Dental Staff Nurse
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it.Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’.Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS.We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
Have you got the skills and experience to work in one of London's leading teaching hospitals?
The Dental directorate at Guy's and St Thomas' are seeking qualified Dental Nurses to work across various dental departments on both hospital sites. We have a number of permanent full time, or part time and fixed term contracts.
Applicants should hold a recognised Dental Nurse qualification. To be considered a qualified Dental Nurse; you should have achieved one of the following:
- The National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN) Certificate
- The NVQ Level 3 in Oral Healthcare: Dental Nursing
- A Certificate of Proficiency in Dental Nursing awarded by a recognised Dental Hospital Certificate of Higher Education in Dental Nursing offered by the School of Professionals Complementary to Dentistry
- Registered to the GDC
If you have initiative, are committed to developing your career in dental nursing, eager to take up a challenge, like the variety of different specialties and would enjoy working in an hospital environment, then please apply.
Closing date: 19/03/2025 at MidnightInterview date: 03/04/2025
Main duties of the job
The post holder (Dental Staff Nurse) will work as a member of the dental department and will be expected to undertake a wide range of dental nursing duties on both sites and across all specialities moving departments when required
The post holder will also take part in assisting with the teaching of undergraduate dental students and dental nursing apprentices.
Working for our organisation
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
The Dental Institute comprises three components:
- The Dental Hospital of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust,
- The Dental Hospital of King’s NHS Foundation Trust
- King’s College London Dental Institute
cross both the NHS and the University sector. The Dental Institute is
accountable to each of its parent Trusts and the post holder, in conjunction
with the Clinical Director, is expected to ensure that the clinical services
delivered (by both staff and students) meet NHS standards of practice, and
specific Trust standards.
The Dental Institute is based on both the Guy's and St Thomas campuses; both sites offer modern facilities for the care of patients, teaching and research.The Dental Institute is committed to becoming the major university hospital in the UK and to staying in the forefront of patient care, teaching and research.
The Dental Hospital and Institute aim to provide excellence in the delivery of oral and dental care, training and education.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To communicate and co-ordinate effectively with appropriate clinicians, staff, professional bodies and external agencies.
Liaise with Dental, Pathology, and Haematology laboratories regardingwork/reports for patients.
Communicate with other healthcare groups and work in collaboration with them regarding the patient’s continuing care.
To provide oral health advice to all patients on a one to one basis, taking into consideration possible communication barriers with regard to culture, lingual, ethnic or special needs.
To recognise and implement the use of appropriate communication aids topatients and carers.
To participate in relevant Oral Health promotions.
Provide via telecommunication systems advice and reassurance regarding
patients with emergency dental problems.
To provide clinical teaching where appropriate for undergraduates and
Professions Complimentary to Dentistry.
To assist in the supervision and training of student Dental Nurses by
explanation, demonstration and the passing of information
Professional / Clinical responsibilities
To have individual responsibility for the preparation and organisation of a dental unit where clinical procedures will be undertaken. Ensure the dental unit is prepared and ready at start of all clinical sessions.Monitor the patient’s physical signs prior, during and post treatment.
Achieve and maintain high standards of cleanliness and infection control in line with current codes of practice.
Provide assistance and support throughout the patient’s treatment. Anticipating the clinician’s needs and any possible complications which may arise including assistance in the management of medical and dental emergencies. Act upon dentists clinical requests whilst providing chair side assistance.
Be responsible for the security of equipment and materials in clinical areas.To provide clinical support and advice to the dental team, i.e. dentist, postgraduate and undergraduate students and Professionals Complimentary to Dentistry as required. Before, during and post treatment of the patient. .
To identify each patient’s medical and dental nursing needs, before, during post treatment of the patient.
Advise, triage and prioritise dental emergency patients to ensure they receive the most appropriate care.
To work independently and have responsibility for own actions when delivering dental nursing care.
Please see attached job description for full details
Person specification
Qualifications/ Education
Essential criteria- Registered dental nurse
- NEBDN certificate in dental nursing or NVQ level 3 in oral health
- Evidence of commitment to continuing prof development
- NEBDN post certifications qualifications
Value and behaviour
Essential criteria- Value and behaviour
Skills
Essential criteria- Good dental nursing skills to enable working without supervision
- Able to work in a team and support junior members
- An effective communicator
- Able to prioritise
- Information Technology
- Assessors Award
Experience
Essential criteria- Significant chairside experience
- Experience of working with wide range of dental procedures
- Experience in chosen speciality
Additional Information
Essential criteria- Act in a friendly, reliable, enthusiastic, caring approach to patients and staff
- Flexible approach to day to day changes
- Commitment to develop skills and undertake further training
- Regular attendance and punctual
- Able to use initiative
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service.We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.
Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."