The post holder will be the Named Nurse for Looked After Children and Young People (LAC). By developing a child and young persons centered approach, the role will focus on multiagency working to help improve the outcomes and life chances of looked after children and young people.
The post holder will identify, assess, plan and evaluate the health needs of children and young people looked after. Working in collaboration with Children’s Social Care, Education, Health agencies, carers, keyworkers, young people and voluntary agencies, with particular reference to the statutory delivery of health assessment requirements. The role will involve outreach/direct health promotion work with looked after children and young people.
The post holder is accountable to the Service Manager for Specialist Children’s Services. The post holder will support the Service Manager and front-line practitioners in meeting their responsibilities for looked after children within each of their service areas.
The post holder will work collaboratively with both the Designated Nurse within the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Designated Doctor for Looked After Children in order to promote effective partnership working and achievement of statutory requirements.
• The post holder will undertake statutory looked after children health assessments, including those with complex healthcare needs (e.g. disability, attachment disorders, unaccompanied asylum seeking children and inter-country adoptions)
• They will be required to analyse holistic health chronology and provide a written comprehensive report detailing the implications of the information for the child’s current and future health and well-being.
• Following the gathering of information, they will formulate a meaningful individual healthcare plan and monitor its implementation.
• The post holder, together with the Designated Professionals for LAC, will lead on audit of systems and report annually to the Directorate Board through completion of an annual report.
• The post holder will demonstrate a high degree of effective coordination, communication, networking and liaison to establish and maintain good working relationships within health and other agencies both locally and nationally.
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.
We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care
Key Tasks and Responsibilities
Professional / Clinical
• Able to undertake statutory looked after children health assessments, including those with complex healthcare needs (e.g. disability, attachment disorders, unaccompanied asylum seeking children and inter-country adoptions)
• Able to analyse holistic health chronology and provide a written comprehensive report detailing the implications of the information for the child’s current and future health and well-being.
• Formulate a meaningful individual healthcare plan and monitor its implementation.
• Put into practice knowledge of how to improve child resilience and reduce risks of harm.
• Demonstrate an ability to work with carers/residential units and families.
• Able to advise other agencies regarding the health management of looked after children.
• Able to interpret and communicate a broad range of health information in a social and education context (e.g. provision of advice on prospective carers to an adoption/fostering panel and advice to social worker on impact of living arrangements on health conditions).
• Able to confidently manage and provide supervision where safeguarding issues arise within the care system.
• Able to teach/train, and assure the competence of health service and relevant multi-agency personnel.
• Able to chair and/or contribute to multi-agency meetings or reviews.
• Aware of the implications of key national documents/reports.
• Able to work creatively with other specialist areas to best deliver appropriate services specific to looked after children.
• Able to lead on relevant audit of service provision.
Management / Leadership
• To have line management responsibilities (Including but not limited to: Appraisals; annual leave; study leave; recruitment and retention; Sickness & Absence Monitoring) for the staff within the team.
• To oversee the process of continuous performance review within the allocated areas of responsibility and empower and enable staff to perform their roles effectively.
• To promote, maintain and monitor effective communication between the LAC service and all clinical areas which provide a service to children and young people.
• To be the main point of contact for all outside agencies relating to Bexley LAC and young people within the Trust.
• To ensure that all local, corporate and national initiatives and targets are met in relation to delivery of health care for LAC.
Educational & Professional Development
• Able to communicate effectively with children and young people including those with complex needs e.g. language difficulties, learning & behavioural difficulties and where English is not their first language.
• Able to adapt and be flexible to meet the particular needs of the child.
• Able to review, summarise and interpret information from a range of sources (e.g. write a chronology).
• Able to analyse and evaluate information and evidence to inform inter-agency decision-making across the organisation.
• Able to convey complex information in an accessible manner to other professionals and adults involved in the care of looked after children.
• Able to advise other agencies about the health management of looked after children concerns.
• Able to support colleagues in constructively challenging other professionals, when appropriate, in the best interest of children.
• Able to provide advice regarding LAC Policy and Legal Frameworks
• Undertake quality assurance measures and processes.
• Able to participate in training needs analysis, and to teach and educate health service professionals and multi-agency partners.
• Able to review, evaluate and update local Guidelines and Policies in light of research findings and legislative changes.
• Able to work effectively with colleagues in wider networks.
• The Named Nurse for LAC should undertake further professional training appropriate to role.
• The Named Nurse for LAC should participate regularly in peer support and education networks for specialist professionals at a local, regional, and national level according to professional guidelines (and their attendance should be recorded).
• To actively participate and/or facilitate in the provision of in-house training for the health needs of Looked After children and provide any additional staff training as required.
Risk Management
• To identify areas of risk in the delivery of the service to LAC and recommend changes to minimise risk.
• To report all incidents with Bexley placed LAC children within and outside of the borough.
• To collate statistical information on LAC children within the Trust, to identify trends, volume of work and to assist further planning.
Research, Audit and Evaluation
• To initiate research where there is an identified need to inform practice.
• To disseminate to the Trust any research undertaken regarding Looked After Children and its implication for clinical practice
• To ensure any new information resulting from research is communicated through training or other means to all relevant staff.
• Take a lead within the Trust in monitoring and auditing the effectiveness of supervision, procedures, and child protection practices.
Financial
• To have an awareness of the service budget with support from the line manager.
Communications and Relationships
• To provide expert professional advice and support to clinicians and other staff within the Trust and community with regard to safeguarding children.
• To liaise closely with Looked After Children professionals within other Trusts and Boroughs to enhance practice and ensure quality transfer of care.
• To ensure clear lines of communication between managers and staff with regard to all LAC information and data collection.
• To access monthly supervision from the Designated Nurse for LAC based in Clinical Commissioning Group.
• To ensure the views of Looked After Children are heard and consultation is carried out to enable responsive service delivery.
General
• To uphold and adhere to the Trust’s corporate values at all times.
• To plan and interpret own workload and that of others adhering to Trust policies procedures and guidelines.
• Use own judgement to define short, medium and long term work priorities.
• Work unsupervised using own judgement and decision-making skills on day to day operational and strategic issues.
• Maintain a professional work ethic and promote professionalism within the directorate.
• To critically reflect on own performance through supervision / action learning.
• To maintain a calm and professional approach when dealing with emotionally distressing and stressful situations.
Terms and Conditions
This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. To be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder on a regular basis.
This post holder is subject to the terms and conditions of employment of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Confidentiality
The post holder must ensure that personal information for patients, members of staff and all other individuals is accurate, up-to-date, kept secure and confidential at all times in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Caldicott principles and the common law duty of confidentiality. The post holder must follow the record keeping guidelines established by the Trust to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Professional and NHS Codes of Conduct
You are required to act at all times in accordance with the relevant professional Codes of Conduct and Accountability (including, where applicable, those for Board Members). In addition, all management staff must comply with the ‘Code of Conduct for NHS Managers’ and ‘Standards of Business Conduct for NHS Staff’.
General
• The post holder may be required to work at any of the Trust’s sites in line with the service needs.
• The post holder must at all times carry out his/her responsibilities with due regard to the Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
• This job description describes responsibilities, as they are currently required. It is anticipated duties will change over time and the job description may need to be reviewed in the future.
• All staff have a responsibility to participate in the Trust’s Performance Appraisal Scheme and to contribute to their own development and the development of any staff that they are responsible for appraising.
This advert closes on Sunday 1 Sep 2024
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