Clinical Nurse Specialist (Ecls)

The ECLS team at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children delivers an outstanding service providing a range of mechanical life support to children with cardiorespiratory failure from birth to seventeen years of age as part of the UK National ECMO/VAD service across our CICU and Cardiology Wards. An exciting internal opportunity has arisen for ECMO specialists with ECMO experience, who wish to take this role further, to apply for a full-time Band 7 ECMO/VAD Clinical Nurse Specialist role to join our current team of 3 ECLS CNS.

Are you passionate about the holistic care of ECMO and VAD children & young people and their families, recognising the importance of safe high-quality care that is effective & providing the best clinical outcomes? With a new ECLS – CNS lead, this is a great opportunity to be part of a new ECLS era.

You will need to demonstrate excellent strong communication, active listening across multiprofessional teams, with strong organisational skills. You must be highly motivated, creative and willing to initiate and complete work on your own as well as under supervision. An ability to deliver high standards of clinical care, care pathways, alongside training & education and be part of accurate national data collection and submission.

Main duties of the job:

• To be the first point of contact as a clinical expert, knowledgeable and visible within the specialty to ensure the provision of high-quality evidence-based nursing care.
• To have a high clinical focus and presence, spending 80% of contracted time on delivering or directly supporting clinical care.
• To develop and maintain the clinical skills and knowledge necessary to provide clinically effective, holistic, evidence-based nursing care.
• To be a professional resource for all staff within the unit and across the Trust including nursing, medical, administrative, allied health staff, students and junior colleagues.
• Ensure the provision of appropriate supervision and support to members of the multiprofessional team.
• To provide an innovative and progressive attitude to the continual improvement of patient care through research and best evidence-based practice.
• Act in an advisory role to ensure best practice in the provision of nursing children and young people who may be experiencing emotional difficulties and understand correct referral to other disciplines needed in the child’s care.
• Forge links and working relationships across the cardiorespiratory services.

We are committed to recruiting the best person for the job through a fair, open and consistent process that is free from bias and discrimination. We are working towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. This means creating a workplace where every colleague feels seen, heard and valued, and where racism in any form has no place. Our anti-racism commitment is backed by action through our Anti-Racism Statement and action plan, developed in collaboration with our REACH staff network.

We actively challenge discrimination, dismantle barriers and embed equity across all aspects of our workforce, including recruitment, progression and development. All applicants will receive equal consideration regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, health condition or employment history. We particularly welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, and LGBTQ+ community members.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a member of the Business Disability Forum, and a Stonewall Diversity Champion. Our staff networks, including REACH, PRIDE, ENABLED and Women’s Networks, are active and executive supported. These employee-led networks play a vital role in shaping an inclusive culture at GOSH and are open to all colleagues. Together, we are building a culture where inclusion is not optional - it is essential.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

GOSH Culture and Values:

• Knowledge and understanding of diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Understanding of Diversity and Inclusion challenges in the workplace.
• Demonstrable contribution to advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace.

Experience/Knowledge:

• Experience working at Band 6 and team leading or Nurse in Charge.
• Understanding of clinical risk and clinical governance.
• Experience of working & connecting within a wider MDT.
• Understanding of professional and current issues in children’s nursing.
• Experience of audit and use of evidence-based practice.
• Understanding of resource management, health and safety, clinical risk and quality issues.

Skills/Abilities:

• Excellent relevant paediatric clinical skills.
• Able to work across professional teams and organisational boundaries.
• Excellent communication skills verbal, written and listening.
• Self-discipline and good time management to support periods of lone working and prioritisation of workload.
• Willing to develop excellent managerial, leadership and organisational skills.
• Ability to use appraisal skills across the clinical team.
• Willing to develop excellent teaching, training and preceptorship skills.
• Ability to use advanced communication and active listening skills.