Working for us

Renal services are part of the directorate of urology and renal services with services based predominantly on the Freeman Hospital site.

Within renal services and the Institute of Transplantation (IoT) there are some excellent opportunities for qualified nursing staff.

Urology Services are also part of the directorate of urology & renal services based at the Freeman Hospital. The urology unit is the largest in the United Kingdom and offers a wide range of specialised urological procedures including robotic surgery, major cancer surgery, kidney stone surgery and a wide range of endoscopic surgery. We offer an enhanced recovery programme for our bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy.

Urology

Emergency Assessment Suite (EAS) – Freeman Hospital

This is a busy acute assessment unit for all acute admissions to Freeman Hospital, the majority of patients seen are surgical who require the specialist skills provided by the teams at the Freeman, mainly urology, ENT, vascular or general surgery. Patients will either be referred from their GP from acute units elsewhere in the region or may self-present to the unit. A number of patients will require acute admission following assessment whilst some may be discharged home. It is a very varied, multispecialty area and staff working in this department will have the opportunity to develop acute assessment skills, working closely with our medical teams and Emergency Care Practitioners.

Ward 2 and Ward 3 – Freeman Hospital

These are inpatient urology wards with 30 inpatient beds, on each ward. Each ward takes urology patients who require admission, either through the elective urology surgery pathway or as an emergency, normally via EAS, the Emergency Department or GP referrals. To enable staff development and maintenance of different clinical kills, the wards alternate between taking all elective urology or all emergency patients. This rotation is for several months so although staff are allocated to one ward team, they will get the opportunity to look after both elective and emergency patients. This enables staff to gain different clinical and patient management skills.

Both wards run at a very “fast pace” with high patient turnover. This requires staff to specifically develop organisational and time management skills but also the importance of accurate assessment, monitoring and complex discharging of patients. Staff in these areas will be supported by a Clinical Educator who works within Urology.

Endourology – Freeman (Combined Theatre and Investigation Unit)

This unique area provides both inpatient and outpatient operating within a dedicated Urology theatre but also offers outpatient investigations for patients with a wide range of urological conditions. Many patients will be undergoing rapid access diagnostic investigations for suspected cancer, while for many they will be undergoing surveillance for known cancer.

Transplant

Ward 38 – Institute of Transplantation

This is a 22-bed inpatient transplant ward based in the Institute of Transplantation. The ward is unique in the UK, with patients who have had any solid organ transplant, including heart, lung, kidney, pancreas and liver. There is a strong multidisciplinary approach to care on Ward 38 and nurses are a key role within the team. There is close working with medical and surgical teams and other allied healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, pharmacists, social workers. Working across directorates and specialities in the Trust adds a diversity to the nursing role and experience on ward 38.

Outpatient department – Institute of Transplantation

The outpatients unit is based in the Institute of Transplantation and is an outpatient / continuing care unit following up patients who have had cardiothoracic transplantation. The unit is open Monday to Friday. There is a very small nursing team in this unit which works closely with Ward 38 following patients’ discharge. Patients can live all over the country as this transplant surgery is a national service and will get followed up for life. There are also some other transplant clinics in this unit such as pancreas, kidney, liver follow up assessment and review.

There is also a lot of telephone follow up and advice for these patients as they are not all living locally. As much of this work is advising and supporting patients, nurses require skills and knowledge to be able to do this. Training and support will be given to equip staff with the required skills. There is a strong multidisciplinary approach to the care of these patients so nurses in this area will be working with other members of the MDT

Renal

Ward 31

This is an outpatient haemodialysis unit in NCCC/Renal Services Centre at the Freeman Hospital. We have 47 haemodialysis stations and patients attend 3 times a week for treatment which lasts four to five hours. We have approximately 150 patients attending daily. The unit opening times are Monday to Saturday from 7am until 00.30am. There are 5 bays of dialysis stations and 4 cubicles where we can dialyse patients in isolation if required. We have a programme of self-care and also training for those patients who want to dialyse at home. Nurses are involved in supporting these patients whilst they are in the dialysis unit.

Ward 32

Ward 32 is a 26 bed inpatient nephrology ward in the NCCC / Renal Services centre at Freeman Hospital. Although this is a specialist area of care, there are lots of opportunities to gain experience and skills in the important fundamentals of care such as personal care, wound management, nutritional needs, falls prevention, rehabilitation, discharge planning etc.

This area undertakes renal replacements therapies such as haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, plasma exchange. The service delivers acute dialysis and plasma exchange to all areas within the Trust – as either an outreach service delivering dialysis elsewhere within the Trust or on ward 32.

Shift Patterns

We operate varying shift patterns including 12 hour shifts in some areas.

Staff Groups

We have the following staff working within the departments, Matron, Sister / Charge Nurse, Clinical Educator within all areas. Specialist Nurses, Staff Nurses, Assistant Practitioners, Nursing Associates, Healthcare Assistants, Ward Clerks and Housekeepers. All working together in the wider multidisciplinary team

Staff Training

Whilst a number of areas within the Directorate provide care which can be very specialised in nature, there is still the opportunity to be involved in the fundamentals of nursing care. This enables newly qualified staff and those who are more experienced, the opportunity to gain and further develop general skills and also to get insight, knowledge and skills into the more complex areas of care such as renal replacement therapies and transplantation and emergency care. Structured programmes for preceptorship and supervision are recognised as being vital to the development of staff and are offered to anyone coming to work in this area. All areas are supported by our Clinical Educators