Alcohol Liaison Nurse

We have an exciting opportunity for a registered nurse to join the Alcohol Care Team (ACT) at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated nurse with a passion for supporting patients with alcohol-related conditions, who is keen to contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of this specialist service. The ACT currently delivers a 5-day service (08:00-18:00) across all four hospital sites: John Radcliffe, Churchill, NOC, and Horton. The team plays a vital role in improving the management of alcohol withdrawal, reducing alcohol-related hospital presentations, and facilitating referrals into community alcohol services. A key aspect of this role is patient advocacy-ensuring that patients' needs, preferences, and voices are central to care planning and decision-making. The post holder will work collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team to provide specialist assessment, support safe and effective care, and promote improved patient outcomes. You will also have a key role in education and training, delivering teaching to healthcare professionals on alcohol identification and screening, brief interventions, and the management of alcohol withdrawal. The role also focuses on reducing stigma associated with alcohol use disorder and promoting compassionate, person-centred care across the Trust.,

• Ensure that patients are screened and identified as drinking at harmful or hazardous levels and deliver specialist advice regarding safe reduction, relief pattern drinking and harm minimisation advice
• Facilitate onward referrals to primary care and community drug and alcohol services
• Complete timely and efficient data collection in regards to proposed metrics set out for the project
• Work in conjunction with medical colleagues to assess patients and formulate safe discharge plans/re-divert to more appropriate community based services
• Provide specialist advice, guidance and education to all members of the multidisciplinary team. This will include delivering a specialist teaching package to ED staff
• Work within current clinical guidelines regarding the protocol for alcohol withdrawal
• Identify the education and training needs of various staff groups and disciplines within the trust
• Help in the undertaking of clinical audits relevant to the area of expertise
• To record all activity pertaining to clinical contact, audit and training as per the ACT requirements, and to facilitate the meeting of key targets around reduction of length of stay, inappropriate admissions, frequent attendances, onward successful referral into treatment and successful completion of detoxification
• Flexibility with the travel will be required as cross site cover will be needed during the working week, Assist in the assessment of patients admitted with alcohol related issues, or where alcohol has been identified as being used in a hazardous, harmful or dependent way
• Provide specialist advice and guidance regarding medication with regards to alcohol maintenance and withdrawal management as specified in clinical guidelines
• Work in conjunction with ED colleagues to assess and re-divert patients to more appropriate community based services
• Accountable with senior colleagues for accepting, prioritising and processing referrals from relevant wards and departments
• Provide specialist treatment advice to all relevant members of the multidisciplinary team
• Formulate in-patient treatment plans, risk assessments, management and appropriate aftercare and/or onward referral
• Required to offer individual opportunistic brief interventions to referred patients regarding their use of alcohol whilst they are in hospital
• Ensure that the clients care plan meets the diverse needs of all groups of service users
• Ensure accurate records are kept of all patient contact and interventions made
• Work with other hospital liaison staff (i.e. liaison psychiatry) and team members to make substantial contribution to the development of policies and practice
• Help to develop and maintaining a local database system to evaluate the service
• Assist in the evaluation of the service as required and appropriate
• Identify and highlight any safeguarding risks and raise these appropriately as per OUH policies and procedures
• Work closely and effectively with third sector organisations and primary care to deliver continued support to this patient cohort. For example engaging with local drug and alcohol services, adult/children's social care, GPs and housing., The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
  
  Experience of working autonomously
• Experience of working in conjunction with the MDT
Desirable criteria
• Experience of working within Hepatology/Alcohol services, You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
  
  Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.
The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel., Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury. Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence, and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel. In 2023 NHS England launched its first sexual safety charter, and our Trust proudly signed it. We pledge zero tolerance for inappropriate sexual behaviour and commit to the ten core principles Oxford University Hospitals promotes a safe, respectful hiring environment. If you want to make a difference with us, come and join our team. Together, we will uphold the highest standards of care and professionalism.