Senior Children's Community Nurse

Job overview

The Community Children’s nursing team is part of an integrated network of services for children in Bexley and Greenwich providing high quality specialist child centred care. The team of specialist and children’s community nurses provides highly skilled, nursing care to children and families with nursing needs in their own homes or community settings.

To work within Special Schools, paediatric continence clinics and continuing care packages.

The Community Children’s nursing team is part of an integrated network of services for children in Bexley and Greenwich providing high quality specialist child centred care. The team of specialist and children’s community nurses provides highly skilled, nursing care to children in with a nursing need in the special school environment as well as their own homes or community settings.

The successful candidate should be to provide a high standard of evidenced based nursing care for children and young people with the following conditions: acute and long-term conditions, children with disabilities and complex conditions including those requiring palliative and end of life care. To provide clear visible leadership and professional clinical expertise to the Band 5 Children’s Community Nurses in the whole team to ensure every aspect of the child and families experience is delivered in a safe, efficient, and evidence-based manner.

Main duties of the job

To manage a caseload of children and young people autonomously, support junior staff members within the team, lead on improvement projects, lead on audits, work in various community settings, and supporting children and young people across the paediatric continence service, children's continuing care, special school nursing and children's community nursing.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Community Children’s nursing team is part of an integrated network of services for children in Bexley and Greenwich providing high quality specialist child centred care. The team of specialist and children’s community nurses provides highly skilled, nursing care to children and families with nursing needs in their own homes or community settings.

To work within Special Schools, paediatric continence clinics and continuing care packages.

The Community Children’s nursing team is part of an integrated network of services for children in Bexley and Greenwich providing high quality specialist child centred care. The team of specialist and children’s community nurses provides highly skilled, nursing care to children in with a nursing need in the special school environment as well as their own homes or community settings.

The successful candidate should be to provide a high standard of evidenced based nursing care for children and young people with the following conditions: acute and long-term conditions, children with disabilities and complex conditions including those requiring palliative and end of life care. To provide clear visible leadership and professional clinical expertise to the Band 5 Children’s Community Nurses in the whole team to ensure every aspect of the child and families experience is delivered in a safe, efficient, and evidence-based manner.

This is a post suitable for a Children’s Community Nurse (Paediatric or Learning Disability Registered Nurse) who should have an interest in or a willingness to develop and extend specialised skills and knowledge.

Key Task and Responsibilities

• To ensure the Specialist Children’s Nursing Service (0-19 years) provides a high quality, evidence based locally appropriate service to families.
• To identify new theories, policies and guidelines relating to an area of interest and children’s nursing, disseminating research findings and developing local policies and standards accordingly.
• To take the lead role in developing and implementing a seamless transition of programmes to support early hospital discharge and continuity of care for children and their family.
• To provide professional and clinical leadership to children’s community nursing staff, ensuring that they are engaged with and adhering to local policies, guidelines and expectations.
• To assess nursing care needs, developing, implementing and evaluating programmes of nursing care for children on the case load.
• To facilitate clear communication with families, colleagues and other community professionals enabling planned care to take place effectively.
• To act as designated resource to children and their families within the case load /sphere of practice, multidisciplinary professionals, and other community services.
• To develop Clinical Practice Pathways and Guidelines.
• To be an expert and knowledgeable practitioner within the service ensuring the provision of high-quality evidence-based nursing care for children and their family from diagnosis through to transition to adult services.
• To work closely with the palliative care nurse to provide a holistic approach to care for children and families, anticipate their needs and provide comfort and support for the child and the family.
• To work together with other professionals and voluntary agencies to provide psychological and emotional support for the whole family.
• To co-ordinate care for children with long term and acute medical conditions and monitor the effects of this care.
• To provide supervision for Band 5 Children’s community Nurses.

Management responsibilities

• To participate in the development of strategies for delivering effective specialist care within a changing environment that improves the quality of care and health outcomes for children.
• To participate in the development evidence based clinical protocols for the area of specialist interest in collaboration with other professionals in the acute and community setting.
• To advise the Senior Children’s Community Nurse and Team Manager on the development of standards, policies and guidelines relating to practice.
• To ensure that complaints and clinical incidents are handled sensitively and in line with Trust policy.
• To undertake investigation for complaints and prepare responses for the Team Manger. Provide feedback to staff on complaints and work with the manager to put systems in place to prevent reoccurrence.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where clinical matters relating to area of special interest need addressing.
• To ensure that supervision and PPDR processes are in place.
• To supervise the work of the Band 5 Children’s Community Nurses.

Leadership

• To act as role model to members of the nursing team and motivate them to work towards high standard of practice.
• To be competent in leading meetings and delivering presentations.
• To prioritise workload to ensure effective time management strategies are embedded within the nursing team, aware of competing pressures to ensure best practice.
• To provide professional and clinical leadership to the Children’s Community Nurses Band 5, ensuring they are engaged with and adhering to local policies, guidelines, and expectations.
• To facilitate study days and teaching sessions for the team and partner organisations.
• To lead and coordinate the day-to-day work of the children’s community case load.

Clinical

• To provide information, specialist clinical advice and support for area of interest to children and their family.
• To undertake venepuncture, access central lines/ports, catheterisation, and replacement of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tubes.
• To act as a resource to other professionals and voluntary agencies involved in the child’s care.
• To be an expert and knowledgeable practitioner within the service ensuring the provision of high-quality evidence-based nursing care for the child and their family.
• Ensure that each child is assessed, and a specialised single care planned is implemented and evaluated in negotiation with the family and other professionals caring for them and that this is accurately documented.
• To act as an advocate for the child and family and ensures the provision of appropriate information and relevant support services.
• To provide support and counsel for the child and family in the home.
• To work collaboratively with other community professionals and voluntary agencies to safely manage the care of the child in their home or community setting.
• To work in close partnership with the ward to ensure that every child experience is coordinated and smooth throughout the patient’s journey.
• In conjunction with the Senior Children’s Community Nurse, develop, implement, and monitor clinical and non-clinical performance standards, acting as required.
• Develop and maintain the clinical skills and knowledge necessary to fulfil the requirements of role. This may include advance practices such as advanced assessment and prescribing skills.
• Manage the implementation and review of policies within the service.
• Develop and reviews protocols, policies and procedures which may impact across other organisations ensuring they adhere to National and Trust standards and policies.

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
• To undertake projects, audit and research in collaboration with the Senior Children’s Community Nurse, specifically in relation to an area of special interest.

• Research

Communication

• Communicates very sensitive, complex condition related information to children and their family providing reassurance.
• Work closely with professionals in the community and the acute setting to ensure a robust and safe nursing care for children and young people and their families.
• Establish a robust communication clinical care pathway with the ward staff on all matters that affect the management and readmitting of child into hospital.
• Ensure effective data collection processes and reporting systems are in place, and monitors the data collected.
• Communicates information regarding research findings and necessary changes in practice effectively at all levels within the organisation and its partners.