Kentown Specialist Palliative Care Community Nurse

To develop skills in the assessment of children's palliative care needs and develop plans of care to meet the needs of the child, young person, and their families so that appropriate care and support is established and maintained as they move between hospital and community settings. This may include attendances at clinic appointments for individual patients.

To develop skills in coordination and mobilisation of services, complex discharge planning to support the patient and family during palliation and bereavement and signposting them to the most appropriate professional to act as a key worker. To develop skills in advanced care planning by networking with colleagues and undertaking required training to ensure that all children and families are offered the choice of an advance care plan. Provide verbal and written information for families which is age appropriate and culturally sensitive.

Be responsible for ensuring that the environment and Trust processes are responsive to the needs of the bereaved parents and family, recognising the importance of maintaining privacy and dignity. Working closely with Trust Swan team and shared care palliative care teams in adult and paediatric arenas.

To develop and strengthen links with local and regional palliative care networks and be a key player/support within the multidisciplinary team to provide safe, appropriate and effective management of children with palliative care needs. Have a commitment to collaborative working and support the transition process for young people with palliative care needs into adult services.

Leadership

Act as a good role model, providing effective palliative and end of life care advice, guidance and support to the children's community nursing team and advise paediatric teams as needed. To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development. Participate in the development of guidelines, protocols, pathways, policies in relation to palliative and end of life care for children and young people supported by the Kentown programme. Be the source of contact following the death of a child, participating in child death review meetings, sharing good practice and any lessons learnt. Undertake training for quality service improvement and redesign supporting contribution to service evaluations and reviews to assess the workload and make plans for service development. Participate in the research and audit process ensuring that children's palliative and end of life care is endorsed. Provide up to date education and expert advice for other health care professionals including GPs, Health visitors, social workers, school staff and others to ensure they are able to support children and families with palliative care needs.

Communication and networking

Always represent the Trust, demonstrating core values and behaviours whilst promoting collaboration and teamwork. Champion advance care planning and palliative care, promoting effective communication, across all community settings and reaching into ward environments. Advocate for children, young people and their families during palliation and raise awareness of the service. Be able to demonstrate empathy and communicate effectively in difficult situations. To develop and maintain expertise in working across organisational boundaries. Support professionals to have end of life/preferred place of care conversations with families, supporting families who wish to transition their care from hospital to home or to a hospice setting. Support clinical decision making, supporting clinicians in having difficult conversations, supporting families when there is uncertainty and offering clinical review and symptom management. Utilise advanced communication skills communicating effectively with the children, young person and their families to understand their condition and the impact it may have. To give sensitive, emotive information regarding prognosis and outcomes. To work closely with the child, young person and their families developing and reviewing their Advance Care Plan, supporting them to ensure their hopes and wishes are explored and documented. Involving children, young people and their families encouraging them to make informed choices concerning their health and wellbeing. To have an awareness of the barriers to effective communication and methods that can be used to reduce those barriers. Effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers, and clinical leads within the Trust. Maintain accurate, contemporaneous professional records in accordance with the NMC guidelines and Trust Record Keeping Policy.

Training and development

Act as a mentor for students and other junior staff, providing effective education facilitating their development and promoting high standards of children's palliative and end of life care. Supervising and assessing competencies as required. Be responsible for creating a dynamic learning environment for all staff, overseeing the provision of education, research and practice development in children's palliative and end of life care. To assist in the updating of teaching resources, patient information, protocols, guidelines. Provide training and updates for children, parents, and their carer. To assess, identify and evaluate own knowledge and practice needs in relation to knowledge and skills required to meet the demands of the service, taking responsibility for continuing personal development and performance in addition to key training identified within the trainee programme. To stay abreast of up-to-date research and developments ensuring evidence-based practice is used at all times.

Professional responsibilities

Work as a positive role model to ensure that the delivery of nursing care is at the highest possible level to meet the complex palliative care and/or end of life care needs of children and their families.