential
Post registration nursing experience Knowledge of sickle cell disease and thalassaemia Experience of caseload management Evidence of multidisciplinary and multiagency working Experience of safeguarding adults Knowledge and appreciation of equality and diversity issues
Other Essential
Ability to travel independently to all sites across NCL A flexible approach to service delivery with ability to work evenings and weekends on occasions where required
Skills and abilities Essential
Able to manage competing demands and priorities in a changing, complex environment and is personally resilient Demonstrate an ability to integrate nursing knowledge and skills with the clinical aspects of the job Phlebotomy skills/CVC line care Competent IT skills including Microsoft Office apps (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint)
Personal qualities Essential
Approachable and open Ability to work under own initiative with good organisational skills Self-motivated and autonomous but work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary and cross site team Demonstrate a commitment to team working
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
Address Camden & Islington Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Centre
17a Hornsey Street
London
N7 8GG
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)