Children's Bladder and Bowel Nurse

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and experienced nurse to join our Children’s Community Nursing Service as a Children’s Bladder and Bowel Nurse.

This is a highly specialist and autonomous role, responsible for leading the delivery of a paediatric bladder and bowel pathway for children and young people with a range of continence needs. The post holder will work across community settings, providing expert assessment, care planning, and intervention to improve outcomes and quality of life for children and their families.

You will play a key role in delivering safe, timely, and family-centred care, while working collaboratively with multidisciplinary and multi-agency partners including community paediatrics, schools, therapists, and primary care.

Main duties of the job

You will provide a high quality, advanced, expert and cost effective paediatric bladder and bowel nursing service, primarily focussing on continence issues, to children, young people and their families within the community setting.

Develop and deliver community based paediatric bladder and bowel care that raises awareness, improves care and helps to reduce emergency department attendances, hospital admissions and readmissions with continence issues, such as constipation and its complications.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist will be an advanced and experienced practitioner within their speciality.

To be responsible for the nursing leadership within the specialty and giving support and guidance within the multidisciplinary team, contributing to the high quality care given to children, young people and their families, in accordance with clinical governance.  The postholder will ensure delivery and expansion of an expert and advanced nurse-led service through effective interdisciplinary care, utilising clinical and managerial expertise, which will include a review of the effectiveness of treatment.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Result Areas & Performance:

All the following are to be carried out while working in close collaboration with members of the multi-disciplinary team led by a Consultant.  To demonstrate clinical expertise within the speciality and work autonomously, managing own allocated clinics independently and seeking guidance/support when necessary.

• To co-ordinate the specialty care within the Trust/CCG, including outreach clinics within the region.
• To become an essential member, and point of contact and resource for the multi-disciplinary team and children and young people and their families.
• Carries out diagnostic/therapeutic interventions as an independent practitioner, interprets, writes reports and commences further possible treatment on the basis of the findings.
• To demonstrate the ability to develop new skills, to provide an expert high quality, nurse-led service/midwifery-led service.
• To provide ongoing follow-up care and support (home visits / telephone support / nurse led clinics / outpatient clinics and outreach clinics)
• To develop the service in a structured interdisciplinary way, initiating on-going change and progression in the expanding role of a Clinical Nurse Specialist.
• To develop interdisciplinary clinical management protocols and work within them.
• Autonomously or in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, manage the care of patients carrying out relevant interventions, within agreed clinical protocols and in line with current practice/trends.
• To offer a supportive service to children, young people and their families, disseminating specialist knowledge.  Liaising with other healthcare professionals when necessary.
• To provide, promote and maintain a support and advice service to children, young people and their families, to include provision of information given from diagnosis through to all stages of the disease process, in liaison with relevant healthcare professionals.
• To maintain accurate and legible records of all clinical and legal documentation with regard to Statutory and Trust policies.
• To assess, develop, implement and evaluate programmes of care within the community setting
• To control patient admission via direct referral and with consultant guidance and supervision.
• Be aware of, understand, and act upon the Divisional Business Plan, with particular reference to nursing care, in order to participate in the re-formulation of nursing aspects of the plan.
• When required, investigate the nursing aspects of incidents/complaints and initiate corrective action.

Workforce

• Take part in the selection, orientation and development of relevant staff and students within the service.
• Promote staff confidence and competence and therefore assist job satisfaction and staff recruitment and retention.
• Identify the requirements to carry out the specialist role, implement and manage the service, developing the role in line with patient and service needs.

• To line manage, a cohort of staff ensuring HR processes are followed.
• To provide advanced specialist knowledge and education, acting as a clinical resource to the Trust, CCG and Trust affiliated Universities.
• In conjunction with the Paediatric Community Nursing Matron, Community Nursing Team Lead’s and Heads of Departments and the CCG assess learning needs and organise training and teaching programmes to fulfil the areas and individuals’ learning requirements within the specialty.

Financial

• Responsible for service budget.
• Take responsibility for the effective and efficient use of resources, being aware of resource requirements and limitations.
• Ensure all equipment and supplies in the clinical area are maintained to enable delivery of efficient and safe care.
• Evaluate equipment and make recommendations relevant to purchasing policies in conjunction with Procurement.
• Authorise the issue of appropriate appliances to patients within the Trust and community setting.

Partnerships

• Communications and Relationships
• Possess excellent communication skills to facilitate the collaboration between all professionals in the complete care and management of all children and young people and their families within their speciality.
• Work in partnership with Ward Managers, Community Nursing Team Lead’s and Consultants and extended members of the multidisciplinary team, within the Trust and community in order to provide a coherent family-centred service.
• To ensure effective communication networks are established and maintained with all disciplines and children and young people and their families, and  Community Health Care Teams.
• To communicate highly sensitive information, opens barriers to information.  Demonstrates sensitivity, empathy and reassurance.
• To provide advice, support and education to both inpatients and outpatients who may use the service, to include the development and regular reviews of relevant written patient and carer information.
• To access effective clinical supervision to allow personal reflection on own practice and self-development both personally and professionally.
• To be an active member of the Lead Nurse Group and other relevant external specialist groups.
• Develop links within the Trust and outside agencies to organise and implement practical instruction for HCAs, Pre-Registration and Post-Registration nursing staff and Medical staff both in a theoretical and a clinical setting.
• Support and assist other specialties within the Trust with relevant clinical issues and those of service development.
• Act as a resource for specialist knowledge and skills related to care and for the development of research-based practice.
• Represent their speciality clinically, both internally within the Trust, and externally.
• Act as a representative of the Trust at local/national educational meetings
• Promote and undertake, where appropriate, nursing research and to publish the outcome in order to update own knowledge and promote excellence in clinical practice.
• Be aware of and participate as necessary in clinical research trials for patients, liaising with relevant Healthcare professionals.
• Utilise research findings, where applicable, in the delivery of specialist patient care, disseminating relevant information to colleagues.

General

• Develop guidelines, set standards, policies and protocols to ensure the provision of a safe and effective, research/evidence based nurse led service.
• To initiate and participate in nursing clinical audit, taking action to improve any areas of weakness
• Continually monitor and evaluate the service through the facilitation of quality assurance tools in the clinical area.
• Monitor and evaluate the role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist within the Trust.
• Be self-aware, taking own continuing education and professional development needs into account, accessing advice, guidance and support.
• Keep up to date with current trends and developments in nursing/midwifery practice related to your speciality.
• Ensure all Trust/Divisional nursing policies/protocols and procedures are adhered to, including EC Directives, Health and Safety and Work, COSHH and Moving and Handling Codes of Practice.