Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
Advice Line Nurse
Job Description
Position:
Advice Line Nurse
Location:
CHSS Head Office
Responsible to:
Lead Advice Line Nurse
Contacts:
(internal)
Head of Advice & Information
Director of Advice & Support
Director of Community Stroke Services
Director of Fundraising
Director of Public Relations
Advice & Support Staff Team
Contacts:
(external)
General Public
Health and Social Care Professionals from primary and secondary
care
Professionals from statutory, non-statutory and voluntary
organisations
Main purpose of job:
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland improves the quality of life for people in Scotland affected by
chest, heart and stroke illness, through medical research, influencing public policy, advice
and information and support in the community.
The aim of the Advice Line Nurse is to provide confidential, independent information, advice
and support to people affected by chest, heart and stroke illness, their families, carers and
health professionals.
Most challenging parts of the job:

Managing and responding to complex and diverse enquiries on all matters relating to
respiratory, cardiac and stroke conditions.

Managing and responding to helpline users expressing strong emotions, verbally or
in writing.
Key responsibilities:
Advice Line
 To respond to enquiries to the Advice Line via telephone, email, letter, text message,
and those via social media channels.

To provide information, advice and support to people affected by chest, heart and stroke
illness.
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
To ensure an excellent standard of care and advice to all helpline users.

To keep up to date in advances in chest, heart and stroke illness and attend relevant
courses and conferences.

To apply evidence-based knowledge from UK and Scottish guidelines to deliver up-todate, accurate and compassionate advice.

To establish links with other relevant agencies and sign post as appropriate.

To follow Advice Line policies and procedures.

To assist in the implementation and evaluation of The Helplines Partnership Quality
Standard, ensuring continuous quality improvement.

To assist in the implementation of the Advice Line’s annual service evaluations.

To have shared responsibility for the maintenance and updating of the Advice Line
database.

To update and expand Advice Line resources.

To contribute to the development of CHSS publications as appropriate.
CHSS

To raise awareness of chest, heart and stroke illness and their prevention through
organisational events, study days, presentations and promotional activities.

To follow CHSS policies and procedures.

To participate in appraisal support and development process.

To work to agreed targets and personal objectives.

To undertake training as required.

To participate in departmental, regional, and organisational meetings, and associated
groups.

To promote the development of communication channels and team work, by support,
respect and cooperation.

To liaise regularly with the Lead Advice Line Nurse and the Advice Line team.

To undertake other duties as directed by the Lead Advice Line Nurse.
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Organisation chart:
Director of
Advice & Support (A&S)
Lead
Advice Line Nurse
Advice Line
Nurse (20 hours)
THIS POST
Advice Line
Nurse (20 hours)
Advice Line
Nurse (13 hours)
Advice Line
Nurse (13 hours)
The above job description is not exhaustive and is clarified to include broad duties inherent
in the post. Evaluation and development of this post may, in time, indicate a need to revise
duties herein.
October 2014
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Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
Advice Line Nurse
Person Specification
Essential
Desirable
Education &
Knowledge
Current 1st Level Nursing professional
registration with a good level of postregistration experience.
Attainment of / working towards
relevant degree / equivalent
professional qualification.
Previous
Experience
Evidence of recent Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) in relevant field.
Experience in working with people affected
by (at least one) of chest, heart or stroke
illness.
Experience of working with people
affected by (more than one) of
chest, heart of stroke illness.
Aptitudes,
Skills &
Abilities
Excellent communication and
organisational skills.
Counselling skills.
Excellent team-working skills.
Very good writing skills.
-
Strong interpersonal skills.
IT Experience with:
- Excel
- Access
- Powerpoint
Knowledge and understanding of
social media.
Some analytical skills.
Presentation skills.
Values /
Attitudes
Confident use in:
- Word
- Email
- Internet
Ability to work under pressure, as part of a
team, to a high professional standard, and
using own initiative.
Enthusiasm for ongoing
professional development.
Patience and compassion.
Flexibility to work to the needs of the
service.
Commitment to equal opportunities.
Commitment to the ethos of the voluntary
sector.
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Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
Advice Line Nurse
Further Details
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland comprises several departments: Finance including
Accounting and IT, Administration, Public Relations, Fundraising, Advice and Support and
Community Services. The Finance Department is actively involved with all other
departments.
Summary of Terms and Conditions of Employment
Structure:
The Advice Line is a team of five nurses.
Location:
This post is based within the CHSS Head Office, Rosebery House,
9 Haymarket Terrace, Edimburgh, EH12 5EZ.
Term:
Permanent
Salary:
On a scale of £24,380 – 30,293 pro rata for part time
Grade 3(ii) NJC Scale Points 27 - 34
New appointments are normally placed at the base of the salary scale
unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Hours of work:
20 hours per week. Monday to Friday.
Flexibility of working hours is essential.
Review of Work:
The postholder is subject to the CHSS objective setting, supervision
and appraisal process.
Annual Leave:
24-30 days per annum, dependent on length of service, plus 12 public
and local holidays, pro rata for part time.
Travel:
Necessary travel, subsistence and other necessary expenses are
reimbursed.
Pension scheme:
CHSS operates a contributory Group Personal Pension scheme, which
all employees are entitled to join; contributions are on an age-related
scale of 1% to 3% for employee contributions and 5% to 11% for
employer contributions. There are also schemes which provides
death-in-service benefit and permanent health insurance.
Equal Opps:
CHSS is committed to equality of opportunity and to nodiscrimination
on the grounds of race, religion or belief, age, sex,marital or civil
partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, transgender status,
pregnancy or maternity.
Closing date for
applications:
Date of Interview:
Monday 27 October 2014
Tuesday 11 November 2014
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