Senior Staff Nurse

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Staff Nurse to join our team at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. As a Senior Staff Nurse, you will be responsible for delivering high-quality nursing care to children and young people with complex health needs in our special schools.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement integrated working practices to improve service delivery options and outcomes for individual children, young people, and their families.
• Ensure all staff within the team work to SHC and ESTH policies, procedures, and guidelines, and actively contribute to the proposal of policy or service changes as appropriate.
• Work closely and collaboratively with education, health, and social care staff to provide comprehensive care to children and young people.
• Delegate tasks appropriately to ensure consistent and coordinated care.
• Act as a specialist practitioner and resource to other staff within the department and wider organization.
• Lead by example and maintain a high level of professional conduct at all times.
• Be aware of issues relating to information governance and data security.

Clinical Responsibilities

• Be confident and competent in carrying out clinical skills such as administration of medicines and gastrostomy feeds, and have experience of working with children and young people with tracheostomies.
• Support the lead clinician for the children's continence service.
• Perform effective assessments and plan care according to the identified health needs of individual children and young people, and for those accessing the continence service.
• Review care plans on at least a yearly basis or more frequently if needed.
• Make onward referrals where appropriate.
• Attend safeguarding supervision at least termly and additional, where required.
• Represent the school nursing team in the educational setting.
• Attend annual educational reviews, child in need meetings, team around the child meetings, professional meetings, child protection case conferences, and core group meetings, representing the school nursing team and providing key information to education and social services staff and parents.
• Comply with infection control policies and procedures to minimize and prevent the spread of infection.

Management Responsibilities and Professional Leadership

• Ensure team compliance with service delivery according to the commissioned service specification.
• Support the Team Leader and senior children's services managers to monitor the staffing budget.
• Ensure staff comply with their obligation to collect and record data in electronic records in a timely manner.
• Receive and handle any complaints according to SHC and ESTH policy.
• Work collaboratively with the risk management department to support practitioners in the identification and management of any risks involved with the service and delivery of care.
• Ensure all staff comply with the incident policy and ensure that all reported incidents for designated areas are fully investigated.
• Ensure effective communication systems are utilized.
• Observe and comply with Trust policies and procedures for health and safety, ensuring the environment you work in and are responsible for is safe, clean, and tidy.
• Promote equal opportunities in compliance with Trust policies.
• Ensure that benefits to children and young people are maximized through careful, economical, and appropriate use of NHS resources, including equipment, property, budget, time, etc.
• Participate in the audit of services to ensure a high level of service delivery and identify areas of improvement.

Education, Training, and Personal Development

• Develop and implement local orientation, local induction programs, and preceptorship for any new employees to the team.
• Ensure you are compliant with statutory and mandatory training while maintaining an adequate level of service delivery.
• Work alongside the Team Leader and senior children's services managers to ensure all staff are competent and confident in performing clinical skills associated with their role, ensuring any poor performance issues are addressed in line with SHC and ESTH policies.
• Ensure staff participate in reflective practice to ensure effective problem-solving strategies within the team.
• Complete verification for nursing staff undertaking their revalidation in line with NMC guidelines.
• Ensure student nurses on clinical placements are allocated trained mentors to support the special school nurses, ensuring that placements offer developmental opportunities and are a positive experience.

Working Relationships/Communication

• Develop and maintain a highly professional and constructive relationship with the education team within the special needs schools.
• Maintain good communication with children and young people, parents, carers, staff, and other professionals at all times and be able to communicate complex information in an appropriate manner to all.
• Be able to handle sensitive information and act in a tactful manner when there may be a conflict of interest.
• Have knowledge of alternative methods of communication such as Makaton, PECS, PODD books, etc.

Financial Responsibility/Service Delivery

• Be responsible for the issue of children's continence products, ensuring the identified needs of the client are met while maintaining the specified budget.
• Support the Team Leader and senior children's services managers to monitor the staffing budget for the specified service areas, ensuring expenditure remains within the allocated budget.

Person Specification:

• Education and Qualifications:
  • Essential:
    • NMC Registered Nurse (adult, child, or learning disabilities)
    • Mentorship qualification or willing to complete
    • Evidence of Continued Professional Development
  • Desirable:
    • Specialist Practitioner Qualification
• Experience:
  • Essential:
    • Minimum 2 years experience post-qualification working with children and young people
    • Evidence of working in a multidisciplinary team
    • Demonstrable understanding of clinical governance
  • Desirable:
    • Previous experience of working in a special school/community setting
    • Previous experience of working with children and young people with severe and profound learning disabilities and complex health needs
    • Experience of carrying out children's and young people's continence assessments and providing continence advice to both with/without disabilities
• Skills and Knowledge:
  • Essential:
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to communicate at all levels
    • Leadership skills
    • Holistic assessment skills
    • Effective clinical and clinical reasoning skills
    • Knowledge of current clinical and professional nursing issues relating to special needs school nursing
    • Excellent written skills
    • Ability to work as part of a busy health team, prioritizing workload and maintaining high standards at all times
    • Ability to manage sensitive information and maintain confidentiality
    • Ability to have complex and challenging conversations
    • Clear understanding of current national and local agenda
    • Ability to demonstrate evidence-based clinical practice
    • Ability to maintain professionalism and work within professional boundaries at all times
    • Ability to document concise and accurate clinical records and write accurate clinical reports
    • Knowledge and experience of clinical audit and clinical governance
    • Knowledge of child protection policies and procedures
    • Good IT skills, including the use of MS Office, email, and internet
  • Desirable:
    • Knowledge of specialist communication skills signing/core boards/Makaton
    • Previous use of electronic records systems EMIS
• Personal Attributes:
  • Essential:
    • Highly developed interpersonal skills
    • Flexible, enthusiastic, and able to use initiative
    • Recognizes individual rights in line with legislation, policy, and procedures
    • Ability to motivate others
    • Receptive to change and able to adapt positively
    • A 'can do' attitude
    • Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• General Requirements:
  • Essential:
    • Ability to work flexibly in order to meet the needs of the service
    • Ability to work alone and as part of a team
• Desirable:
  • Experience of team management
  • Car driver with full valid driving license and access to a vehicle for business purposes

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