Senior Dental Nurse
Job overview
There are Five Health Centre’s/Clinics providing dental services within the Manchester Local Care Organisation. Manchester Community Dental Service (MCDS) provides a high standard of professional care for patients who are unable to access care in the General Dental Services due to their special and additional needs.It provides comprehensive dental care for people in priority groups to ensure that they are able to access primary and specialist dental care. In addition, MCDS provides a specialised dental service which complements the existing primary dental services.
In particular, it provides dental care for patients of all ages with challenging medical conditions, learning difficulties, mental and physical disability, special dental conditions and social and behavioral limitations. Emphasis is given to the promotion of dental health and the prevention of disease.
Main duties of the job
The Senior Dental Nurse will be responsible for providing day-to-day management support for the city-wide Manchester Community Dental Service dental nursing staff under the direction of the Dental Nurse Manager.
Additional responsibilities will include leading the Dental Nurse Teams and to support the service in the delivery of treatment under sedation to children and adults who are unable to access general dental treatment due to complex physical, medical, mental, behavioral, social, emotional, intellectual, sensory impairment or disability.
They will use their knowledge and skills to ensure that clinical support is provided to the clinical lead, consultant, specialists and other professional dental staff. The post holder will also have a wider role for specific Service functions carrying out work involving greater responsibility and autonomy than Dental Nurse Team Leaders.
Key relationships:
MCDS Dental Nurse Manager
MCDS Clinical Lead
MCDS Service Manager
MCDS Dental Nurse Manager
Consultant in Special Care Dentistry
MCDS Specialist in Special Care Dentistry
MCDS Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry
Working for our organisation
MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.
Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.
We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.
We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.
At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading. So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’ that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification.This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.
Diversity Matters
MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating, and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post.As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at [email protected].
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- NVQ in Oral Health Care Level 3: Dental Nursing or equivalent
- Registration with General Dental Council
- Formal managerial qualification or demonstrable experience.
- Post qualification in Conscious Sedation
- Delivering better Oral Health and application of Fluoride varnish.
Skills
Essential criteria- Knowledge of Community Dental Services
- Ability to lead a team
- Ability to act on own initiative
- Ability to manage competing priorities and work under pressure
- Thorough knowledge of policies and procedures relevant to dentistry including COSHH, HTM01-05, IR(ME)R 2018, IRR2017
- Well-developed communication skills
- Good level of computer literacy including use of commonly used I.T. systems
- Demonstrates knowledge of local and national issues regarding Dental Care Professionals
- Ability to plan and organise own and others’ work
- Evidence of continuing professional education and personal development
- Willing to develop skills and undertake further training
Experience
Essential criteria- Relevant experience of working at a Band 5 level in a Team Leader role in the Salaried Dental Services or equivalent
- Evidence of experience in providing care for Special Care and Paediatric patients
- Evidence of experience of working with patients of all ages with additional needs and challenging behaviour.
- Understanding of Clinical Governance and audit
- Experience of recruitment processes
- Experience of multi-disciplinary working