Dementia Specialist Nurse (Admiral Nurse), equivalent to NHS Band 7

Dementia Support Bucks is designed to improve the support and guidance available to someone with memory concern or a diagnosis of dementia, and their carers. Buckinghamshire has over 4,500 residents living with a dementia diagnosis and working alongside many local organisations, our service is developing strong relationships with existing referrers and professionals, including the Memory Assessment Service, working with local support groups and communities for whom dementia represents especially problematic challenges. We are also building online resources to share information and activities that are relevant to clients and professionals.

The service is delivered by a team of Dementia Support Workers (DSWs), whose role is to be a consistent support to those living with dementia, and their carers - through assessments and support plans to help manage the evolving nature of the condition, to end-of-life planning. It's a challenging and demanding role, but one that we know will bring rewards, professional development, and job satisfaction.

The role of the Admiral Nurse in this service

The Admiral Nurse will be a specialist resource Embedded within this service to provide expert clinical support, guidance and intervention for families affected by dementia who have complex needs. This will strengthen specialist support within the Age UK's Dementia Support Service and improve coordination, capacity and knowledge across the local dementia ecosystem.

The Admiral Nurse will sit within the service to support a wraparound approach to dementia support, ensuring that the right professionals are providing the right support at the right time. The Admiral Nurse will work collaboratively with staff at Age UK Buckinghamshire's Dementia Support Bucks, building knowledge and capability in the wider Dementia ecosystem, including working within the DSB service with local GPs, Dementia support groups, and establishing best practice and professional development approaches in the service itself.

The Admiral Nurse will not be required to hold their own caseload, but will support Dementia Support Workers with theirs, especially the more complex cases. Support will be delivered through joint working and where necessary, clinic appointments.

The post holder will:

Work collaboratively with Dementia Support Workers at Age UK Buckinghamshire to support best practice and professional development to enhance dementia support

Reduce inequality to improve accessibility to specialist dementia support

Provide support and guidance to families experiencing complexities of dementia

Provide appropriate signposting to other health and social care providers within Buckinghamshire to support timely access to dementia support

Support ongoing quality improvement initiatives in the DSB service, to ensure appropriate access to the dementia diagnostic Pathway and post diagnostic support

Support evaluation to measure service outcomes to demonstrate impact and experience for families and professionals

Deliver the role in line with the Admiral Nurse Practice Standards Framework

Share knowledge across primary care services to improve appropriate referrals to the Memory Assessment Service delivered by Oxford Health.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Support for the whole family

Provide specialist nursing support using the Admiral Nurse assessment Framework, adopting a holistic, relationship centred approach

Support people with dementia, carers/families and staff and other health and social care professionals to understand and respond to changes in behaviour and relationships

Oversee and advise on holistic assessments and interventions delivered by DSW's

Improve understanding among carers, people with dementia and the wider public of dementia progression and self-management strategies pre- and post-diagnosis including Post Diagnosis Information Sessions (PDIS)

Enhance understanding and communication between family carers and professional caregivers

Support complex case decision-making

Provide a range of advice on psychosocial interventions and emotional support to promote health and wellbeing for people with dementia and their carers/families

Support advance care planning discussions, including guidance and support to DSWs and the service to enable improved planning for families when dealing with end of life and during bereavement

Provide guidance relating to mental capacity, safeguarding and mental health are considered and adhered to in relation to patient care.

These activities will be delivered through a variety of settings including team meetings, PDIS sessions, home visits, telephone calls, face to face or an online clinic appointment. Outreach clinics and group-based education may also be delivered where appropriate.

Workforce development and sharing of best practice

Provide clinical leadership support and guidance to others on the delivery of evidence-based practice in dementia care within Dementia Support Bucks

Provide advice, information, and guidance to primary care services on dementia presentation, identification and appropriate referral, with targeted training for GP practices with high referral volumes but low diagnosis rates

Promote involvement of carers and people with dementia in care planning and decision-making

Support the wider dementia ecosystem including safe and robust capacity building eg dementia cafes

Reducing inequality of accessibility to dementia care

Improve equitable access to specialist dementia support for families with complex needs in line with Core20PLUS5 priorities

Support the DSB service approach to delivering flexible, person-centred support (home visits, virtual and clinic appointments) to minimise barriers related to transport, mobility, digital exclusion or caring responsibilities

Support identification of gaps in access and inform continuous improvement, reducing health inequalities within the service area

Improve service reach into marginalised groups including Young onset Dementia; Adults with learning disability; and ethnic minority groups including traveller/Roma communities

Professional Practice & Accountability:

Clinical

Identify complexities of dementia using advanced communication, negotiation and diplomacy skills

Provide advice and support on complex care transitions for people with dementia and their carers/families to reduce the frequency of crisis situations

Recognise the limits of own competency and the professional boundaries

Evaluation & quality improvement

Collect and review quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate and audit the Admiral Nurse Service within Dementia Support Bucks and for service improvement and development

Liaise with Dementia UK Insights and Evaluation team where appropriate, to ensure that the impact and effectiveness of Admiral Nurse interventions are well evaluated

Advise and support on the development and delivery of work streams as part of Age UK Buckinghamshire's dementia strategy, where appropriate

Be aware of current research related to dementia treatments/interventions and support people with dementia/carers/families to get involved in research where appropriate

Governance and compliance

Where Safeguarding concerns are present, take appropriate and timely actions in line with Age UK Buckinghamshire policies and procedures

Ensure that contact records are up to date, maintained and stored appropriately in line with GDPR

Identify and record risks to the Admiral Nurse service, escalating appropriately