Clinical Nurse Specialist, University Hospital

The Oncology day unit provides oncology day services including OPD services to patients from Kerry, West Limerick and North Cork areas. The chemotherapy day unit in UHK has been open since 2001.It is a satellite unit of CUH. Oncology services in Kerry are evolving and this is reflective of international trends with 64% increase in activity in the services n Kerry.

• National funding has been allocated for a purpose build oncology unit in Kerry.

Oncology UHK is a nurse lead unit with visiting consultants from CUH. The team comprises of an ANP, CNM 2, CNM1, staff nurses, CNS x 2 and AOS.

The role of this post is to manage oncology /breast patients who present to UHK via ED or Oncology OPD. The nurse –led service will mean where possible cancer patients will avoid attendance to acute hospital ED and day ward. Patients will be assessed, managed and will be referred on or discharged home in a timely manner. This CNS will also review and manage inpatients with a diagnosis of Breast cancer. As outlined in the O’ Higgins report (2006), the Breast care clinical nurse specialist will provide a quality focused, seamless service for the patient from point of referral. The Breast care Clinical Nurse specialist shall be an integrated part of the team.

Purpose of Post

The purpose of this Clinical Nurse Specialist ( Oncology / Breast) post is to:

Deliver care in line with the five core concepts of the role set out in the Framework for the Establishment of Clinical Nurse Specialist Posts, 4th edition, National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery (NCNM) 2008.

The successful candidate will work as a key member of the multidisciplinary Oncology team providing a patient / client centred quality service to patients / clients and this specialist practice will encompass a major clinical focus which comprises assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of care given to patients / clients and their families. The appointee will be responsible for undertaking a patient assessment and act as a point of contact for patients in the out-patient setting. The appointee will provide increased access to specialised oncology / Breast nursing care for patients receiving systemic Anti- cancer therapies (SACT) and oral anti- cancer medicines to further enhance patient safety and minimise risks. The appointee will work within the oncology service as a member of the team as they develop in hospital. As part of the triage and assessment the appointee will need to consider whether the symptoms could be Covid 19 related ant the prompt management if this is the case using appropriate hospital pathways.

Caseload

The Clinical Nurse Specialist (Breast) will focus on the following patient / client groups: Patients within the emergency department, Inpatients and assessment of Oncology / Breast patients.

Informal Enquiries

Name: Aisling O’ Carroll Assistant Director of Nursing UHK

Email: aisling.ocarroll@hse.ie

Phone Number: 0873618477