Family Integrated Care Senior Sister/Charge Nurse - NICU

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Job Overview

An exciting new role of NICU Family Integrated Care lead has arisen for an enthusiastic, forward thinking nurse/midwife with previous Band 6 experience in a clinical NICU setting. ­­The postholder will fulfil a key role within the unit and will ensure that Family Integrated Care ethos is embedded within the service. They will play a key role in optimising the clinical environment using a Family Integrated Care (Ficare) framework such as BAPM Framework for Practice, providing resources for staff, parents and their families. They will collaborate with AHP teams, nurse education teams, clinical psychology leads, chaplaincy teams and infant feeding liaison on Ficare education and training. The post holder will show leadership in the management of consistency of practice, high standards of care, innovative practice with a focus on family care, patient safety and as a subject-matter expert for staff and parents throughout the family journey.

You will be part of an MDT working within a level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit within the Southwest Neonatal Network serving the northern part of the network. The unit has 34 cots comprising of 8 intensive care, 8 high dependency and 18 special care cots.

To ensure that nursing practice is contemporary, the role will include a clinical shift once a week, supporting the NICU roster. A minimum of 34.5 hours over 4 days per week will be considered.

Main duties of the job

To collaborate and work in partnership to promote, support and assess a Ficare culture across all aspects of neonatal care. This includes liaison with the local neonatal and maternity services (LMNS); community neonatal, maternity, and paediatric services; network neonatal and maternity team, health visiting, social services; and national groups where necessary to achieve National/local guidelines and accreditation.

• Ensure the service has a written philosophy of Ficare and all staff are fully aware of the standards required
• To initiate and educate around the principles of family integrated care to all care givers
• Work alongside infant feeding leads, lactation Consultants to support the unit in maintaining UNICEF Baby Friendly Accreditation
• To support in the achievement of Ficare international, national accreditations
• Collaborate with nurse education teams to promote and deliver Ficare teaching strategies
• To educate the family and staff members to understand the baby’s psychological and behavioural cues during the routine medical and nursing ward rounds
• Participate in relevant Network meetings and MDT groups to represent your local unit and ensure there is a good communication feedback mechanism in place within the neonatal unit
  
  

Working for our organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• Work closely with all the neonatal nursing, medical, Clinical Psychology (CP), and AHP team along with other disciplines in the hospital, community and wider Network who provide services for the baby and family during their neonatal stay. This includes ODN Parent Engagement Leads, Parent Advisory Group (PAG) AHP and CP Network leads, and Care Coordinators. They will also need to work closely with the families at all stages of this journey and afterwards to ensure their voices are heard, represented, and integrated into all service development. This will contribute to the provision of a high standard of care which can be accessed by all families
• Collaborate with Discharge Coordinators, repatriation link nurses and Outreach teams to promote and enable early discharge and timely repatriation
• Build and maintain relationships with Network, local neonatal psychology and community- based services to help facilitate timely and appropriate referrals for individuals and families
• With the MDT lead on developing clear guidelines, signposting documents, and referral pathways
• Supporting the development of parent engagement in the service
• Proactively participate in relevant groups and meetings to promote a FIC approach in all forums e.g., handovers, safety huddles, audit, governance, and staff meetings
• To develop the practice of family focused care and measure achievements and outcome improvements by undertaking regular auditing of the nursing care quality indicators and parents experience
• Act as a strong advocate embedding the ethos of ‘parents as partners in care’ –empowering staff to educate and support parents to be fully involved in provision of care and decision-making.
  
  

For full information of job description and role responsibilities please see the job description and supplementary evidence documents attached

Person specification

Education/Training/Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Registered Nurse/midwife (RN/RGN/RNC/RM)
• Approved neonatal qualification e.g., ENB 405/QIS
• Teaching and assessing in clinical practice qualifications, e.g., ENB 998/7/FLAP
• Educated to Degree Level or equivalent
• Approved Neonatal/Paediatric Life support Course
• Child Protection Training Level 3
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Management/Leadership qualification
  
  

Work Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant clinical experience within a Neonatal clinical setting
• Evidence of acute skills within NICU clinical setting
• Experience of managing resources and staff within a multidisciplinary team
• Experience and evidence of leading change and development within a multidisciplinary team
• Political awareness of current health issues and policies that impact on health care provision
• Commitment to staff/team development and enabling individuals to reach their full potential
• Demonstrate awareness of legislation regarding children and families in relation to safeguarding
  
  

Personal Qualities/Special Circumstances

Essential criteria

• Good problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage under pressure and manage competing priorities
  
  

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.