Job summary
This is a new and exciting opportunity for an experienced paediatric nurse to lead on improving the care and discharge process for children with complex care needs within The Royal London Children's Hospital. As a specialist tertiary paediatric hospital with 109 inpatient beds, including paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care, we have a consistent cohort of complex long term inpatients. The care for these patients is provided by a wide multi-disciplinary team often spanning multiple specialities and services. The role of this new post holder is to help co-ordinate this care whilst working with the families of the children and external agencies to ensure that when patients are medically fit for discharge home or step-down to ward based care their can transition takes place in a safe and timely fashion.
***In line with government legislation from 1st April 2022 all NHS workers in England with face to face contact with patients must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Only those with medical exemptions will be excluded from this requirement. Please note it will be a legal requirement to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status or an exemption certificate as part of the recruitment process and before any job offer is made. Please consider this mandatory requirement when applying for this post***
Main duties of the job
The Complex discharge co-ordinator is an integral role within the children's hospital and willl provide expert advice, information, encouragement and support to patients, their families, hospital staff, and other colleagues to support effective, timely and safe discharge from hospital.
The post holder will work in a collaborative manner within the multi-disciplinary team and with external partners to prevent avoidable delays in the discharge process. The post holder will under the supervision of the matrons coordinate the multidisciplinary discharge planning process with the Children's hospital
The post holder will help manage patient's transition into the community/home care which should in turn help lower readmission rates and long-term complications. The post holder will also liaise with the teams in Paediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to help facilitate the step down of long-term patients and to ensure that discharge planning begins at an early stage of the patients admission.
About us
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Work autonomously and effectively as an integral member of the Paediatric Multidisciplinary Teams, Paediatric Capacity and flow Team and Wards providing support and organisation for the discharge of children from the wards, liasing with NICU and PCCU to start discharge planning and transitions early
- Practice as part of the multi-disciplinary team to facilitate timely discharge of babies, children and young people once they are medically fit for discharge to the community environment in collaboration with Childrens and Neonatal Community nursing teams.
- To work closely with the teams and families caring for children with complex care needs to ensure effective and early discharge planning and communication
- Coordinate training for parents or carers needed before discharge and ensure appropriate care plans are in place from admission to discharge.
- Be the named point of contact for the families and carers, ensuring they are fully consulted and involved in the discharge care plan
- Act as a point of liaison regarding equipment delivery, home modifications etc need pre-discharge.
- To demonstrate a sound knowledge of safeguarding and work in accordance with Trust Safeguarding policy ensuring robust communication regarding safeguarding. Work in collaboration with the named nurse for children safeguarding team within in the Trust and other members of the MDT both in the hospital and community settings, actively engaging and supporting the teams in safeguarding, psychosocial and the discharge planning processes.
- Co-ordinate and attend MDT meetings and discharge planning meetings. Maintain an accurate list with agreed actions, ensuring timely discharge of all long stay patients across childrens services.
- Liaison with local CCGs regarding packages of care needed prior to discharge.
- Support the Paediatric Capacity and flow team in maintaining oversight of patients needing repatriation and work with other hospitals to facilitate transfers in an appropriate timeframe.
- Ensure communication between the Trust and partner agencies involved in patient discharge/transfers of care are effective, accurate and on time.
- Act as first point of escalation for discharge issues, supporting colleagues to problem-solve and offer advice and support to facilitate a safe and timely discharge from hospital.
- Act as a role model for all staff within the organisation and demonstrate the Trusts WECARE values.
- To plan and instigate interventions that will empower parents/carers to provide care to their child that meets all his/her needs and supports the optimal functioning of the family unit.
- To develop a positive working philosophy to parental experience within the service, supporting the senior nursing team in auditing and managing a best practice approach.
- To identify the most effective use of time and skills in addressing needs and prioritising work in agreement with Lead Clinicians and Service Manager
- To ensure regular meetings take place regarding discharge planning between the various MDTs
- To ensure that appropriate records are maintained in accordance with professional guidelines and with reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Work autonomously and effectively as an integral member of the Paediatric Multidisciplinary Teams, Paediatric Capacity and flow Team and Wards providing support and organisation for the discharge of children from the wards, liasing with NICU and PCCU to start discharge planning and transitions early
- Practice as part of the multi-disciplinary team to facilitate timely discharge of babies, children and young people once they are medically fit for discharge to the community environment in collaboration with Childrens and Neonatal Community nursing teams.
- To work closely with the teams and families caring for children with complex care needs to ensure effective and early discharge planning and communication
- Coordinate training for parents or carers needed before discharge and ensure appropriate care plans are in place from admission to discharge.
- Be the named point of contact for the families and carers, ensuring they are fully consulted and involved in the discharge care plan
- Act as a point of liaison regarding equipment delivery, home modifications etc need pre-discharge.
- To demonstrate a sound knowledge of safeguarding and work in accordance with Trust Safeguarding policy ensuring robust communication regarding safeguarding. Work in collaboration with the named nurse for children safeguarding team within in the Trust and other members of the MDT both in the hospital and community settings, actively engaging and supporting the teams in safeguarding, psychosocial and the discharge planning processes.
- Co-ordinate and attend MDT meetings and discharge planning meetings. Maintain an accurate list with agreed actions, ensuring timely discharge of all long stay patients across childrens services.
- Liaison with local CCGs regarding packages of care needed prior to discharge.
- Support the Paediatric Capacity and flow team in maintaining oversight of patients needing repatriation and work with other hospitals to facilitate transfers in an appropriate timeframe.
- Ensure communication between the Trust and partner agencies involved in patient discharge/transfers of care are effective, accurate and on time.
- Act as first point of escalation for discharge issues, supporting colleagues to problem-solve and offer advice and support to facilitate a safe and timely discharge from hospital.
- Act as a role model for all staff within the organisation and demonstrate the Trusts WECARE values.
- To plan and instigate interventions that will empower parents/carers to provide care to their child that meets all his/her needs and supports the optimal functioning of the family unit.
- To develop a positive working philosophy to parental experience within the service, supporting the senior nursing team in auditing and managing a best practice approach.
- To identify the most effective use of time and skills in addressing needs and prioritising work in agreement with Lead Clinicians and Service Manager
- To ensure regular meetings take place regarding discharge planning between the various MDTs
- To ensure that appropriate records are maintained in accordance with professional guidelines and with reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered paediatric nurse
- Evidence of continued Professional Development within field of practice e.g. post registration course or University module
- Level 3 safeguarding
Desirable
- Teaching and assessing course
- Coaching or mentorship course
- BLS trainer
Experience
Essential
- Leadership and professional experience as a band 6 in either an acute or community children's healthcare setting with experience of discharge planning for babies, children and young people with complex needs
- Experience of working with other professionals and of challenging professional judgments as appropriate.ofessional judgments as appropriate.
Desirable
- Tracheostomy competence
- Experience of long term ventilation and NIV
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered paediatric nurse
- Evidence of continued Professional Development within field of practice e.g. post registration course or University module
- Level 3 safeguarding
Desirable
- Teaching and assessing course
- Coaching or mentorship course
- BLS trainer
Experience
Essential
- Leadership and professional experience as a band 6 in either an acute or community children's healthcare setting with experience of discharge planning for babies, children and young people with complex needs
- Experience of working with other professionals and of challenging professional judgments as appropriate.ofessional judgments as appropriate.
Desirable
- Tracheostomy competence
- Experience of long term ventilation and NIV
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
