Job summary
The Named Nurse for Children in Care will work collaboratively with colleagues across the health and social care community, education and third sector organisations to improve the outcomes of children in care individually and as a community.
The Named Nurse for Children in Care will work closely with the Designated Doctor and Nurse to ensure the safe, effective delivery of a high quality service.
Main duties of the job
Working with the Safeguarding Team, named and designated professionals and the wider children's workforce the named nurse will:
o act as a principal health contact for children's social care for the Trust in relation to the health needs of Children in Care
coordinate the provision of high quality local health services for Children in Care population and for individual children in line with national guidance
ensure the timeliness and quality of health assessments for Children in Care and ensure processes are in place to implement and review the health care plan at key points in the child's care journey
Create an environment where risk is identified , mitigated ( where possible) reported and /or escalated through the agreed mechanisms within the Trust and with Gloucestershire partnership
act as a key conduit and contact point for the child and their carer, where they have difficulties accessing health services
The Named Nurse will also seek to improve the health outcomes for Children in Care by working collaboratively to affect change via innovative practice, influencing policies that affect health and the facilitation of health enhancing activities.
About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
- 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
- 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
- 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See job description and person specification
Clinical
To manage an active caseload of Children in Care working collaboratively to ensure that their health needs are addressed.
To undertake review health assessments for Children in Care and provide comprehensive written reports which are regularly reviewed.
To adopt innovative ways of engaging young people around health promotion, particularly those who are harder to reach in ways that are acceptable to young people.
To support and advise colleagues in the clinical assessment and care of children and young people, whilst being clear about the personal clinical professional accountability of others.
To provide expert advice and signposting to other professionals about legal processes, consent, key research and policy documents, local processes and services.
To ensure that Children in Care are able to access Universal as well as specialist health services in an equitable and timely way.
Professional
Quality Improvement
To provide high quality evidence based children in care health service and be a source of expert advice and support to colleagues at all levels in the organisation including the trust Board.
Ensure that a process is in place to monitor the quality of health assessments against national standards.
Ensure systems are in place to monitor the delivery and effectiveness of high quality health care which meets statutory requirements, including the provision of high quality, timely health assessments.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement taking into account; user feedback, audit, national guidance good practice from other areas, learning from serious case Reviews and supervision and reflection.
Risk Management
To foster an environment where risk is routinely identified and mitigate where possible.
To support staff to report risk where it arises within the working environment and within service using the agreed mechanisms within the trust i.e. Datix reporting.
To liaise regularly with senior managers / designated professionals/commissioners where there are concerns that cannot be manged safely within the service.
To ensure that concerns are escalated in line with Gloucestershire escalation of professionals concerns guidance document.
Coordination and communication
- To provide expert advice, support and training to interagency and interdisciplinary professionals, foster carers and voluntary agencies on the management of the health needs of Children in Care.
- Develop effective partnerships with relevant agencies and where appropriate, joint working to promote the health of Children in Care.
- Work closely and in partnership with Children and Young Peoples Clinical services and the Safeguarding Team to identify any safeguarding issues or needs of Children in Care.
- Work closely with other named and designated professionals for Children in Care locally, regionally and nationally.
Governance: policies and procedures
- Work with the specialist, named and designated professionals to ensure that the Trust has relevant policies and procedures in line with legislation and national guidance.
- Ensure that effective quality assurance processes are in place in line with national guidance.
- Encourage case discussion, reflective practice, and the reporting and monitoring of significant events at a local level to promote a culture of learning within the service.
- Advise the trust on the implementation of effective systems of audit.
- Proactively audit health care provision to maintain standards, identify gaps in service delivery and evidence outcomes.
Training
- Work with Children in Care health professionals in Gloucestershire to agree and promote training needs and priorities.
- Support the designated professionals to ensure that the Trust has a training strategy in line with national and local expectations.
- Contribute to the delivery of training for health staff and inter-agency training.
Supervision
Contribute to individual case supervision.
- Provide group supervision and support for the Children in Care Health Team and facilitate regular time and space for team reflection.
- Provide supervision, support and advice to colleagues across the health and social care community as required.
Job description
Job responsibilities
See job description and person specification
Clinical
To manage an active caseload of Children in Care working collaboratively to ensure that their health needs are addressed.
To undertake review health assessments for Children in Care and provide comprehensive written reports which are regularly reviewed.
To adopt innovative ways of engaging young people around health promotion, particularly those who are harder to reach in ways that are acceptable to young people.
To support and advise colleagues in the clinical assessment and care of children and young people, whilst being clear about the personal clinical professional accountability of others.
To provide expert advice and signposting to other professionals about legal processes, consent, key research and policy documents, local processes and services.
To ensure that Children in Care are able to access Universal as well as specialist health services in an equitable and timely way.
Professional
Quality Improvement
To provide high quality evidence based children in care health service and be a source of expert advice and support to colleagues at all levels in the organisation including the trust Board.
Ensure that a process is in place to monitor the quality of health assessments against national standards.
Ensure systems are in place to monitor the delivery and effectiveness of high quality health care which meets statutory requirements, including the provision of high quality, timely health assessments.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement taking into account; user feedback, audit, national guidance good practice from other areas, learning from serious case Reviews and supervision and reflection.
Risk Management
To foster an environment where risk is routinely identified and mitigate where possible.
To support staff to report risk where it arises within the working environment and within service using the agreed mechanisms within the trust i.e. Datix reporting.
To liaise regularly with senior managers / designated professionals/commissioners where there are concerns that cannot be manged safely within the service.
To ensure that concerns are escalated in line with Gloucestershire escalation of professionals concerns guidance document.
Coordination and communication
- To provide expert advice, support and training to interagency and interdisciplinary professionals, foster carers and voluntary agencies on the management of the health needs of Children in Care.
- Develop effective partnerships with relevant agencies and where appropriate, joint working to promote the health of Children in Care.
- Work closely and in partnership with Children and Young Peoples Clinical services and the Safeguarding Team to identify any safeguarding issues or needs of Children in Care.
- Work closely with other named and designated professionals for Children in Care locally, regionally and nationally.
Governance: policies and procedures
- Work with the specialist, named and designated professionals to ensure that the Trust has relevant policies and procedures in line with legislation and national guidance.
- Ensure that effective quality assurance processes are in place in line with national guidance.
- Encourage case discussion, reflective practice, and the reporting and monitoring of significant events at a local level to promote a culture of learning within the service.
- Advise the trust on the implementation of effective systems of audit.
- Proactively audit health care provision to maintain standards, identify gaps in service delivery and evidence outcomes.
Training
- Work with Children in Care health professionals in Gloucestershire to agree and promote training needs and priorities.
- Support the designated professionals to ensure that the Trust has a training strategy in line with national and local expectations.
- Contribute to the delivery of training for health staff and inter-agency training.
Supervision
Contribute to individual case supervision.
- Provide group supervision and support for the Children in Care Health Team and facilitate regular time and space for team reflection.
- Provide supervision, support and advice to colleagues across the health and social care community as required.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma / degree in Nursing / SCPHN
- Educated to Masters level of equivalent
LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Significant post qualifying experience of frontline practice in children's community health care which includes substantial involvement of working directly with Children in Care
- Evidence of continuing professional development and experience of working with a wide range of multi-disciplinary professionals
- Experience of having supervised and managed staff who are directly accountable to the post holder
- Experience of leading clinical and organisational audit
Desirable
- Experience of representing the profession in public / professional arena
PERSONAL SKILLS ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES
Essential
- Be a passionate advocate for Children in Care
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma / degree in Nursing / SCPHN
- Educated to Masters level of equivalent
LENGTH AND / OR NATURE OF EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Significant post qualifying experience of frontline practice in children's community health care which includes substantial involvement of working directly with Children in Care
- Evidence of continuing professional development and experience of working with a wide range of multi-disciplinary professionals
- Experience of having supervised and managed staff who are directly accountable to the post holder
- Experience of leading clinical and organisational audit
Desirable
- Experience of representing the profession in public / professional arena
PERSONAL SKILLS ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES
Essential
- Be a passionate advocate for Children in Care
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
