Drug and Alcohol Hospital Liason Practitioner
Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
As a Band 7 Adult Nurse working as a Drug and Alcohol Hospital Practitioner, you will play a key role in providing expert care across a range of acute hospital settings, including Accident & Emergency (A&E), inpatient wards, and outpatient clinics.You will assess, manage, and support individuals who present with substance misuse issues, using your knowledge of how drugs and alcohol impact the body and contribute to both short- and long-term health complications.
This role with primarily be based at Luton & Dunstable Hospital, currently there are two drug and alcohol recovery workers based in the hospital, this specialist role will be new to the service.
Main duties of the job
Your role will require an understanding of addiction, its physiological and psychological effects, and the principles of trauma-informed care. You will be responsible for delivering personalised care plans. This will involve supporting individuals through withdrawal, managing overdose situations, and assisting with rehabilitation and recovery, all while ensuring safe and effective pharmacological interventions.
Collaboration will be key, as you work closely with multidisciplinary hospital teams, including medical staff, social workers, and mental health professionals, to ensure comprehensive care for individuals with complex needs. In addition, you will engage with community drug and alcohol services to provide seamless, ongoing support and facilitate the discharge process.Your ability to work effectively across both hospital and community settings will ensure that patients receive continuous care that meets their physical, emotional, and social needs.
As a leader within the team, you will also mentor and guide junior drug and alcohol staff, sharing your expertise and promoting best practices in drug and alcohol care. You will be committed to developing your own skills and ensuring that care delivery is in line with the latest evidence-based practices, national standards, and hospital protocols.This role demands a compassionate, patient-centred approach, as well as the ability to navigate complex situations with sensitivity and professionalism.
Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Responsibilities: Drug and Alcohol Hospital liaison Practitioner- Patient Assessment and Care Planning:
- Conduct comprehensive assessments of patients presenting with drug and alcohol-related issues across acute hospital settings (A&E, inpatient, and outpatient).
- Develop individualised care plans based on assessment findings, considering the physical, psychological, and social aspects of substance misuse.
- Monitor and manage patients experiencing alcohol or drug withdrawal, overdose, or acute intoxication, ensuring safe and appropriate interventions.
- Autonomous Clinical Decision-Making:
- Make clinical decisions related to the care and treatment of individuals with substance use disorders, working independently when necessary and escalating to senior medical staff as appropriate.
- Recommend and administer medications for detoxification, withdrawal management, and overdose reversal, ensuring safe practices in line with hospital protocols.
- Trauma-Informed Care:
- Deliver care in a compassionate, trauma-informed manner, recognising the complex relationship between addiction and past trauma, and adapting approaches to suit individual patient needs.
- Provide psychological support and advocate for patients, ensuring their voices are heard and respected throughout the care process.
- Collaboration with Multidisciplinary Teams:
- Work closely with other hospital departments, including medical, nursing, mental health, and social care teams, to coordinate comprehensive care plans.
- Participate in ward rounds and case discussions, sharing expertise on addiction and drug/alcohol-related conditions to inform patient care strategies.
- Partnership with Community Services:
- Engage with community drug and alcohol services to ensure a smooth transition for patients from hospital care to community-based support, including rehabilitation and aftercare services.
- Facilitate referrals to relevant external services, including counseling, outpatient clinics, and long-term addiction treatment programs.
- Patient Advocacy:
- Act as an advocate for patients, ensuring their rights and preferences are respected, and that they are informed and involved in decisions about their care.
- Provide support for patients to navigate the healthcare system, including addressing concerns about stigma or discrimination related to substance misuse.
- Education and Training:
- Provide training and mentorship to junior nursing staff and other healthcare professionals, ensuring they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to recognize and support patients with substance use disorders.
- Educate patients and their families about the effects of drugs and alcohol, treatment options, and pathways to recovery.
- Record Keeping and Documentation:
- Maintain accurate and timely documentation of patient assessments, care plans, progress notes, and outcomes in line with legal and professional standards.
- Ensure that patient records are updated regularly to reflect any changes in treatment or care.
- Quality Improvement and Best Practice:
- Stay updated with the latest research and evidence-based practices in drug and alcohol treatment, and integrate this knowledge into clinical practice.
- Contribute to audits, service evaluations, and quality improvement initiatives related to drug and alcohol services within the hospital setting.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- NMC qualification
Experience
Essential criteria- Drug and Alcohol Experience
Making Things Better
Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.
We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.
Our Community
We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London.We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.
Aiming High
We were rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated ‘Outstanding’ again in 2018 and continue to be rate 'Outstanding' in 2021.. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.
Staff and Service Users United
We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services.We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.
We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.
Diversity
ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve.Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.
Other reasons to apply
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.
What Next?
If you like the sound of ELFT, don’t waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!
As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS.We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same..
If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made.Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.
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