Job Description

The post holder will support the Lead Nurse to ensure that the organisation meets its responsibilities to children in care & will work as a member of the organisation's children in care health team at all times and in relation to the roles and responsibilities listed. The post holder will provide comprehensive health screening and assessment for children in care (CIC) on their caseload, & will provide health promotion to the target group, as well as provide the target group with access to inclusive primary health care services via dedicated community nursing support. The post holder will practice autonomously and demonstrate evidence based clinical decision making, as well as work within guidelines to identify & manage risk, reporting any identified risks to the Lead Nurse. The post holder will ensure the delivery of the quality strategy within the designated area incorporating establishment of systems and processes.



The post holder will have continuing responsibility for the management of a defined caseload. The post holder will provide a high quality community based general health nursing service CIC & vulnerable children including young offenders. This will provide opportunity for integrated & co-ordinated approaches to the needs of the young people. It is envisages that the main focus of the work will be in the area of health promotion, health screening & clinical intervention.



Two years experience working with children in community is essential.



Children in Care



The age range of Children in care is 5-18 years, and will also complete heath assessments for universal CYP open to Sefton Youth Justice Service.



Most of the young people have experienced severe social dysfunction in their families together with significant traumatic life events, sometimes in complex combinations. These may include family break up and dysfunction, frequent changes of home and/or school, bereavement, violence, major illness or hospitalisation, and physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse. These factors exacerbate inherent medical issues, as well as impacting on the educational and social achievement.



Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.



We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.



At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.



Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.



Collate & provide appropriate qualitative & statistical information on activity and outcome for the CIC health.



Prepare effective & timely written reports



Provide service related information to senior managers & staff to aid day-to-day service management



Contribute to the management of the delivery of care for YP in an effective & efficient manner & contribute to the enhancement of services provided through making recommendations for service development to the CIC Health Team & the appropriate Child & Adult Mental Health.



Maximise time management



Report & advise on the resources that are needed to meet the general health needs .



Work within guidelines to identify & manage risk, reporting identified risks to the TL.



Help plan, facilitate and undertake health education & promotion sessions



Contribute to the setting up & continual development of the service, both in the evolving of the service delivery as a whole, & with special reference to that of their own discipline within the team.



Support the TL in delivering a high quality care



Leadership



Have continuing responsibility for the management of a defined caseload



Work as an independent practitioner without the need for direction



Recognise child protection situations & adhere to local guidelines



Adapt practice to the circumstances of the YP & carers, giving due regard to cultural, linguistic & other differences in line with the Trust Policy on Equality



Participate in the development of policies and guidelines relating to the service & to translate these policies into partnership working



Help develop a strategy for the Health Team in line with the overall strategic aims & objectives



Clinical



Help the CYP in the care of the service to develop the knowledge, skills & confidence they need



Promote the physical, mental & social aspects of CYP



Assess care needs & to plan, deliver & evaluate care



Maintain high standards of care



Act as a resource for colleagues within a specified area



Be responsible for the assessment of health care needs & the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of the care for the above named specific groups of CYP.



Ensure the needs of these children & young people are recognized & that appropriate care is initiated



Help facilitate & undertake health education & promotion for CYP



Monitor the delivery of care by members of the team



Ensure that all planned care is evidence based



Provide comprehensive health assessments, including risk assessments of young people with complex health problems.



Provide clinical interventions as appropriate following assessment of the CYP needs



Utilise skills flexibly so that interventions can be creatively thought about, & provided within the young person's home, school, or other



Attend case reviews, conferences and professionals meetings in order to facilitate the needs of CYP



Assess, plan, negotiate, implement & evaluate programmes of general health care for hard to reach young people based on current best practice and the needs of the population



Non-Clinical



Maintain accurate records



Write confidential reports when required, that may have wide ranging implications for the young person & their family. This may involve difficult and highly distressing



Training & Education



Ensure the development & maintenance of the highest personal standard of practice through active participation in internal & external



Responsible for personal development



Compile & facilitate educational training programmes.



Keep updated on national/local developments within the Health Service providing knowledge & health perspectives within the CIC Health



Be appraised by the TL & have a Personal Development Plan in line with Trust



Undertake one to one & group health promotion sessions with CYP who are CIC



Support the development & expansion of existing services by undertaking focus groups & user views exercises with CIC



Clinical Governance/Research and Audit



Be aware of the up-to-date research and evidence relating to care & treatment of children & young people who are CIC



Be involved in audit and research projects.



Work within professional & ethical frameworks established by national bodies such as the DoH.



Undertake regular case & caseload supervision with the appropriate specialist



Attend regular clinical supervision/peer supervision



Participate fully in audit & evaluation of service provision in this specialist field, conducting practice based evaluation



Communication



Promote effective communication between the CYP, carers, family, primary care & other agencies



Attend & participate at care reviews for CYP



Attend professionals meetings & case conferences as invited



Consult with, & refer to other health care professionals as indicated by the young person's needs.



Demonstrate expert skills in motivating the young people, carers & professionals to engage in interaction & to develop constructive working relationships, in a client group with a frequent history of non-engagement.



Impart & accept highly sensitive, complex & distressing information with understanding and empathy, with YP, carers



Communicate & collaborate with other members of the CIC Team, LCH, Children's Social Care, voluntary statutory organisations to support CYP



Manage YP & adults who at times may be physically & verbally aggressive towards other members of the family and/or staff. To ensure safety as a paramount consideration & to be aware of different levels of need



Negotiate, co-ordinate & where appropriate access relevant health services, tailoring packages of care



Offer specialist consultation, education, advice & training to other professionals working outside of the Children in Care's Health



Be a resource of specialist nursing advice, to colleagues within CAMHS, other professionals & other agencies.



Supervision



Engage in appraisal, support & supervision for colleagues in the team/organisation.



Contribute to individual case safeguarding supervision.



Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults



All Trust employees are required to act in such a way that at all times safeguards the health & wellbeing of children & vulnerable adults. Familiarisation with & adherence to Trust Safeguarding policies is an essential requirement of all employees, as is participation in related mandatory/statutory training.

Infection Control



All staff have both duty & responsibility to avoid & prevent the spread of infection as a consequence of any actions or activities they are carrying out during the course of their duties.

The post holder must:

-



Take all reasonable care to minimise the risk to service users, colleagues & members of the public (including themselves).



Co-operate with the Trust in ensuring that all statutory & mandatory requirements are complied with - in particular, compliance with the Health & Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice for the prevention & control of healthcare-associated



Be knowledgeable of & compliant with, the Trust's infection control policies & procedures, which include attendance at mandatory



Health and Safety



All staff will be expected to take responsibility for their own health & wellbeing, safety & security and assist in maintaining a healthy, safe & secure working environment for everyone.

Generic Responsibilities for all staff:

All post holders will agree to:

Commit to the vision of supporting Mersey Care in becoming a leading organisation in the provision of community services, mental health care, addiction services & learning disability care, & in doing so fully utilise their skills and experience to support the objectives



Role model the values of the Trust - Continuous Improvement, Accountability, Respectfulness, Enthusiasm and Support- in all activities & interactions with employees, service users & other stakeholders



Challenge the stigma associated with mental health & learning

Comply with the Duty of Candour, defined by Francis as:

'The volunteering of all relevant information to persons who have or may have been harmed by the provision of services, whether or not the information has been requested & whether or not a complaint or a report about that provision has been '



Work across professional & organisational boundaries to improve services for



Maintain their specific knowledge base & develop new



Value the contribution of the patient / service user



Operate within any organisational codes of practice or those from a relevant professional body.



Respect equality & diversity across all areas of working practice & communications with staff, service users & other



Take responsibility for the accurate & timely collection & recording of data & ensuring all personally identifiable information is protected & used only for the purposes for which it was intended.



Comply with all health & safety legislation and local policies



Have knowledge & understanding of technology in the workplace which is sufficient to maintain their efficiency & also how technology can empower service users in a digital environment



Comply with the NHS Constitution in relation to the staff responsibilities that it sets out for NHS



Be an ambassador for Just & Learning & Civility & Respect following the training



Positively advocate the just & learning culture within your team



Be a confident supporter & implementer of the Trust CARES Values including Civility & Respect within your team.



Support their team/services to create a positive environment for Just & Learning Culture



Participate in Just & Learning Culture events.



Bring Just & Learning Culture updates/information to the attention of team members & other MCT colleagues they work with.



Support & encourage the sharing of concerns about the safety & quality of care with senior leaders with the aim of improving safety & quality.



Actively participate in creating an open culture within your team so that concerns & difficulties can be discussed safely & respectfully.



Speaking up in the event that they are exposed to incivility between colleagues in the workplace