Specialist Dental Nurse - Special Care Dentistry

To support the management of clinical sessions within the Special Care Dentistry Department including the delivery of dental sedation. Provide a high level of dental nursing care with a particular focus on patients who require additional support and with complex social and medical histories. Act as the second appropriately trained person to monitor the clinical condition of the patient during and after conscious sedation., Maintain a high standard of patient care supporting those with complex social and medical histories. Carry out all dental nurse activities using the full scope of practice and extended duties where indicated. Support with safe moving and handling of patients including the use of manual handling equipment such as hoists and carrying out risk assessments. Prepare clinical environments including all relevant patient records, radiographs, equipment and clinical materials. Receiving and preparing patients for treatment under the direction of the clinician. Be professionally responsible for ensuring high standards of infection prevention and control and decontamination processes. Assisting dental staff in the full range of dental treatments ensuring all relevant information about the patient, including changes of condition, is reported to the clinician. Provide high standards of nursing support for complex care under general anaesthetic and sedation within LUDH and LHCH with the expectation to travel to other sites. Responsible for the maintenance and preparation of sedation equipment for clinical use and ensure the smooth running of sedation clinics. Checking the patient's fitness for discharge after sedation and providing post-operative information Following LocSSIP guidelines and checks and participate in behavioural audits. Liaising with multi-disciplinary teams (Haematology/Oncology/Clatterbridge/ LHCH/primary care/domiciliary visits) to arrange appointments/follow-up care. Reassuring and informing patients about further treatment and arrange follow-up appointments. Ordering, preparation and maintenance of controlled drugs including record keeping and audits. Act as the appropriate key holder as and when required. Point of care for INR and glucose testing. Support with clinical holding when indicated. Provide specialist pre and post operative advice and oral health education to patients. Carry out basic triage of patients and recording of pre-operative assessments such as height, weight and blood pressure. Awareness of current trends and changes in Health and Safety ensuring clinics adhere to regulations and follow guidelines. Management of clinical waste, dealing appropriately and safely with hazardous or toxic waste materials. Ensure any incidents or occurrences are reported appropriately and support with any follow up actions. Support the Senior Dental Nurse in maintaining a safe and efficient clinical environment. Any other duties consistent with the grade and as indicated by the Senior Dental Nurse. This job description is intended to be a guide of the general scope and duties required of the role and is not intended to be definitive or restrictive. It is expected that some of the duties will change over time and this job description will be subject to review. Teaching and Training Carry out departmental inductions for all new staff and students of varying grades within the department. Responsible for appropriate teaching and mentoring activities for staff and students within the department. Liaise with the Senior Nurse/Dental Nurse Manager to ensure skill mix is available to support safe and efficient clinical sessions. Where required, carry out performance evaluations for staff undertaking training and document their progress in line with educational requirements. Assist with departmental audits and implementation of outcomes where appropriate. Keep up to date with contemporary developments within dentistry and changes in Standards for Conscious Sedation and update skills as required. Professional: To maintain effective communication and professional relationships with all areas of the department, other clinical areas within the hospital and external associates. Exercising leadership skills and acting as a role model to other members of staff helping to create high morale and good communication. Assisting with patient complaints and where possible, prevent or deescalate the situation in an appropriate manner. Participate in annual appraisals being aware of individual training needs and successfully completing set objectives and prepare a personal development plan. Undertake mandatory and role specific training within required timescales, meet training requirements and achieve timely update. Undertake relevant courses to continuously develop knowledge & skills and maintain records of CPD. Maintain GDC registration including a commitment to behave ethically, professionally and uphold the standards of the profession. The post holder will be required to communicate effectively across organisational boundaries as required: Internal Clinical & Non-Clinical staff at the Dental Hospital & University of Liverpool School of Dentistry. Communicate and liaise with patients, carers and all multidisciplinary staff across the organisation. Other relevant departments within the Trust, e.g. Estates, Supplies, HR, Fire, Infection Control External Outside agencies as appropriate

Your expertise in dental nursing is coupled with specialised knowledge and skills in managing patients with physical, mental, or medical challenges, ensuring they receive tailored and compassionate care. Collaborating closely with multi-disciplinary teams and other healthcare professionals, you assist in various procedures including dental sedation, always prioritising patient comfort and safety. Your attention to detail, empathy, compassion and ability to adapt to diverse patient requirements contribute significantly to the department's success in delivering high quality dental care to individuals with unique healthcare needs.,

• A Dental Nurse qualification that enables registration with the GDC e.g., Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing, NEBDN National Certificate or equivalent.
• Registered as a Dental Nurse with the GDC.
• Post Qualification in Dental Sedation
Desirable criteria
• Other Post Qualifications e.g., Oral Health Education, Special Care Dental Nursing.
• Teaching/Mentor qualification, Demonstrable experience of working in GDP, Dental Hospital, CDS or Armed forces.
• Significant experience in a wide range of dentistry and working within in a Special Care Dentistry Department.
Desirable criteria
• Experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams., Appropriate to the GDC Scope of Practice and compliant with GDC CPD requirements, Communication Skills: Demonstrate clarity in written/spoken communication and be able to communicate effectively with staff and patients.
• Team Involvement: Capacity to work effectively within a multi-professional team.
• Empathy & Sensitivity: Capacity to take in others' perspectives and treat others with understanding; sees patients as people.
• Organisation, Planning and Coping with Pressure: Capacity to manage time and information effectively. Capacity to operate under pressure
• Flexibility: Ability to work flexibly across the Dental Hospital as required., You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
  
  Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2019 following the merger of two adult acute Trusts, Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The merger provides an opportunity to reconfigure services in a way that provides the best healthcare services to the city and improves the quality of care and health outcomes that patients experience. The Trust runs Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool University Dental Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. It serves a core population of around 630,000 people across Merseyside as well as providing a range of highly specialist services to a catchment area of more than two million people in the North West region and beyond., 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.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working. The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24. Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £18+£5 (standard disclosure) or £38+£5 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults' policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures. Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation. All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action. As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence. If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post. Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band. For agenda for change banded roles; salary payments will reflect the 2023/24 pay scales. The 2024/25 pay scales will be paid in October 2024 including any backpay due. Therefore should the successful applicant start in post prior to October, the salary will initially reflect the 2023/24 pay scales.