Band 7 Heart Failure Clinical Nurse Specialist

The Heart Failure service at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) is looking for a Band 7 Nurse Specialist (CNS) to join this dynamic team, for a period of 12 months, to cover maternity leave. This service cares for a broad spectrum of patients with confirmed heart failure (HF) including providing direct expert guidance and support following diagnosis that includes;

• Recommending/prescribing medications, ensuring appropriate reviews and follow up appointments.



• Supporting patients / carers in recognising symptom deterioration so they know when to escalate concerns so inappropriate emergency presentations to hospital are minimised.



• Identifying patients likely to benefit from device implantation.



• Supporting patients/carers when palliative / end of life management plans are indicated.


With the support and guidance of the HF Consultants and HF CNS/NMP colleagues, positively contribute to the care delivered to patients with confirmed HF, providing nursing clinical and educational expertise to support and guide patients/carers and non-specialist staff, including our Primary Care colleagues.

The HF CNS responsibilities span both acute in-patient activity and outpatient settings including bedside, face to face and/or telephone consultations. The post holder will also contribute to the audit/research agenda at service away days and Multidisciplinary Team and Divisional meetings.

Main duties of the job

The work plan for this post is varied and will include the following:

In patient management:

The Band 7 HF CNS:

Manages the electronic in-patient referrals received by the service and, where indicated, undertake a bedside assessment including physical examination, symptoms, and medication review. Following discussion and agreement with the on-call HF consultant the HF CNS electronically records a HF care/treatment plan. This plan includes appropriate followed-up arrangements in the HF service after discharge.

Respond to the secretary/clinical colleague and patient enquiries received either following a telephone call or email.

Post Discharge management:

Each week the HF CNS is required to manage an out-patient caseload, consisting of 2 clinics per week, which can be either face to face or telephone consultations. Following consultation, the HF CNS is required to generate letters using our electronic systems. This activity includes; scrutiny of blood results and medication response in order to optimise therapies/symptom control.

Additional duties will include the collection of data for national audit and also contribution to the weekly MDT meetings at which cases will be presented.

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can;Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

University Hospitals Birmingham is a Smoke-Free premises hospital.