Practice Nurses

Working within our multidisciplinary team, you will provide high-quality, evidence-based and patient-centred General Practice Nursing care. Depending on your experience and competencies, duties may include:

• Long-term condition reviews and management, including asthma, COPD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, plus spirometry
• Adult, childhood and baby immunisations, including seasonal vaccination programmes
• Womens health, including cervical screening, contraceptive/pill reviews and injectable contraception
• LARC services, including coil and implant fitting/removal where appropriately trained and qualified
• Wound assessment and management, dressings and suture/clip removal
• Ear assessment, otoscopy and ear irrigation
• Phlebotomy, urinalysis, specimen collection and point-of-care testing
• NHS Health Checks, health promotion and lifestyle advice
• ECGs, blood pressure monitoring, injections and other treatment-room procedures
• Supporting minor surgery and responding appropriately to clinical deterioration
• Maintaining accurate records, clinical coding, infection control and safeguarding standards
• Working collaboratively with the wider multidisciplinary team, Working as part of our multidisciplinary primary care teams, you will provide high-quality, evidence-based and patient-centred nursing care across a broad range of General Practice Nursing services.
The precise scope of the role will depend upon your existing qualifications, experience and competencies. We do not expect every applicant to already be competent in every area listed below. For nurses who are new to General Practice, or those wishing to extend their existing Practice Nursing skills, appropriate training, supervision and competency development will be supported. Depending on experience and competency, the role may include: Long-term condition management
• Undertaking structured reviews and ongoing management of patients with long-term conditions
• Supporting the management of conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension
• Performing Spirometry
• Monitoring blood pressure and other relevant clinical observations
• Supporting patients with personalised care, self-management and lifestyle interventions
• Identifying deterioration, clinical concerns or changes requiring escalation to an appropriate clinician
Immunisations and vaccinations
• Delivering routine adult immunisation programmes
• Childhood and baby immunisations in accordance with the national immunisation schedule
• Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccination programmes
• Shingles, pneumococcal and other eligible vaccination programmes
• Reviewing vaccination histories and identifying outstanding immunisations
• Providing appropriate patient and parent/carer advice regarding vaccination
• Working in accordance with current national guidance, Patient Group Directions and practice protocols
Women's health and contraception Depending upon qualifications and competency, this may include:
• Cervical screening and associated health promotion
• Contraceptive reviews and routine pill checks
• Supporting patients with contraceptive choices and providing appropriate information and advice, alongside the GP team
• Administration of injectable contraception where appropriate
• Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) services
• Intrauterine contraception (coil) fitting and removal, where appropriately trained and qualified
• Contraceptive implant fitting and removal, where appropriately trained and qualified
• Supporting sexual and reproductive health promotion and signposting or referring patients where appropriate
Wound care and treatment-room nursing
• Wound assessment and ongoing wound management
• Simple and complex dressings according to competency
• Suture and clip removal
• Assessment of wound healing and identification of infection or deterioration
• Supporting patients with ongoing wound-care plans
• Other treatment-room procedures appropriate to the Practice Nurse role
Ear care
• Assessment of patients presenting with ear-related symptoms within scope of competence
• Otoscopic examination and ear checks
• Assessment and management of excessive ear wax
• Providing advice regarding appropriate ear care and wax-softening preparations
• Ear irrigation, where clinically appropriate and in accordance with training, competency and practice protocols
• Recognising symptoms or findings requiring onward referral or medical assessment
Phlebotomy, investigations and specimen testing
• Venepuncture and collection of blood samples
• Urinalysis and appropriate interpretation/action within scope of competence
• Collection and preparation of other clinical specimens
• Undertaking appropriate point-of-care testing where available
• Recording and acting upon results in accordance with practice protocols and level of competence
• Recognising abnormal findings and escalating concerns appropriately
Health promotion and patient education
• Providing evidence-based advice and support regarding smoking cessation
• Diet, nutrition and weight management
• Physical activity
• Alcohol consumption
• Cardiovascular risk reduction
• Supporting patients to understand and manage their health conditions
• Promoting independence, self-care and shared decision-making
General clinical care Depending upon competency and the services provided by the practices, duties may also include:
• Routine clinical observations and assessments
• ECG recording
• Blood pressure monitoring
• Injections and medicines administered under appropriate authorisation
• Supporting minor surgery and other practice-based procedures
• Chaperoning where appropriate
• Recognising and responding appropriately to acutely unwell or deteriorating patients
• Providing appropriate first aid and emergency care within the practice environment
• Making appropriate referrals or escalating clinical concerns to GPs or other members of the multidisciplinary team
Clinical administration and professional responsibilities
• Maintaining accurate, timely and contemporaneous clinical records
• Ensuring appropriate clinical coding and documentation
• Reviewing and maintaining recall systems where relevant to the role
• Working in accordance with practice policies, clinical protocols and current evidence-based guidance
• Maintaining appropriate infection prevention and control standards
• Following safeguarding procedures for children and adults at risk
• Maintaining patient confidentiality and information governance standards
• Participating in clinical audit, quality improvement and significant-event learning where appropriate
• Maintaining professional competence through continuing professional development and training
Team and cross-organisational working
• Working collaboratively with GPs, Practice Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, pharmacists, administrative colleagues and the wider multidisciplinary team
• Contributing to practice meetings, clinical discussions and service development
• Supporting colleagues and sharing knowledge and good practice
• Liaising with community, secondary care and other healthcare professionals as required
• Contributing to the development and delivery of high-quality nursing services across our practices
• Opportunities to work across both Millbrook Surgery and Glastonbury Health Centre, supporting greater variety, collaboration, shared learning and professional development
Development for nurses new to General Practice If you are new to General Practice, please do not be discouraged by the breadth of the competencies listed above. We do not expect you to arrive with all these skills. We recognise that General Practice Nursing is a broad and specialist role, and we are keen to support Registered Nurses with strong transferable clinical skills who would like to develop a career in primary care. Your clinical duties will be matched to your existing experience and competencies, with appropriate training, supervision and development provided to enable you to broaden your skills safely over time. For experienced Practice Nurses, we would equally welcome the opportunity to utilise your existing expertise and discuss areas in which you may wish to further develop or take a particular clinical lead.

We recognise that the right candidate may come to us with significant Practice Nursing experience, or with strong transferable nursing skills and a desire to learn. We are therefore happy to consider applicants at different stages of their nursing careers. For nurses who are new to General Practice, we can provide support, training and development to help you build the knowledge, skills and competencies required to become a confident Practice Nurse. For experienced Practice Nurses, we want to make the best use of your existing skills and expertise while providing opportunities to continue developing your role. The salary/pay grade offered will therefore reflect the successful candidate's qualifications, competencies, skills and level of Practice Nursing experience. Both full-time and part-time opportunities are available, and we also have the opportunity to work across both our practices Millbrook Surgery in Castle and Glastonbury Health Centre.,
• Registered Nurse with current NMC registration
• Relevant post-registration clinical nursing experience
• Commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to organise and prioritise workload
• Understanding of professional accountability and working within scope of competence
• Ability to recognise when advice, support or clinical escalation is required
• Commitment to continuing professional development
• Good IT skills and willingness to use General Practice clinical systems
• Reliable, adaptable and enthusiastic about contributing to our practices, The following are desirable but are not essential for applicants who are new to General Practice:
• Previous Practice Nursing or primary care experience
• Long-term condition management experience
• Cervical screening qualification/competency
• Immunisation and vaccination competency
• Wound management experience
• Experience undertaking NHS Health Checks
• Health promotion and preventative care experience
• Experience using General Practice clinical systems
• Relevant post-registration qualifications applicable to Practice Nursing
• Please do not be discouraged from applying if you are interested in moving into General Practice but do not currently hold all of the Practice Nursing-specific competencies listed above.
  
  This role is predominantly based at Millbrook Surgery in Castle Cary, where you will join our friendly and supportive practice team, providing high-quality care to our local community.
Millbrook Surgery works collaboratively with Glastonbury Health Centre, while both practices retain their own identity, teams and patient populations. For candidates who are interested, there may be opportunities to work across both practices, offering additional variety, shared learning and professional development. This could include developing particular clinical interests or supporting services across the two sites. Cross-practice working is not a requirement, and Millbrook Surgery will remain the primary base for this role. We are happy to discuss the opportunities available and a working pattern that reflects both practice needs and the successful candidates skills and interests.