Deputy Clinical Nurse Specialist in Surveillance – Central Wound Hub

The post holder will be responsible for the running the seven day service for the Central Digital Wound Hub. This will include training, scheduling and supporting the team, ensuring timely and appropriate remote care advice and referrals for surgical patients and carers, and expanding the service for all interested surgical specialisms. The post holder will be responsible for audit activities related to the service and will undertake quality improvement and innovation projects as required.

• The post holder along with team leaders, will oversee the daily running of a new Central Digital Wound Hub (CDWH). The post holder will ensure the implementation of standard operating procedures for the different surgical specialisms, provide assurance of clinical reviews and overview of outcomes, develop a clear referral pathway (using EPIC) and have responsibility to ensure clinical concerns are appropriately escalated and actioned with the multidisciplinary team.
• Will be responsible for actively supporting the Trust SSI lead for SSI surveillance team and team leads, ensuring accurate and timely data for mandatory and voluntary surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance across the organisation including all hospital sites (Guys, St. Thomas. Evelina, Royal Brompton, and Harefield hospitals), whilst also delivering the service for external partner organisations.
• Actively support the CDWH and SSI team to deliver clinically driven quality improvement projects, resources, network events, service evaluations, innovation and research for SSI surveillance internally and externally.

Clinical

• - To oversee the daily running of the Central Digital Wound Hub to ensure patients are reviewed and responded to in a timely manner on the digital remote wound platform (Isla).
• To support and line management of junior colleagues for optimal review patient submission on Isla for a seven-day and out-of-hours service.
• To provide timely review of patient submissions to the Central Digital Wound Hub, ensuring appropriate reassurance, advice and/or referral as required.
• To ensure early identification of patients who require MDT escalation for infection or delayed wound healing, and action this or support junior staff in doing so.
• To ensure information on clinically relevant information on community treatment is recorded for visibility and optimal care delivery.
• To collect and/or oversee data on clinical outcomes.
• To identify areas for improvement in relation to the Central Wound Hub and work with the Trust Lead for SSI to deliver an improvement plan, using appropriate methodology.
• To participate in research studies as required.
• To work within the SSI team providing specialist input in SSIS data collection, handling ensuring correct completion of surveillance forms or electronic surveillance data platforms
• To undertake audit in relation to SSIS and to ensure audit documentation is completed correctly.
• To work autonomously managing a case load of defined group of patients ensuring close surveillance is undertaken to identify Surgical Site Infections (SSI) and determine incidence and prevalence of infections
• To promote a patient focused approach to care ensuring high standards of surgical care are followed and in collaboration with all relevant health care guidelines
• To support the Lead Nurse in the initiation of appropriate actions to enable all grades and disciplines of staff to prevent SSI
• To assess surgical patients to identify signs of infection and initiate interventions to prevent or mitigate infection or wound healing issues
• To support, encourage and advise (as required) staff on the management of patients who develop
• Participate in data entry and coding
• Participate in telephone and remote digital post discharge follow up surveillance
• To provide information to patients and their carers as required where a need has been identified in relation to infection surveillance
• To provide specialist nursing input in the identification, prevention and monitoring of SSI
• To support the Infection control surveillance lead nurse in the review of microbiological data to evaluate the efficiency of an intervention and plan future practice in consultation with relevant clinical leads
• Support general enquiries relating to SSIS from patients, staff and the general public always acting appropriately, sensitively and professionally to ensure confidentiality is maintained at all times
• To collaborate with the SSI team to investigate potential outbreaks
• Collaborate and support surgical teams in providing information which enables patients to make choices about adopting a healthier lifestyle and actions to reduce surgical site
• To report any unsafe infection prevention and control practices to the ward staff and/or the IPC team.
• To participate in the promotion and maintenance of effective communication with patients, health professionals in relation to surgical site wound surveillance.
• To support the Infection control surveillance lead nurse in ensuring that national mandatory surveillance data collection targets are met and data is collected, inputted and followed up by the Surveillance Team in a timely and efficient
• To maintain effective communication within the SSIS, IPC, Intravenous Access Devices and Tissue Viability teams and with the wider
• To support the Trust Lead for SSI Surveillance, Research and Innovation in assisting clinical teams in the formulation and initiation of appropriate strategies or action plans required to minimize the risk of SSIs.

Management

• Provide clinical support for junior colleagues, including ongoing training needs and development, providing consistency even when working remotely.
• Review shift rotas for the Central Digital Wound Hub, ensuring adequate cover for a seven-day service including out-of-hours.
• Assist Trust and team leaders as to deliver and manage quality improvement projects.
• Attendance of clinical governance meetings for relevant surgical directorates, if required.
• To organise network surgical specialism meetings (external) alongside SSI team colleagues.
• Identify technical issues and work with Isla to resolve this in a timely fashion.
• Maintain accurate records of the SSIS ensuring that confidentiality is
• To liaise with the SSIS Team and external agencies to ensure that appropriate Trust data is provided to UKHSA
• To maintain a flexible approach to the role and ensure provisions on an efficient and effective service within agreed
• Supervision responsibility for junior SSI Team members
• Act as a facilitator and change agent enabling clinical staff to embrace strategies for
• Prioritise workload taking into account varying demands and
• Identify problems related to the prevention of SSIs and be involved in developing improved methods of work in a multi-disciplinary team
• Develop and maintain optimal relationships with lead clinicians, senior nursing staff, clinical audit leads the infection and prevention control teams, microbiology teams and those involved in SSI surveillance.
• To support and work collaboratively with SSI Team colleagues in the production of logical, structured written reports for relevant clinical staff, the trust Infection Control Committee SSIS committee and the Trust Infection Control and Decontamination Assurance Committee (TICDAC).

Clinical Research, Audit, Quality & Education

• Responsible for monitoring and ensuring the validity of patient information collected by clinical teams for the surveillance programme within the Trust alongside SSI team
• Take responsibility for ensuring the standard of data collection by the SSI team and data entry is accurate and
• Participate in clinical audit, quality improvement, service evaluation, innovation and research as requested by the Trust SSI Lead.
• Work with clinical areas where SSIS in undertaken in identifying the education
• To organise and deliver, with support from the Infection control surveillance lead nurse, the feedback of SSI surveillance results to clinical teams; to review results and where appropriate agree
• To participate in the training and development of the SSI team and the wider surgical teams

e.g. UKHSA SSI surveillance training.

• To participate alongside SSI team colleagues, in education of clinical and non-clinical teams at Infection Control Awareness days, Infection control link practitioners' course and meetings and Quarterly Infection control
• Incorporate UKHSA guidelines, NICE guidelines, and other public issues into guidance and advice for all staff in consultation with clinical leads and the SSIS lead nurse
• Critically appraise and evaluate IPC practice around SSI through a structured audit programme designed to reduce
• Acts as a facilitator in relevant clinical trials related to
• Present clinical findings at and attendance at conferences nationally when required
• Develop and improve own competence in a structured way through self-assessment, education, self-directed learning and conferences

The Surveillance and Innovation Unit (SUI) is a unit in the Directorate of Infection. The Central Digital Wound Hub has scaled and sustained our award-winning digital surgical site infection surveillance programme. The Hub team will work with the surgical site infection (SSI) team, a dynamic, friendly team covering specialisms across the Trust.

Essential: - Registered Nurse on the NMC Register

Essential: - Bsc / 1st Degree (health related) or equivalent qualification/ training and experience; - Post graduate certificate in specialist area, e.g. infection link practitioner course, surveillance or audit skills etc.; - Professional knowledge acquired at diploma / degree level will be supplemented by specialist training, experience and short courses; - Mentorship Course

Desirable: - Relevant qualification in Infection Control, e.g. ENB 329, Diploma/Degree/ in Infection Control/Microbiology or Implementation Science or equivalent knowledge and Skills

Essential: - Extensive clinical experience.; - Previous experience of student supervision and clinical education at undergraduate level.; - Experience of delivering patient advocacy.; - Experience of audit, research & evidence based care.

Desirable: - Previous experience of working autonomously at an advanced level within the specialist area delivering effective patient focused.; - Experience of delivering change management both personally and as a facilitator.; - Current, relevant and consolidated experience in Surveillance.; - Experience of delivering change management both personally and as a facilitator.

Essential: - Leadership skills.; - Proven listening / counselling skills with the ability to manage complex Situations and appropriately deliver sensitive and difficult outcomes.; - Developed interpersonal and influencing skills.; - Evidence of teaching skills in particular teaching staff how to identify and manage patient risk to avoidable harm.; - Ability to clinically lead and influence staff.; - Up to date knowledge of current clinical and professional issues.; - Sound knowledge of current issues in the profession and practice of nursing.; - Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal and communication skills.; - Good time management and organisation skills.; - Knowledge of current clinical and nursing research.; - Ability to carry out audit and research.; - IT Skills (Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, MS word, Microsoft); - Presentation skills.

Desirable: - Ability to interpret and analyse complex data and findings.; - Undertaken clinical and nursing research.; - Ability to manage complex clinical and operational situations e.g. clusters of infection that involve staff from all levels within an Organisation..; - Ability to conduct & evaluate own projects successfully.; - Knowledge of quality standards & NICE / DH recommendations.; - Demonstrate an understanding of the National agenda related to surgical site infection.

Essential: - Creative, lateral thinker with sensitivity based on knowledge.; - Diplomatic, flexible and positive approach to work.; - Good health/attendance record.; - Flexible work schedule, including weekends.; - Strong team player.