Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) Community

Job description

Job responsibilities

This Assistant Practitioner role has been designed to work alongside midwives at the frontline of a familys journey through pregnancy, childbirth and into parenthood. You will be a champion for women and families valuing them, challenging them and inspiring change. Helping women navigate across the health and social care landscape and listening to them recognising when a woman/birthing person and/or her family is in need, or at risk. By being truly holistic and family-centred, this role will take account of the values and preferences of women/birthing people and their families and support shared decision-making for aspect of the maternity care journey within the Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) scope of practice.

This Assistant Practitioner role has been designed to work as part of our multi-disciplinary team to focus on the NHS CORE20PLUS5 approach. This aims to reduce healthcare inequalities for the most deprived 20% of the national population, as identified by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). The IMD has seven domains with indicators accounting for a wide range of social determinants of health. Maternity is one of the five clinical areas of focus in the CORE20PLUS5 that require accelerated improvement for women/birthing people from the global majority (Black Asian and minority ethnic communities) and from the most deprived groups. These include: people experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system, victims of modern slavery and other socially excluded groups.

CORE20PLUS5 also highlights that the most deprived population groups have the highest smoking rates. Smoking is the leading modifiable risk factor for poor birth outcomes including; low birth weight, heart defects, miscarriage, pre-term birth, stillbirth and sudden infant death. Latest figures for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire indicate that 13% of birthing parents were still smoking on the day their new baby was born (1,298 women annually).

You will work within a team, overseeing a caseload of women/birthing people and their babies and be delivering direct care across the antenatal and postnatal phases of care focusing on the CORE20PLUS5 approach. You will be enabled to use your enhanced training and clinical skills, within the scope of practice for Assistant Practitioners (Maternity). This will include scope to manage Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) led clinics for routine observations e.g. blood pressures, urine sampling and repeat blood tests.

You will also have opportunities to share your expertise in public health prevention and promotion with families, including smoking cessation, infant feeding etc. and participate in parent education and preparation sessions. You will use appropriate mechanisms to facilitate engagement and involvement of pregnant women/people and their families in their maternity care journey. This will include providing specialist information individually and to families to make changes to achieve healthier lifestyles.

This role will be daytime only from Monday to Sunday, including bank holidays. In the future, opportunities to attend homebirths as a second attendant to a registered midwife may evolve. If this is something you would be interested in, it will require you to be flexible and able to participate in 24-hour shift patterns, contributing to the delivery of an out-of-hours, on-call rota to meet the needs of the service as required.

We aim to enable you to bring your best self to work everyday and operate at the top of your scope of practice by: supporting women/birthing people and their families; delivering public health promotion and prevention activities; using your personal and clinical skills effectively; and creating safe environments.

TYPICAL CLINICAL DUTIES FOR ASSISTANT PRACTITIONERS (MATERNITY) IN THE CARE OF WOMEN/BIRTHING PEOPLE AND NEWBORNS

Ability to assist midwives and other registered pracititioners during obstetric emergencies and neonatal resuscitation procedures

Can safely perform routine maternal observations including venepuncture, cannulation and capillary blood sampling in line with local policy and guidance

Assist in the transportation of blood products and is aware of safe storage requirements

Assist in the maintenance and understand the principles of good bladder care including; removal of catheters; disposal of equipment following infection control policies; and can accurately document fluid balance

Ability to undertake routine Carbon Monoxide monitoring, interpret readings and discuss smoking behaviours with women/birthing people and their families using Very Brief Advice (VBA) principles

Recognises the importance of supporting physical and emotional health and Make Every Contact Count (https://www.mecclink.co.uk/making-every-contact-count/) by actively encouraging women/birthing people and their families to talk about their health and wellbeing e.g. developing a personalised care and support plan

Recognise any deterioration in mental and emotional wellbeing and respond appropriately, making relevant referrals or escalating to a midwife or other appropriate registered practitioner

Ability to support and prepare people for parenthood, including antenatal education, infant feeding, skin-to-skin, bonding with a newborn infant, discussing the principles of ICON https://iconcope.org/, and safe sleeping

Ability to perform routine postnatal newborn checks and observations, escalating any deviations from the normal range in an appropriate and timely manner to a midwife or registered practitioner

Ability to observe the overall wellbeing of the newborn and escalate any concerns to a midwife or registered practitioner

Ability to undertake accurate newborn weight measurements, calculate weight changes, initiate and/or review infant feeding plans in line with local guidelines and escalate to a midwife or other appropriate registered practitioner in a timely manner

Ability to perform neonatal blood sampling including tests such as newborn blood spot screening and serum bilirubin ratio (SBR)

Ability to use a transcutaneous bilirubinometer, interpret/plot readings and escalate for further testing if an SBR is required.

Capability to initiate routine transfer of care to Health Visitors/Public Health Nursing Service

Person Specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential

• Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship (with maternity focus); or FdSc Health and Social Care or equivalent (with appropriate maternity focus) Care Certificate Achievement of the national competency framework at Level 4

Desirable

• Other local or national training packages (such as NHS England MSW modules with appropriate maternity focus) Commitment to undertaking regular role-related training

Experience

Essential

• Significant clinical experience within health and social settings relevant to role Previous experience of working with members of the public Clear understanding of the professional accountability, delegation and professionalism related to the role of Band 4 Assistant Practitioner Ability to support women and families with complex care and support needs Experience of working in busy and demanding environments when the accurate and timely recording, scheduling and completion of administrative tasks is required

Desirable

• Detailed knowledge of the scope of the role and others in the multi-disciplinary team (or willing to gain this) Knowledge of public health and health promotion initiatives, legal and ethical frameworks and wider health and social issues and policies Evidence of continuing professional development

Communication and Relationship skills

Essential

• oMakes a positive contribution as a team player and demonstrates the importance of working as part of a team oAbility to liaise with colleagues in other disciplines and organisations appropriately oApproachable manner with excellent interpersonal skills oExcellent written and verbal communication skills oAbility to be assertive, tactful and diplomatic oIs sensitive to the decisions and activities on other professionals and/or organisations oExperience of working with people who may be anxious, distressed or angry oExperience of dealing with complainants

Desirable

• oExperience of working with families dealing with bereavement oLeadership skills oAbility to convey detailed and evidence-based information to parents and relatives who may be distressed or anxious

Analytical and Judgement skills

Essential

• oAble to identify when to escalate concerns/issues oExercise appropriate autonomy, but also able to recognise own limitations and escalate when required oKnowledge and understanding of data protection and confidentiality oUnderstanding of safeguarding issues and duties oAwareness of health and safety issues and duties oAbility to act on own initiative and organise and motivate oneself and others to achieve tasks oExperience of analysing problems and identifying solutions

Desirable

• oAbility to question and challenge practice in a constructive way so that standards of patient care are continually evaluated and improved

Planning and organisation skills

Essential

• oExcellent time management skills oAbility to prioritise workload oAbility to work without direct supervision oAbility to support the training and development of other MCAs/MSWs/learners oExperience of using Microsoft Office suite oExperience of using hospital patient record systems oTo assist in the accurate completion of Trust and departmental audits oAbility to cope effectively under pressure and resilient to work within the team to manage complex and challenging situations

Desirable

• oAbility to delegate task appropriately oAbility to implement changes to improve service delivery oAbility to assume the role of teacher, mentor and role model oExperience of preparing and reporting audits, accounts and activity records

Physical skills

Essential

• oAbility to travel (for community-based appointments) and hold a full, clean driving licence oAbility to work as part of a team and as a lone worker oAdaptable and flexible approach to work oPositive attitude to training and development oSmart professional appearance, adhering to NUH uniform policy

Desirable

• oFlexibility to undertake out of hours shift/on-call duties as the role develops

Other requirements specific to the role

Essential

• oUnderstanding of the NHS CORE20PLUS5 approach and its relevance to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire context oWillingness to rotate to other areas of maternity to duties appropriate and in scope for Assistant Practitioner (Maternity) roles oExperience of delivering parent-education training

Desirable

• oHas completed academic training in supporting midwives to deliver intrapartum care in both the hospital and home birth setting oWillingness to maintain clinical competence to attend home births through regular training updates

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trusts

Address

Community Midwifery

Sherwood Rise

Nottingham

NG7 7AD

Employer's website

https://www.nuh.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)