Clinical Pain Nurse Specialist within the CALM Service

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

This role would suit a nurse specialist with experience in chronic pain &/or palliative care. The CALM service was established in 2009 and has a small but dedicated team comprising a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Physiotherapy Specialist, Pain Nurse Specialist, Assistant Psychologist and an Administrator (all 0.4 WTE) as well as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Specialist (0.2 WTE). It aims to improve the quality of life of adult patients with chronic pain, helping them achieve their optimal level of function and self-reliance in managing pain through a programme of psychologically informed education and guided practice.

Main duties of the job

The Clinical Pain Nurse Specialist will lead on the medication issues relating to chronic pain, advising and supporting patients in optimising and reducing their pain medication as appropriate. They will also be involved in the delivery of the group pain management programme as well as undertaking individual and joint work with patients as required.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide a high-quality, advanced, expert nursing and cost-effective service to patients referred to the Centre for Active Lifestyle Management (CALM) Service. This comprises a multi-professional team (Psychology, Physiotherapy and Nursing) who work with patients with chronic pain to help them improve their quality of life.

The Division aims to provide an environment conducive to the on-going development of all staff and advancements in the quality of the service by ensuring provision of a high standard of training, teaching and clinical care.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist will be an advanced and experienced practitioner within the field of chronic pain and they will be expected to provide clinical support, working independently or assisting with multi-professional interventions in which full training has been undertaken based on clinical practice standards.

The role of Clinical Nurse Specialist requires a high degree of personal and professional autonomy in making clinical judgements. Taking sole and joint responsibility as appropriate for patients during their time in the care of the CALM service to ensure a successful patient-based outcome, which will require assessment, planning and implementation of treatment.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist will be required to give advice and guidance to other health professionals regarding chronic pain interventions and clinical practice.

This will include a review of the effectiveness of treatments offered.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• MSc level learning
• RN / RM – Part 1
• Relevant specialist course or similar
• Mentorship course (supervising and assessing) • Advanced training/skills in chronic pain
• In-depth knowledge of anatomy related to chronic pain • Knowledge of conditions, management and treatment

• knowledge of quality standards
• Counselling course
• Non-Medical Prescribing

Experience

• Senior clinical experience within chronic pain • Experience in Practice Guideline Development
• Audit and Research Experience
• Evidence of clinical leadership qualities
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload
• Evidence of using primary and secondary healthcare teams and resources
• Ability to clinically lead and direct staff

• Lead an audit and/or research study
• Presentation and publishing experience
• Caseload management
• Leading a service

Knowledge

• Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills • Counselling skills
• Computer Skills • Ability to conduct own project successfully and follow them through

• Change management • Statistics and report writing

Personal Qualities

• Maturity and self-awareness
• Creative, lateral thinker
• Sensitivity based on knowledge
• Flexible and positive approach to work • Enthusiasm and motivation
• Evidence of clinical leadership qualities • Commitment to nursing

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.