Heart Failure Nurse Specialist

Job summary

The Heart Failure Nurse Specialist team at Portsmouth Hospitals University Trust are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic heart failure nurse specialist to undertake a fixed-term pilot study into an alternate treatment pathway.

The role will involve physically assessing patients within the Cardiology ward areas to identify patients whose discharge could be safely expedited with quick post-discharge follow up, for the continuation of their treatment in the outpatient environment (including medication optimisation and diuretic adjustment). The applicant would be involved in both the identification of suitable patients, and their follow -up management in an outpatient clinic.

You will have experience of working independently and managing their own caseload; of physically assessing patient with a diagnosis of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and have confidence optimising medications and adjusting diuretics as a non-medical prescriber.

The position is funded for 3 days a week (22.5 hours) and will finish at the end of March 2025. The role will be used to collect the necessary data to show the benefits to the patient journey and experience, with a view to longer term implementation

Main duties of the job

Key Responsibilities:

As a nursing expert the post holder will demonstrate a high level of specialist knowledge and experience within the field of heart failure, working independently to manage a varied caseload of patients, delivering high quality individualised, evidence based personalised patient care. As a non-medical prescriber, you will effectively initiate guideline directed medications and establish appropriate levels of monitoring to match the patients clinical circumstances. Working as a nurse specialist you will provide advice, education and support to patients (and their families) with a diagnosis of heart failure, to promote self-care and autonomy.

The successful applicant will be an experienced heart failure nurse specialist with the appropriate physical assessment and history taking qualifications, alongside non-medical prescribing rights. The individual will need to be organised and have a history of managing a caseload and organising follow up appointments in a safe and timely fashion. Although there will be a team supporting the heart failure nurse specialist with this pilot study, there will be independent working involved in the position.

Job responsibilities

Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust