ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW

At the Department of Corrections our goal is to reduce re-offending, and underlying this is a strong commitment to public safety.

Our people care about our communities and want to make New Zealand a safer place to be. We do this by helping people lead crime-free lives, which means fewer victims and safer communities.

Corrections’ core role of managing the custodial and community-based sentences imposed by the Courts gives us the opportunity to change lives and shape futures. Of the 8,000 people who work at Corrections, the majority work directly with offenders in a variety of roles including probation officers, corrections officers, case managers, programme facilitators, nurses, community work supervisors, instructors and psychologists.

The Department of Corrections manages 18 prisons located from Northland to Invercargill and 160 Community Corrections sites in towns and cities across New Zealand where probation staff manages people serving non-custodial sentences and orders such as community work, home detention or parole.

Many of the offenders the department works with live in the community, and most of those sentenced to a term of imprisonment will be released at some stage. Therefore, it is in all our interests to ensure that when people leave Corrections, they have the support and skills they need to live a crime-free life.  We do this through targeted rehabilitation and reintegration, treatment, education and trade-training opportunities for offenders that will reduce the likelihood of re-offending.

You can help change lives and shape futures too. 

ROLE CONTEXT

The Department devotes significant time and resources into caring for prisoners vulnerable to self-harming behaviour or suicide. Prisoners identified as being vulnerable to self harming behavior or suicide, who may also suffer from complex mental health problems, are currently managed in At Risk Units with a focus on their immediate safety. The Department has identified an opportunity to take a more holistic and long-term approach to improve the well-being of these prisoners by developing and piloting a new model of care to transform intervention and support of prisoner’s vulnerable to self-harming behavior or suicide.  

Role Purpose

The registered nurse will provide a comprehensive range of mental health nursing services including triage, assessment and treatment based on best practice in the delivery of health services within a multi-disciplinary team.  The registered nurse will monitor, promulgate and promote best practice in the delivery of health services within the Intervention & Support Unit and across the wider prison environment.  The registered nurse will demonstrate accountability for directing, monitoring and evaluating nursing care that is provided by others and will understand their responsibility in leading colleagues and foster team work to optimise care.

Key responsibilities are:

• Providing quality mental health care to patients, including triage, assessment and treatment that is responsive to patient needs, and which is supported by nursing knowledge and is evidenced based.
• The provision of mental health services which are integrated with primary health providers (e.g., Corrections Health Team including contracted mental health clinicians) and tertiary mental health providers (e.g., Regional Forensic Mental Health Services).
• Develop patient care plans from a nursing perspective.
• Contributing to the development and implementation of individual care plans for the health of identified people.
• Contributing to initiatives to enhance the mental health care provision for people within the prison.
• Providing emergency mental health assessment and treatment for people in the Intervention and Support Unit.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Key Accountability Areas:

Mental Health Service Delivery

• Collaborates with the multi-disciplinary team and recognises and values the roles and skills of all team members to facilitate coordinated care of people.
• Accepts responsibility for ensuring that his/her nursing practice and conduct meet the standards of relevant professional, ethical and legislated requirements.  Will also understand the professional, ethical and legislated requirements of mental health services within a prison context.
• Provides planned nursing care to achieve identified and expected outcome’s taking into account the skill mix, patient acuity and patient’s who present with complex needs.  
• Ensures documentation is accurate and maintains confidentiality of information.  Will ensure own and colleagues’ documentation and information technology (IT) use complies with legislation and professional guidelines.
• Ensures the patient provides informed consent for their care and promotes independence and acts as an advocate for patients when situations limit a patient’s participation.
• Establishes, maintains and concludes therapeutic interpersonal relationships with patients and under standards professional boundaries and the challenges these may present.
• Evaluates the patient’s progress toward expected outcomes in partnership with patient and the multi-disciplinary team.
• Reflects upon and evaluates with peers and experienced nurses the effectiveness of nursing care and will assist colleagues with reflection.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of prisoner sentence management, ensuring that significant mental health matters are integrated into individual care plans. 
• Administer and document medication in a safe manner as prescribed by a medical officer, psychiatrist, nurse practitioner or registered nurse prescriber.
• Build and maintain effective relationship with relevant external individuals and agencies, including external service providers, with a view to developing opportunities for enhancing mental health services.
• Provide prisoners and where appropriate custodial staff with relevant and timely health information.
• Ensure privacy and confidentiality is maintained according to the Privacy Act.
• Provision of selected public health measures.
• Maintains own professional development ensuring both NCNZ continuing competency requirements area-specific competencies are met. 
• Advocates for patient mental health needs.
• Delivers emergency mental health care to patients in the ISU or wider prison environment.
• Provides planned mental health nursing care to achieve identified and expected outcome/s taking into account the skill mix, patient acuity and other priorities patients/clients with complex needs.

Personal Safety and Security

• Acts appropriately to protect oneself and others when faced with unexpected patient responses, confrontation, personal threat or other crisis situations.  Will promote safety and wellbeing during unexpected or crisis situations.  Responses will be informed by procedures and protocols to promote safety and wellbeing.
• Wear personal alarm or radio while on duty.
• Request custody support for potentially risky situations.
• Challenge unsafe practice in an appropriate respectful manner.
• Ensure infection control principles are maintained.
• Check stock for expiry dates.
• Keep emergency and routine equipment in good working order.
• Report and document actual and potential risks or concerns.

Administration

• Use resources in a cost-effective manner.
• Contribute to initiatives which provide increased efficiencies.
• Assist in formulating and reviewing standards, policies and procedures.
• Participate in activities which monitor and/or audit delivery of patient care.
• Accurate completion of all documentation and referrals for allocated patients.
• Assists with the smooth functioning of the mental health service in the prison, for example ordering supplies, stock control, faxing of prescriptions etc.

Health Education and Promotion

• Provides health education appropriate to the needs of the patient within a mental health nursing framework ensuring informed health care decisions.
• Ensures health education is culturally appropriate as required under Department policies and procedures.
• Assist in compiling resource material for educational purposes.
• Network within and outside the prison.
• Acts as a resource person for other health services staff including primary health and nursing students. 

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

Code of Conduct and Department Policy

• Familiarity and compliance with the Department’s Code of Conduct and related documents; and with Department policy and procedures relating to the functions of the position held.

Health and Safety

• Help maintain a safe working environment within Corrections by adhering to Department policy and procedures relating to the position held.

Other Duties & Responsibilities

• All employees are expected to perform other such other duties as can reasonably be regarded as incidental to their job description, and other such duties that fall reasonably within their experience and capabilities as may be assigned from time to time to meet business requirements.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal:

• Members of the Intervention and Support multi-disciplinary team.
• Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, and Cultural Support Workers.
• Health Centre manager and staff.
• Prison Director.
• Custodial staff, case management staff and psychologists based on the site.
• Regional Practice Team.
• National Office health team.
• Chief Psychologists Office.

External:

• Forensic Mental Health Services.
• Health Providers in the Community.
• Health Advocacy Agencies.
• Families/Whanau/Caregivers.
• Contracted Medical Officers.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

To be successful in this position you will need:

Technical Competencies

• Proven clinical nursing skills. 
• Mental health nursing experience in a secondary or tertiary setting.
• A minimum of four years experience in a secondary or tertiary mental health service. 
• Knowledge and understanding of the relevant legislation, standards and guidelines.  These include but are not limited to:
• Standards of Practice for mental Health Nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Health and Disability Services Consumers Code of Rights
• Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) Nurse Practitioner/Registered Nurse/Enrolled Nurse Competencies
• NCNZ Code of Conduct for Nurses
• NCNZ Guideline:  Responsibilities for direction and delegation of care to enrolled nurses (2011).  NCNZ Guideline:  Responsibilities for direction and delegation of care to Health Care Assistants (2011).
• NCNZ’s Guidelines:  Professional Boundaries (2012)
• New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Code of Ethics (2010/2013)
• NZNO social media and nursing profession:  A guide to online professionalism for nurses and nursing students (2012).
• Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers Rights) Regulations 1996

Qualifications

• Registered Nurse who holds a current Nursing Council of New Zealand Annual Practising Certificate
• Active involvement and commitment to progress on the Corrections PDRP 
• A post graduate qualification in mental health or working towards this or equivalent learning