Clinical Nursing Associate / Assistant Practitioner -­ Neonatal

Job overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

Main duties of the job

Southampton Neonatal Services is looking for highly motivated, enthusiastic individuals to work across our Transitional Care Unit, and our new 'Woodland Ward' Special Care Baby Unit. We are looking for people who are dedicated to delivering high quality, family-centred care, and who strive to make a difference to babies and their families.

You will be working in both the Transitional Care Unit alongside the midwife, and Woodland Ward - a purpose built, nurse-led unit caring for sick and preterm babies which opened in October 2024.

Our new Woodland Ward has: * 16 cots, including 4 family integrated care rooms * A welcoming, caring and safe environment for all * An ethos of patients and families come first; Family are at the heart of what we do * Space for a parent to stay with their baby 24 hours a day, encouraging unrestricted access  * Family-Integrated Care where we can provide guidance, and advice to parents in a friendly and supportive environment enabling them to care for their baby. This helps them to develop close and loving relationships with their baby and values parents as partners in their care.

Applicants must be able to work a full range of shifts including nights.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be a NMC registered Nursing Associate or an Assistant Practitioner with a health related foundation degree. You must have experience working within a multi-disciplinary team with a passion for family centred care.

Under the supervision of a registered midwife/nurse, and together with the Multidisciplinary Team, you will be responsible for the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of care of babies and their families, supporting the ethos of family-integrated care. You must have good communication and problem solving skills, with the ability to work autonomously as well as within the wider team.

We actively support and promote effective communication with parents during admission through their participation in ward rounds, providing continuity and consistency. You will work alongside Nurses and Allied Health Professionals to provide parent-craft, education and practical support with empathy, kindness and understanding, empowering them to care for their baby independently. Feeding progression is supported in conjunction with the Infant feeding team and speech and language team. We actively promote and support breastfeeding but also support other parent feeding choices Parents are supported to confidently care for their baby to facilitate a safe and timely discharge and transition to community services.