Specialist Respiratory Integrated Nurse

Transformationunitgm; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 30,000 - GBP 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Plymouth seeks a Specialist Respiratory Integrated Nurse/AHP to provide high-quality care for patients with complex respiratory conditions. This role involves coordinating care, assessing patient needs, and liaising with multidisciplinary teams to enhance patient outcomes. The successful candidate will have expertise in respiratory assessments and treatments, work collaboratively within a team, and be committed to patient advocacy. Join us and make a difference in patient care in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Post registration experience in respiratory nursing across acute and/or community settings.
• Understanding of Clinical Governance.
• Willingness to undertake respiratory management including ABGs and spirometry.

Responsibilities

• Deliver and coordinate safe, effective, and compassionate care to patients.
• Undertake comprehensive respiratory assessments.
• Support timely patient flow through admission and discharge planning.

Skills

Respiratory assessments

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV)

Patient advocacy

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

NMC Registered Nurse (Adult)

Recognized teaching or mentorship qualification

Degree in healthcare (or working towards)

Tools

Electronic health record systems

Oxygen management equipment

Arterial blood gas equipment

Job description

Specialist Respiratory Integrated Nurse/AHP

Band 6

Job overview

The Band 6 Staff Nurse within the Acute Respiratory Assessment Unit (ARAU) will provide high-quality, evidence-based nursing care to patients with acute and complex respiratory conditions. The postholder will act as a role model and clinical leader, supporting the Band 7 in the day-to-day management of the unit, supervision of junior staff, and co-ordination of patient care.

The role involves expert assessment, initiation and monitoring of treatment plans for patients presenting with respiratory failure, COPD exacerbations, asthma, pneumonia, and other acute respiratory presentations. The Band 6 nurse will support non-invasive ventilation (NIV), oxygen therapy, and contribute to early recognition of deterioration and escalation of care.

The post holder will liaise with the referring clinician, therapy Lead and will take responsibility to effectively assess, develop, implement, monitor and evaluate patient care.

As part of role, you will assist in the day-to-day management of the service, providing specialist nursing input to assist in a multi-disciplinary team approach.

The post holder will assess and triage the suitability of referred patient for admission to the services and arranges seamless transfers between care settings.

The Teams work on a flexible rota shift system. The service covers 8am-8pm, seven days a week.

Main duties of the job

Clinical Responsibilities

• Deliver and coordinate safe, effective, and compassionate care to patients in the Acute Respiratory Assessment Unit.
• Undertake comprehensive respiratory assessments, including oxygen saturation monitoring, arterial blood gas sampling and interpretation, and lung auscultation.
• Initiate and titrate oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) as per protocol.
• Monitor patients for signs of deterioration and escalate promptly according to local escalation procedures.
• Support timely patient flow through admission, assessment, treatment, and discharge planning.
• Liaise effectively with the multidisciplinary team, including respiratory physicians, physiotherapists, and community services, to ensure seamless care transitions.
• Administer and monitor prescribed medications safely in line with Trust policy.

Working for our organisation

We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.

Clinical

• Deliver specialist respiratory care within the Acute Respiratory Assessment Unit and/or community settings
• Provide clinical assessments of patients with respiratory issues, including physical examination, ordering and interpreting investigations, and developing individualised patient centred treatment plans
• Will ingness to work towards / act as an independent prescriber, initiating and adjusting treatment plans in line with clinical guidelines and capabilities
• Support admission avoidance strategies and facilitate early supported discharge.
• Provide respiratory education, self-management plans, and personalised care planning for patients and their families.
• Support the coordination of patients within the ARAU and throughout their journey back into the community.
• Deliver evidence-based care, including non-pharmacological interventions such as pulmonary rehabilitation support, and oxygen management.
• Work in partnership with hospital teams, GP’s, community services, and other allied health professionals to ensure continuity of care.
• Act as patients advocate in raising concerns around health and social care when required
• Ensure patients’ views are considered in the decision-making process
• Recognise and support the needs of carers and family members
• Ensure documentation is accurate and up to date, recording all activities and communications. Consistent with legislation, policies and procedures and utilising all necessary paper and electronic forms.
• Be responsible for and facilitate others in the knowledge and awareness of appropriate use of digital health/care solutions for patients with long term conditions
• Advises and supports other staff in their planning of patient care.
• Provides support and advice to patients’ carers and relatives (with consent) on patient’s conditions and prognosis where appropriate.
• Works as part of a multi-disciplinary team l L ead on service development initiatives and contribute to quality improvement projects
• Communicate effectively with all staff across the MDT, community teams and patients

Management and Leadership

• Have ongoing responsibility and duty of care for patients, staff, self and others in all aspects of Health, Safety and Risk
• Act as a role model, promoting good performance and practice.
• Report all incidents and near misses
• Support team manager in investigations of incidents
• Inform managers of any on-going nursing/management issues affecting patient care or working capacity
• Deputise for line manager in absence
• Place the patient’s experience at the core of service delivery through implementation and continued monitoring of Essence of Care Standards, Patient Involvement & Experience Strategy and Patient Satisfaction Surveys

Professional

• Work within the NMC code and or HCPC code of practice
• Remain updated and competent and ensure that clinical practice is evidence based
• Have an up to date personal development plan and professional portfolio
• Participate in an annual appraisal of their work in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) where the job description will be reviewed and objectives set. In line with the annual development plan the post holder will be expected to undertake any training or development required to fulfil their role

Education and Training

• Support the team manager in providing and maintaining a learning environment and maximise opportunities for education and development in the clinical are to enhance individual development and performance in the delivery of high standards of care
• Take responsibility for your own personal and professional development; maintain competence, knowledge and skills commensurate with role
• Maintain attendance at mandatory and statutory training as per organisation guidelines. Integrate theory into practice by bringing new knowledge around acute care from training into the practice environment
• Act as a mentor for students and fulfil requirements of a practice placement
• Facilitate induction for new members of the team
• Act as a link nurse for speciality to enhance team education

Research

• Actively participate in audit and research as directed by the Team Lead
• Collect, collate and evaluate a range of information to support clinical and service audit
• Maintain accurate and up to date patient records, data bases and specialist reporting in accordance with organisation policy and professional guidance
• Support the team manager in working towards the achievement of specific performance targets related to the team

Communications & Working Relationships

Use a high level of communication skills on a daily basis with patients, carers and relatives to encourage concordance with care planning and agreed outcomes.

Use a high level of communication/negotiation skills on a daily basis with other health and social care professionals. To inform each, as appropriate, of the highly complex and sensitive information related to patient’s condition required to achieve the best outcomes and care pathways.

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Post registration experience in respiratory nursing across acute and/or community settings
• Understanding of Clinical Governance
• Proven ability to work autonomously and within multidisciplinary teams
• Experience in managing long-term conditions such as COPD, asthma, bronchiectasis
• Understanding of integrated care models and admission prevention strategies
• Clinical and/or line management experience
• Knowledge of Oxygen assessments
• Knowledge of Secondary & Primary Care Sector
• Willingness to undertake respiratory management including ability undertake ABGs, spirometry, FENO
• Understanding or previous involvement in early supported discharge, or admission avoidance pathways

Qualifications

• NMC Registered Nurse (Adult) or HCPC Registered Paramedic
• Recognised teaching or mentorship qualification
• Degree (or working towards) in healthcare Completion of or working towards completion of respiratory assessment module/s, for example: Diploma module in asthma / Diploma module in COPD
• Non-medical prescribing (or willingness to work towards)
• Highly effective communication skills – verbally and written to staff, patients and relatives, including in situations of conflict or distress.
• Information technology skills
• The ability to work well in a busy environment.
• Ability to lead and have clinical management skills
• Ability to act as facilitator, mentor and supervisor to colleagues / students
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to discuss complex patient care with senior clinicians
• Able to assist on and implement improvements to the quality and efficiency of care for patients in department.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY INCLUDING YOUR JUNK FOLDER.

If you need support with the online application process or require reasonable adjustments with the application and/or interview process please contact the Recruiting Manager for this post.

We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants about less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We recommend contacting the manager of the role prior to applying and we commit to giving requests full consideration.

We welcome and encourage applicants who identify with all protected characteristics to apply for our roles. We believe that diversity strengthens our teams and improves our patients' experience. At UHP we aim to create an inclusive workplace and hospital where everyone feels they belong and included .

It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Providing false information is an offence & could result in the application being rejected or summary dismissal/police action if an applicant is successful.

Please note that if you are successful in your application & accept the position you agree that the Staff Health and Wellbeing Department can access your health records from your current/previous employer in order to check the status of your inoculations & screening tests. This is an automated process & the information will only be used for these purposes prior to your taking up the position with us.

For Doctors Roles:

Unsolicited CVs and Candidate Profiles/Details
University Hospitals Plymouth has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CVs from agencies.

We do, however, work with a defined list of preferred HTE Framework suppliers who may be invited to support us in sourcing candidates for particular roles.

In line with our preferred supplier list, we only pay agency fees where we have a signed agreement in place and an agency has been instructed by a member of the Trust’s Medical Workforce team.

We do not pay agency fees where speculative and unsolicited CVs are submitted to the Trust or Trust employees by any other means than the official route above. Where this is not observed the Trust reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and initiate discussions without payment of any agency fee.

Any candidate details (whether written or spoken) or CVs that are referred directly will not constitute an introduction. The Trust will under no circumstances be responsible for any recruitment fees in relation to these contacts.

Submission of any unsolicited CVs, candidate’s details and/or proposals to the Trust will not be considered further and will be deemed evidence of full and unlimited acceptance of this Agency Protocol.

In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the Trust’s agency suppliers, we ask that this Protocol is adhered to and thank you for your co-operation.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.