Clinical Nurse Specialist - Palliative and End of Life Care, Community

This innovative post is offered in collaboration with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (HIOW ICB), reflecting our shared commitment to delivering outstanding, patient‐centred palliative and end‐of‐life care. Our values centre on compassion, collaboration, and excellence, ensuring that every patient and family receives care that is dignified, respectful, and based on best evidence. We believe in empowering professionals through education and innovation, creating a culture of continuous improvement across all care settings.

We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Clinical Nurse Specialist to join our collaborative palliative and end‐of‐life care team. This unique role offers the opportunity to work flexibly across hospice, hospital, and community care settings, ensuring continuity and excellence in care for patients and families. You will play a pivotal role in delivering specialist clinical expertise, education, and support to healthcare professionals across Hampshire. Working closely with the Children’s Community Nursing (CCN) teams and the hospice, you will help shape and develop training programmes, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and policies that reflect best evidence and practice.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes 28 days holiday plus Bank holidays, group pension scheme (with the ability to remain in the NHS pension for current members), life assurance, HSF Health cash plan, blue light discount, free parking and opportunities for professional development and growth and working in a supportive and collaborative work environment. A driving licence is essential due to rural location.

The post holder is expected to work flexibly between both the hospice, hospital’s and community care setting according to service needs. This post offers a collaborative educational and supportive approach to palliative care across Hampshire community, hospice and hospital, working with the Children’s Community Nursing (CCN) teams and the hospice, to develop training and practice, SOPs and policies to facilitate care based on best evidence.

• Provide nursing care and support to community children’s services which provide high quality and safe nursing care out of hospital through community children’s nursing services, special school nursing teams and Firvale.
• Support neonatal, children and young people with acute and short‐term conditions and illness.
• Support neonatal, children and young people with long‐term conditions.
• Support children with disabilities and complex conditions, including those requiring continuing care.
• Support neonatal, children and young people with life‐limiting and life‐threatening illness, including those requiring palliative and end‐of‐life care.
• Offer additional support, advice and education to enable a child to be cared for and to die within their appropriate preferred place.

Key responsibilities include:

• Provide additional support, advice, education, clinical expertise, and guidance to staff and students across the hospice, hospital and community care setting working clinically as required.
• Advise on the assessment, planning and implementation of care for children with complex health needs within the acute hospital and community environment and facilitate timely early discharge thus reducing inpatient stay and readmission to hospital.
• Educate staff and students working in other areas about the role of the CNS ensuring continuing development and maintenance of specialist knowledge and skills within the wider clinical teams to ensure continuity of high quality care.
• Lead clinical audits where appropriate and participate in research projects and service development.
• Inspire, empower and motivate colleagues to strive constantly to improve care and experience for children, families and staff.
• Engage proactively in transition care planning utilising nationally recognised health planning tools for all known young people aged 12-18 years.
• Ensure that the care facilitated is responsive and flexible to the individuals needs, using family centred approaches.
• Work in partnership with the hospice multidisciplinary team, community CCNs and any other agencies involved in the child’s care, to ensure the delivery of a seamless service across all settings.
• Maintain up‐to‐date knowledge of developments in children’s palliative care ensuring practice is based on best evidence.
• Maintain an up‐to‐date knowledge of organisational policies and ensure that these are adhered to all work with children and families.
• Ensure that Health and Safety requirements are met, risk assessments are maintained for staff and children, and mitigation measures actioned to minimise identified risks.

Deliver a high standard of individualised holistic care and support to children and their families in the hospices, the hospital, their own homes or other community setting, promoting empowerment, advocacy and partnership. Work as a member of the multi‐disciplinary Care Team providing care, advice and support in line with professional accountability. Carry out specific health care assessments of children/young people. Communicate effectively across all members of the hospice, hospital and community multidisciplinary teams, as well as any other agencies involved in the CYPs care. Work in partnership with other agencies to deliver end of life care at home, where requested and appropriate. Participate in the provision of an on‐call rota for end of life care when required. Recognise the need for specialist bereavement support and refer to the hospice Family Support Team. Advocate for CYP to ensure their needs are always safeguarded. Adhere to Naomi House and local child protection and safeguarding policies.

Be aware of the safety needs of children, young adults and families and other staff and comply with:

• The Children Act 2004 as part of the care team rota.
• DoH No Secrets Guidance on developing and implementing multi‐agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse.
• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• NMC codes and guidelines.

Work flexibly with children, young people and their families to provide care and support in line with their preferences and wishes. Maintain up‐to‐date knowledge and awareness of issues around the safeguarding of children and young adults, ensuring that appropriate steps are facilitated through effective communication across multidisciplinary agencies. Maintain agreed governance processes through incident reporting and risk assessment. Attend staff meetings and team briefings and participate in other meetings as appropriate. Liaise with external agencies involved in the care and support of the children and young people and their families. Participate in the orientation of new staff and students across the hospices and community setting. Participate in staff support sessions provided by the Naomi Hospice. Maintain accurate records of all types, whether written or electronic and maintain confidentiality at all times. Be responsible for personal professional development, maintaining awareness of current developments in palliative care for children, young people and families. Develop and maintain skills identified in the Competency Framework with the support of the Practice Education team. Receive clinical supervision, regular appraisal and support in achieving your personal development plan as well as peer support from colleagues in similar roles. Secondment to palliative courses, national, regional study days and networking events will be supported through the appraisal and review system.

We ASPIRE to deliver our promise to the children, young adults and families we support, to all our colleagues, our volunteers, supporters and donors. We ASPIRE to be:

• A gile – By taking the initiative, being innovative, showing flexibility and always listening and learning.
• S upportive – By being committed to helping others and by acknowledging and rewarding contribution.
• P roud – By recognising and celebrating our colleagues, the work we do and the difference we all make.
• I nclusive – By creating an environment where everyone feels valued, empowered, respected and heard, where everyone feels they belong.
• R esponsive – By being committed to taking responsibility, taking action, and getting results.
• E ncouraging – By inspiring everyone to do their best, to get involved and to strive to improve.

Qualifications:

• Professional UK registration, e.g. RSCN, CH Dip.
• Post registration experience in palliative care.
• Advanced Clinical Practice Specialist Community Children qualification.
• Teaching and Assessing qualification or equivalent study or work experience.
• Computer Literate.
• Member of relevant special interest group.
• A Master’s degree or evidence of working towards a Master’s degree in the relevant field.
• Advanced communication skills.
• Management learning and or development.

Skills & Ability:

• To demonstrate the required behaviour in keeping with the Naomi House values.
• Highly specialised clinical skills across the relevant speciality.
• Organisational and ongoing planning skills including own workload and of others in an unpredictable environment.
• Advanced communication skills including: to communicate complex, sensitive or confidential information in an appropriate manner; to liaise and negotiate effectively; to understand and disseminate multifaceted information.
• Customer Service experience i.e. dealing with complaints, to manage any barriers to information.
• Ability to work and lead within a multidisciplinary team across an organisation.
• Understanding of effective clinical governance including implications, quality and audit.
• Able to deliver formal and informal learning sessions to all groups of professionals.
• Applies a good understanding of Equality & Diversity in all areas of work.
• The ability to work at problems from a unique or different angle.
• Confidence in using, manipulating and analysing data.
• Full and clean driver’s licence.
• Access to own vehicle which can be insured for business use.
• Should be willing to work flexible hours on occasion including weekends and on call when required.

Experience:

• Evidence of Continued Professional Development (CPD) clearly recorded for professional profile.
• Evidence of significant post registration clinical work experience.
• Evidence of implementing significant changes or service developments that promote good practice.
• Experience of staff supervision, mentorship and training needs analysis.
• Adherence to current statutory requirements, standards and regulations.
• Aware of local and national agenda within speciality.
• Professionally presented and calm approach.
• Ability to work within a rapidly changing environment.
• Ability to manage conflicting and constantly changing priorities.
• Positive, optimistic attitude, enthusiastic and self‐motivated.
• Keen to learn and take on opportunities for personal and departmental development.
• Experience of project management for policy developments and SOPs.
• Involvement in project team for developing and implementing departmental business plans and/or department service initiatives.
• Understanding of performance management systems.
• Experience of Quality Improvement.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.