(SCPHN) Health Visitor/School Nurse

Job responsibilities

To provide evidence based public health nursing practice that promotes and improves health and addresses inequalities at individual, family and community level. Lead the delivery of the healthy child programme to improve health and wellbeing and safeguard children, young people and families. Develop and implement structured interventions for children and families with complex needs including assessments, appropriate management of risks and providing professional and clinical supervision to other team members.

Practitioner:

• Delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, identifying and assessing the health needs of individuals and families. Planning, implementing and evaluating care in response to identified need.
• Plan, deliver and evaluate public health initiatives through building community capacity activities, which reflect need and meets the key performance targets of the organisation, delegating and overseeing wider team delivery as appropriate.
• Undertake clear and detailed assessments at both individual and community level including health needs, early help and safeguarding, in accordance with policies and procedures, effectively identifying risks, needs and options.
• Ensure the safe and effective triaging of referrals from health and social care professionals into the Public Health Nursing service, effectively managing complex situations, assessing and managing high levels of risk.
• Adhere to and as appropriate contribute to the development and review of policies, procedures and standards relating to practice delivery, working from an evidence base or current best practice and research.
• Provide professional advice, guidance, support and mentoring where appropriate to internal team members and students and external stakeholders as required, including health, education and social care colleagues and students from other disciplines e.g. social work, medical students.
• Work within and as appropriate contribute to the clinical governance framework to maintain consistently high standards of care, working from an evidence base or current best practice.
• Take responsibility for own ongoing professional learning and development, ensuring these meet local, national and professional regulations.
• Maintain accurate and up to date records safely and confidentially in accordance with policies and procedures and professional regulations.
• Pro-actively engage with colleagues and a range of organisations to identify, assess, plan for and support the needs of children, young people and families/carers and offer training where appropriate, in order to promote positive health outcomes.
• Work within local and national safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure a child centred approach. Undertake and lead preventative work and assessments, attending meetings, preparing and presenting reports for case conference and court proceedings as required in line with local processes for early help, looked after children and safeguarding children and adults.
• Adhere to the professional regulations scope of professional practice and organisational policies and procedures including nurse prescribing practice and contribute and support the care quality standards and inspections.
• To exhibit excellence in the standards for Specialist Community Public Health Nursing and to be an effective leader and role model for others to aspire to.
• Provide line management to members of the public health nursing workforce, delegating work appropriately to ensure the best use of skills and resources, supporting professional development and undertaking appraisals.

Experienced Practitioner (plus all of the above):

• Provide advice and support to other team members, mentoring, preceptoring and supervising newly qualified public health nurses and less experienced staff, ensuring targets are met within agreed timescales.
• Manage the assessment and planning of care for complex families and cases, adapting and creating innovative packages to meet needs, promoting independence and initiating early intervention.
• Manage and supervise colleagues as appropriate to support the development of skills and knowledge across the service in the management of complex families and delivery of intensive packages of care.

Experience

Essential

• Practitioner:
• Experience of integrated working/ multi-agency working
• Working in a community setting
• Experience of public health related work/ leading public health initiatives
• Experience of safeguarding vulnerable children and families
• Experience of working with complex vulnerable children and families
• Evidence of compliance with professional regulations Standards of Proficiency
• Experience of initiating and leading the early help processes for children and families
• Experienced Practitioner (plus all of the above):
• Experience of preceptoring and mentoring
• Significant post qualification experience
• Experience of complex safeguarding work.
• Experience of developing and leading training

Desirable

• Experience of managing staff

Additional Requirements

Essential

• All levels:
• Demonstrate a full commitment to develop information technology skills as appropriate to undertake public health nursing duties
• Ability to undertake travel in connection with the post duties
• Willing to undertake training and continuous professional development in connection with the post
• Willing to work flexibly in accordance with the policies and procedures to meet the operational needs of the service and the council.
• Work in accordance with our values and behaviours, as part of an inclusive and high performing council

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Practitioner:
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing to a range of audiences including children, young people, parents and carers and professional colleagues.
• Ability to plan and prioritise workload within a changing and flexible work environment
• Skills in health needs assessment, planning and evaluating interventions
• Demonstrates knowledge and skills in the use of information technology
• Ability to work autonomously and independently
• Ability to use reflective practice techniques to evaluate, present and critically analyse own practice
• Ability to line manage and supervise other team members, organising and delegating as appropriate
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish effective working relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders as well as ability to constructively challenge when required
• Demonstrate a flexible, innovative approach to work, as well as willingness to develop specialist areas of work and critically analyse own personal development.
• Demonstrate leadership skills and interpersonal skills with an ability to work effectively in partnership with team, other professionals and agencies
• Experienced Practitioner (plus all of the above):
• Ability to manage complex health needs
• Ability to lead and develop innovative practice
• Ability to take lead role in complex child protection, child in need and looked after children and direct, support and supervise the other teams members to support those families
• Demonstrate skills in delivering effective clinical decision making in complex scenarios and to make decisions when there are conflicts and tensions.

Qualifications

Essential

• Specialist Community Public Health Nurse
• Evidence of continuous professional development

Desirable

• Recorded Nurse Prescriber
• Mentor Qualification

General and Special Knowledge

Essential

• Practitioner:
• Knowledge and understanding of the Healthy Child Programme and related policies and pathways
• Knowledge and understanding of public health and preventative strategy
• Knowledge and understanding of Local and National Safeguarding Policies and Procedures
• Sound knowledge of professional accountability and professional regulations requirements for continued registration
• Demonstrate in depth knowledge and understanding of the impact of long term health and social issues and safeguarding
• Demonstrate knowledge of clinical governance and its implications for practice
• Experience and understanding of clinical and safeguarding supervision
• Experienced Practitioner (plus all of the above)
• Knowledge and understanding of principles and benefits of reflection and use of models and tools to enhance understanding of complex clinical practice and safeguarding supervision.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of clinical governance and its implications for practice

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).