Operational Lead Childrens Service

As the Operational Lead you will manage and co-ordinate the service, whilst also participating in direct patient care. You will work closely with other providers across Kent and as part of CHaL (Children's Hospices across London) in developing and designing services that provide the highest standard of care and support.

We offer professional development opportunities and a comprehensive benefits package, including a pension scheme (with the option for NHS Pension Scheme members to transfer their pension), an employee assistance program, discount schemes, a generous annual leave allowance, and much more.

Main duties of the job

To be an autonomous expert clinical practitioner within the MDT, demonstrating skills in clinical examination, advanced patient assessment, clinical decision making and interventions, and providing senior nursing support and specialist advice regarding children's palliative care.

To participate in a seven-day-per-week operational service, including 24/7 on-call provision for children at the end of life when required.

To work with the Director of Care to ensure that the service is delivered with appropriate use of resources to meet service requirements, developing clear pathways and protocols to support efficient, needs-led service delivery.

To expertly participate in the management of the children at the end of life and/or with complex needs, providing symptom management advice and support at an advanced level, having both an advisory and clinical input into patient care in the children's team.

To provide holistic specialist palliative care assessment of medical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of children and families, liaising with appropriate services as required.

To work sensitively with families and professionals to facilitate the establishment and review of proactive advanced care planning to support understanding patients' and families' wishes and preferred care places.

To participate/expand skills e.g., independent nurse prescribing, venepuncture, cannulation, interventions.

About us

Our Children's team are part of something special, they provide specialist care & support to babies, children and young people with end of life care and oncology needs; supporting families in their own homes to ensure they enjoy special moments together. The children and young people we care for all have life limiting or life-threatening conditions and we are proud to offer a range of services to support the whole family. This includes play and music therapy and pre and post bereavement support. The role is very varied and requires a good understanding of the complex emotional and physical needs of the children and families as well as experience of managing a team.

Job responsibilities

Clinical

• The post holder is expected to split their role into clinical and management functions.

To deliver, monitor, and review the care of patients and families, reporting any variances of concern to senior colleagues in the team and taking appropriate advice in complex cases.

To make proactive patient referrals to appropriate alternative internal or external services.

To work closely with other NHS providers to appropriately identify children who would meet the referral criteria of the team.

To provide clear explanations and education as appropriate to ensure that patients and families have the information they require in a timely fashion.

To participate in the full range of services and time-specified therapeutic patient carer programmes as appropriate and coordinate this with other elements of clinical work.

To maintain excellent professional relationships with key external partners, working collaboratively to provide high-quality care to children and families.

Undertake caseload reviews with CNSs, ensuring that the plans for patients and families are appropriate and effective and that resources are used wisely.

To work in collaboration with other Operational leads to ensure the smooth transition of children into adult services.

Administrative and Managerial

To supervise the team, effectively delegating tasks and responsibilities when appropriate.

To support staff development through effective leadership, mentoring and appraisals as necessary.

To recruit, induct, manage, coach and develop (and, where appropriate, supervise) team members and ensure that all direct reports have regular one-to-one meetings and annual appraisals to review progress towards achieving objectives.

To ensure that sickness, absence, punctuality, and workload management of team members are monitored effectively and that any issues are addressed utilising the support of HR.

To ensure the Director of Care is updated regarding any service developments and any work-based difficulties experienced by the team.

To participate and contribute to MDT meetings, ensuring patients are discussed regularly and viewed holistically.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills

• Time management skills, ability to prioritise.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with abilities to support and motivate staff and volunteers. Attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written; able to deliver reports as required.
• Strong leadership and motivational skills.
• Demonstrates a good understanding of Hospice ethos and a compassionate approach.
• Ability to handle difficult conversations/situations.
• Ability to deliver training programmes/packages with confidence and clarity.
• Ability to undertake clinical audits and recommend changes to practice if appropriate.

Compliance

• The Applicant should have Right to Work in the UK.

Qualifications

• First Level Children's Nurse with current NMC registration.
• Degree in palliative care or relevant clinical speciality.
• Teaching or mentorship qualification.
• Car owner and driver with full license.
• Qualified to administer IV medications.
• A clinical assessment skills. Or willing to undertake.
• Non-Medical prescribing.
• Postgraduate degree or diploma qualification in either specialist palliative, community care or end-of-life care.
• Leadership or management qualification or willingness to undertake.
• CVAD competence.

Experience

• Working in children's palliative care setting.
• In managing a case load and supervising staff.
• Experience of clinical audit and service development.
• Experience of effective multi and inter-disciplinary working.
• Experience in Community nursing role.
• Experience providing clinical supervision and mentorship.
• Experience in planning, delivering and evaluating training programmes.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

£51,230 to £54,352 a year Depending on Experience