Sharnie Tankard

Delivering high-quality medical treatments and medications directly to patients in their homes, clinics, or workplaces. Acting as a bridge between hospital and at-home care, we administer specialised therapies, monitor vital signs, and provide crucial emotional support to help patients maintain their independence.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES.

Patient Assessment: Performing pre-treatment observations, checking vital signs, and assessing whether a patient is fit to proceed with their therapy.

Medication Administration: Safely administering prescribed medications, which can include complex therapies such as intravenous (IV) infusions, injections, and potentially chemotherapy, often requiring specialised SACT training.

Monitoring and Reporting: Tracking patient responses to treatments, recording adverse events or side effects, and reporting changes directly to the broader medical or nursing team.

Specialised Procedures: Depending on the treatment, managing specialised equipment such as syringe pumps, catheters, and artificial feeding tubes.

Facilitated communication between patients, families, and healthcare providers to ensure informed decision-making.

Patient Support and Education.

Education & Independence: Training patients and their caregivers to safely manage their own conditions, use medical equipment, and administer their own treatments, where appropriate.

Compassionate care: building ongoing, trusting relationships with patients over defined geographical areas to provide a consistent standard of hospital-level care in a comfortable environment.

Administration and Compliance.

Clinical Records: Maintaining highly accurate, confidential, and timely clinical records for every patient interaction.

Regulatory Compliance: Adhering strictly to NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) revalidation standards, health and safety protocols, and company guidelines.

Oncology Homecare Nurse at LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare provides specialist, one-to-one cancer care in patients' homes. Their primary role is to improve quality of life by removing the stress of hospital travel, parking, and long waiting times.

Key clinical duties.

SACT Administration: Safely administering Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT), including IV chemotherapy, oral chemotherapy, and pump disconnections.

Therapies and injections: delivering intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) injections, as well as TPN treatments.

Assessments: Conducting patient toxicity and side-effect assessments, routine blood draws, and line/access care.

Patient Education: Coaching and training patients to safely administer their own medications, and manage their care to promote independence.

Responsibilities and Operations.

Autonomous Working: Managing your own daily itinerary and caseload while travelling across your designated region to see patients.

Holistic Care: Delivering empathetic, personalised one-to-one care while looking for ways to reduce hospital admissions, and improve patient outcomes.

Team Collaboration: Working alongside the wider multidisciplinary homecare and NHS teams, with Senior Nurses responsible for mentoring and developing junior team members.

Specialising in oncology and responsible for delivering anti-cancer therapies, symptom management, and emotional support. Core duties encompass patient assessment, coordinating care plans, clinical trials, and palliative care to improve patient outcomes.

Core Clinical Responsibilities.

Anti-Cancer Treatments & Symptom Management: Administering chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and other systemic therapies while closely monitoring for adverse side effects.

Patient Triage and Assessment: Working in assessment units and staffing 24-hour telephone hotlines to evaluate acute oncology symptoms, order investigations, and initiate urgent treatments.

Holistic and Palliative Care: Supporting patients and their families through all phases of the cancer journey, including specialist palliative care, end-of-life care, and complex emotional support.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Liaising closely with oncologists, clinical nurse specialists, and healthcare teams to provide a seamless care pathway.

Role-specific duties.

Ward 3: Support senior nursing teams (sisters/charge nurses) to manage inpatient units, deliver direct patient-centred care, and mentor junior staff.

Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Nurses: Provide specialised, age-appropriate psychosocial and clinical support for young patients, helping them navigate treatment choices.

Overseeing safe Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services, managing daily clinical operations, ensuring adherence to strict governance protocols, leading staff training and competency assessments, and providing expert patient advocacy, and emotional support.

Clinical Leadership and Patient Care.

Advanced Practice: Manage complex patient pathways, assess patients before and during treatments, and run nurse-led clinics.

Patient Advocacy: Act as the primary advocate for patients, ensuring they understand treatment options, provide informed consent, and receive holistic, emotional support.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Liaise with oncologists, clinical nurse specialists, and palliative care teams to optimise care plans.

Service Management and Clinical Governance.

Safety & Compliance: Oversee the safe preparation, handling, and administration of cytotoxic drugs, and controlled medications.

Risk Management: Lead clinical risk assessments, track incidents, investigate complaints, and implement corrective action plans.

Quality & Audits: Monitor service performance, conduct regular clinical audits, and use patient feedback to drive service development and modernisation.

Workforce and Education.

Training and Competency: Lead trust-wide education and SACT training programmes. Maintain registers of accredited staff, and conduct annual assessments.

Resource Allocation: Oversee daily staffing rotas, ensuring an appropriate skill mix, and safe staff-to-patient ratios.

Mentorship: Support the professional development of junior nurses, clinical support workers, and other healthcare professionals.

Strategic Development.

Policy Implementation: Lead the strategic development and implementation of new models of care, and updated local policies.

Network Representation: Represent the chemotherapy unit at regional or national cancer alliance meetings, and multidisciplinary team (MDT) forums.

One-to-one clinical care in patients' homes. Primary responsibilities include conducting clinical assessments, administering complex therapies (such as IV infusions and chemotherapy), and training patients in self-administration, all while ensuring compliance with clinical protocols and the NMC Code of Practice.

Core Roles and Responsibilities.

Treatment Administration: Safely preparing and administering medications, including intravenous (IV) therapies, subcutaneous injections, cannulation, and Systemic Anticancer Therapy (SACT).

Patient Assessment & Monitoring: Performing holistic clinical assessments in the home, checking patient responses to treatment, managing side effects, and drawing blood samples.

Patient Education: Teaching patients and their families how to confidently self-administer medications, and manage their conditions.

Care Coordination: Collaborating with NHS and hospital multidisciplinary teams (MDT) to transition patients from hospital to home, monitor adherence, and manage medication logistics.

Clinical Documentation: Maintaining accurate, real-time records and using digital care platforms to track treatment progress.

Safety & Safeguarding: Identifying, reporting, and escalating clinical risks to maintain high professional, health, and safety standards.

Consolidated nurse training and developed knowledge and understanding of oncology care.

Inpatient Ward Nurse.

Symptom management: Care for patients experiencing acute side effects from oncology treatments.

Palliative & End-of-Life Care: Provide supportive care, dignity, and comfort to patients with advanced illnesses.

Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) Nurse.

Specialised Care: Deliver age-appropriate, holistic care and support for young people facing cancer.

Key Working: Coordinate treatment plans, appointments, and serve as a bridge between the hospital and home.

Day Case and Outpatient Unit Nurse.

Treatment Delivery: Administer systemic anti-cancer treatments (SACT), including cytotoxic drugs.

Clinic Management: Assist with patient consultations, monitor vital signs, and distribute patient information.