Paediatric Palliative and Bereavement Chaplain

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

We seek a Band 7 chaplain for a job share (15 hours) with our specialist paediatric palliative & bereavement chaplain, supporting children with life limiting conditions and their families. The role includes supporting bereaved families, being key worker where a child dies suddenly, staff support and training. The post is largely community based, involving travel across the county, home visits, and agile working.

We support families dealing with a range of situations, including children with complex conditions and fluctuating health (including mental health), children with cancer, and sudden death of children.

We are looking for a warm, open person, who can work with people of all backgrounds and ages and at times of severe emotional distress. You will be able to recognise and respond to spiritual, pastoral & religious needs. You will be highly organised. You will be skilled in responding to distress, able to signpost as well as support. You will practise good self-care, and able to work autonomously and as part of a team.

Experience and training in chaplaincy and bereavement care are essential.

We are a highly motivated, compassionate staff. We can be flexible about working patterns. The chaplaincy team is currently mostly Christian, and we will be glad to receive applications from people of any belief or culture. The role may include taking part in the acute chaplaincy emergency on call rota.

Main duties of the job

The Paediatric Palliative and Bereavement Chaplain, as a specialist within the MDT, is to offer spiritual care and support to families of children who are palliative and bereaved families in the care of the Trust and offer support and training to staff in caring for these families.

About us

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further. In addition our staff survey results have placed us 4th in the country for recommended place to work.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, inclusive, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Date posted

18 March 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£43,742 to £50,056 a year pa pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Job share

Reference number

203-SS816

Job locations

Warwick Hospital

Warwick

CV34 5BW

Job description

Job responsibilities

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

Training and experience in health care chaplaincy

Membership of UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy

Training and experience in palliative care and bereavement support

Training and experience in paediatric chaplaincy

Ability to maintain a complex workload and balance expectations

Ability to hold a complex caseload and appropriately accept referrals and create good endings to relationships with families

Duties:

Liaise with Community Paediatric Palliative Consultant and Community Lead Paediatric Palliative Nurse regarding appropriate support for families

Act as Keyworker within Child Death Review process as required (see Child Death Review Statutory and Operational Guidance https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/859302/child-death-review-statutory-and-operational-guidance-england.pdf, especially 6.2.1 and Appendix 5)

Offer spiritual support, and religious care as appropriate, to palliative children, and their parents, siblings, and other significant people, and to bereaved families, assessing complex needs

Liaise with local charities, faith groups, and service providers, and signpost individuals to other support as appropriate

Plan and develop bereavement support events and programmes with others (internal and external)

As Bereavement Lead, plan and develop spiritual care training for staff and volunteers

Plan and develop publicity for families and staff

Be a full part of the Chaplaincy Team and foster good relationships between chaplains and paediatric teams

Work autonomously in the role, while being full member of the chaplaincy team and engaging in reflective practice regularly with peers

Be an authorised signatory for the departmental budget.

Measurable Result Areas:

Be accountable to Consultant Nurse and Lead Chaplain, working within the chaplaincy team, attending team meetings and reflective practice sessions regularly

Attend clinical supervision regularly (this can be offered by the Psychology department of the Trust, or external arrangements can be supported by the Trust)

Contribute to strategic meetings around paediatric palliative and bereavement care, including Child Death Review meetings, Supportive Care Forum, West Midlands Paediatric Palliative Care Network, Coventry and Warwickshire Paediatric Palliative Care Network, and potentially meetings around baby loss.

Keep up to date records of visits on Chaplaincy shared drive, and input contacts and referrals into EPR when appropriate.

Be involved in training around spiritual care and bereavement care, for CCNT (including volunteers), MacGregor ward staff, Emergency Division staff, and any other staff requiring specialist training

Audit the workload and report to Chaplaincy Team / Childrens Community Palliative Care Team

Provide short-term cover for Chaplaincy colleagues during periods of leave and take part in Chaplaincy on call rota

Be up to date with research and theory in chaplaincy, and in particular in paediatric chaplaincy and palliative and bereavement care. Take part in research and implement research findings.

Develop the service in other ways in line with national standards and research

Develop policies and procedures specific to the role within chaplaincy and support the lead chaplain in developing policies and procedures for the whole chaplaincy team.

Communications and Working Relationships:

Participate fully in multidisciplinary team working

Act as an informed ethical resource within the MDT and education departments, and for other chaplains and volunteers

Offer support (alongside Psychology colleagues) for staff and volunteers dealing with complex situations, in groups or individually. This includes reflection on complex scenarios and spiritual care (e.g. in marking the death of children)