Clinical Midwife Specialist (CMS)
Job Specification, Terms & Conditions
Job Title and
Grade
Competition
Reference
Closing Date
Proposed
Interview date(s)
Taking up
Appointment
Organisational
Area
Location of Post
Details of Service
Clinical Midwife Specialist, Ultrasound
(Grade Code 2313)
NRS1382
Wednesday 3rd December 2014 @ 12 noon
Early January 2015
To be confirmed at job offer stage.
Health Service Executive (HSE) Dublin North East (DNE)
Foetal Assessment Unit, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
There is also an outreach clinic in the Maternity Out Patients Department, Louth County
Hospital, Dundalk.
A panel will be formed for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital is a 352 bedded Acute General Hospital incorporating Regional
Trauma, Orthopaedic, Maternity and Paediatric Services. The Maternity Services incorporates
an Obstetric Consultant Unit and a Midwifery Led Unit. The Hospital provides maternity
services to the catchment area of Counties Louth, Meath and North Dublin.
The Maternity Unit is the largest Maternity Unit in the Region with approximately 3500 births
per year. The Unit is a level 3 Obstetric Unit together with the Regional Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit.
The Obstetric Unit provides:
 Antenatal booking and return clinics
 Outreach booking and return clinics
 Antenatal High Risk and Diabetic clinics
 Foetal Assessment / Maternity Day Unit Service
 Antenatal and Postnatal Parentcraft Education
 Breastfeeding support and advice
 Antenatal in-patient care from early pregnancy
 Low and high dependency intranatal care including 24 hour epidural service.
 Postnatal care to mothers and babies
 Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit / Gynaecological Services
The Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit provides:
 Neonatal Care at levels 1,2 and 3
 Out patient follow up facility for high risk infants, immediately following discharge
 Developmental follow up clinics
The Midwifery Led Unit
Midwifery led services commenced in 2004. The Midwifery Led Units (MLU) in the region are
the first in Southern Ireland. The MLU aims to provide high quality, evidence based and cost
effective woman centred maternity care, with a strong emphasis on skilled, sensitive and
respectful midwifery. Midwives working in the Unit are highly skilled in the art and science of
midwifery and committed to the underlying philosophy that women should have choice,
continuity and control over how, where and with whom their care is provided. Newly qualified
midwives are rotated to the MLU to work with more qualified staff and to gain experience.
The MLU provides:
 Antenatal, Intrapartum and postnatal care (for the first week after birth) to women who
are healthy and likely to have a normal pregnancy and labour.
 Individualised and family centred midwifery care in a homely environment.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital provides the BSc in Midwifery and Higher Diploma in Midwifery
education programmes in partnership with the Institute of Technology, Dundalk.
An extensive further education programme is provided for midwives and support is given for
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external, national and international courses to facilitate personal and professional
development.
Our Lady of Lourdes Maternity Unit has been awarded the prestigious Baby Friendly Hospital
Status (National Award).
The Maternity Unit has participated in research studies in partnership with The University of
Dublin, Trinity College and with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
The vision of our maternity service is to offer women a quality service which is safe, accessible
and sustainable.
Reporting
Relationship
Reports to the Consultant with responsibility for Ultrasound and the Manager for Women and
Children’s Services.
The post holder is professionally accountable to the Director of Nursing and Midwifery
Purpose of the
Post
The Clinical Midwife Specialist (CMS) Ultrasound will provide clinical expertise and support to
staff working in Maternity Services. S/he will provide leadership in the delivery of specialised
services and will ensure the Ultrasound service is part of a dynamic and growing health care
facility catering for the health needs of women at all stages during pregnancy and the postnatal
period in addition to gynaecological assessment. The CMS Ultrasound will carry out the duties
appropriate to an Ultrasonographer in relation to this specialised area and support and
supervise staff in training.
Principal Duties
and
Responsibilities
The CMS Ultrasound must:
Clinical Focus
 Articulate and demonstrate the concept of nursing and midwifery specialist practice within
the framework of relevant legislation, the Scope of Nursing & Midwifery Practice Framework
(ABS 2000), The Code of Professional Conduct (ABA 2000) and Guidelines for Midwives
(ABA 2001)
 Perform midwifery assessments and plan and initiate care and treatment modalities within
agreed interdisciplinary protocols to achieve patient / client centred outcomes; evaluates
their effectiveness
 Identify health promotion priorities in the area of specialist practice
 Implement health promotion strategies for patient / client groups in accordance with the
public health agenda
Patient Advocate
 Enable patients / clients, families and communities to participate in decisions about their
health needs
 Articulate and represent patient / client interests in collaboration with the multidisciplinary
team
 Implement changes in healthcare service in response to patient / client need and service
demand
Education and Training
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Provide mentorship, preceptorship, teaching, facilitation and professional supervisory skills
for nurses and midwives and other healthcare workers
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Educate patients / clients, families and communities in relation to their healthcare needs in
the specialist area of practice
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Identify own continuing professional development needs and engage accordingly
Audit and Research
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Identify, critically analyse, disseminate and integrate midwifery and other evidence into the
area of specialist practice
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Initiate and participate in evaluations and audits
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Use the outcomes of audit to improve service provision
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Contribute to service planning and budgetary processes through use of audit data and
specialist knowledge
Consultant
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Provide leadership in clinical practice and act as a resource and role model for specialist
practice
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Generate and contribute to the development of clinical standards of practice and guidelines
Use specialist knowledge to support and enhance generalist midwifery practice
Health & Safety
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Contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional
practice and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards

Have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the role / care setting, for
example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of
Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.
Management
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Provide an efficient, effective, and high quality service, respecting the needs of each
patient / client
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Effectively manage time and caseload in order to meet the needs of a changing and
developing service
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Continually monitor the service to ensure it reflects current needs
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Implement and manage identified changes
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Ensure that confidentiality in relation to patient /client records is maintained

Maintain accurate and up to date statistics of the service provided, including audit of
patient / client contacts

Represent the specialist service at local, national and international meetings as required

Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records / data on all matters pertaining to the
planning, management, delivery and evaluation of this service in line with HSE
requirements.
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To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste
initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties
involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as
appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to
contribute to the development of the post while in office.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must at closing date of application:
Qualifications
and/ or
experience
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Be registered in the Midwifery Division of the Register of Nurses & Midwives maintained by
Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland)
or be entitled to be so registered
And
Have at least 5 years post registration experience in the division of the register in which the
applicant is currently practising;
And
Have a minimum of 2 years experience in the specialist area of Obstetric and
Gynaecological Ultrasound
And
Have the ability to practice safely and effectively fulfilling his/her professional responsibility
within his / her scope of practice
And
Must demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development
And
Must have a level 8 (or higher) post registration Quality and Qualifications Authority of
Ireland major academic award relevant to the specialist area prior to application
Note: Post holders must maintain annual registration with Bord Altranais agus
Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann (Nursing Midwifery Board Ireland)
Age
Age restrictions shall only apply to a candidate where he/she is not classified as a new entrant
(within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation Act, 2004). A candidate who is not
classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age.
Health
A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of
undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate
a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Each candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.
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Post Specific
Requirements,
additional
qualifications
and/or experience
required
Skills,
competencies
and/or knowledge
Demonstrate depth and breadth of experience in Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound
including an awareness of safety standards while operating ultrasound machinery.
Candidates must demonstrate:
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Competition
Specific Selection
Process
Shortlisting /
Interview
practitioner competence and professional credibility – demonstrates a high level of clinical
knowledge to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the role
the ability to lead on clinical practice and service quality
promotion of evidence-based decision making; evidence-based clinical knowledge in
making decisions regarding patient / client care
the ability to plan and manage resource effectively
the ability to work in a fast paced environment.
the ability to manage and maintain a flexible approach in a rapidly changing environment.
effective analytical, problem solving and decision making skills
strong interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to build and maintain
relationships as this position involves extensive interaction with patients and other medical
personnel.
Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team in the provision of an Ultrasound Service
to Obstetric and Gynaecology patients attending the Public and Private services at Our
Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda .
effective communication and influencing skills
initiative and innovation in the delivery of service
resilience and composure
openness to change
integrity and an ethical stance
a commitment to continuing professional development
the ability to relate nursing research to nursing practice
knowledge of quality assurance practices and their application to nursing procedures
awareness of relevant legislation and policy e.g. legislation relevant to the service area,
health and safety, infection control etc.
awareness of current and emerging nursing strategies and policies in relation to the clinical
/ designated area
awareness of the Health Service Transformation Programme
a knowledge of information technology and a willingness to develop IT skills relevant to the
role
Short listing may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form.
The criteria for short listing are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the
eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification.
Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those
requirements.
Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called
forward to the next stage of the selection process.
Those successful at the shortlisting stage of this process (where applied) will be called forward
to interview.
Code of Practice
The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice
prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice
sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a
principle basis. The Codes also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, feedback
facilities for candidates on matters relating to their application, when requested, and outlines
procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process, and
review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice. Additional information on
the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled
“Code Of Practice, Information For Candidates”.
Codes of Practice are published by the CPSA and are available on www.hse.ie in the
document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, Information For Candidates” or
on www.cpsa-online.ie.
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The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as structures change the job
description may be reviewed.
This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither
definitive nor restrictive and is subject to periodic review with the employee concerned.
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Clinical Midwife Specialist (CMS)
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Tenure
The current vacancies available are permanent and whole time.
The post is pensionable. A panel will be created from which permanent and specified
purpose vacancies of full or part time duration will be filled. The tenure of these posts will
be indicated at “expression of interest” stage.
Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the Health
Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004.
Remuneration
The salary scale for this post @ 1/01/10 is: €47,089 – 47,886 – 48,559 – 49,659 –
50,874 – 52,067 – 53,260 – 54, 604, 55,852
Working Week
The standard working week applying to the post is 39 hours.
HSE Circular 003-2009 “Matching Working Patterns to Service Needs (Extended
Working Day / Week Arrangements); Framework for Implementation of Clause 30.4
of Towards 2016” applies. Under the terms of this circular, all new entrants and staff
appointed to promotional posts from Dec 16th 2008 will be required to work agreed
roster / on call arrangements as advised by their line manager. Contracted hours of
work are liable to change between the hours of 8am-8pm over seven days to meet
the requirements for extended day services in accordance with the terms of the
Framework Agreement (Implementation of Clause 30.4 of Towards 2016).
Annual Leave
The annual leave associated with the post is to be confirmed at job offer stage.
Superannuation
All pensionable staff become members of the pension scheme.
Applicants for posts in the Mental Health service are advised that Section 65 of the
Mental Treatment Act, 1945, does not apply to new entrants to the Mental Health
Services as defined by the Public Service Superannuation(Miscellaneous Provisions)
Act, 2004 (Section 12 of that Act) New entrants
Probation
Every appointment of a person who is not already a permanent officer of the Health
Service Executive or of a Local Authority shall be subject to a probationary period of 12
months.
Protection of Persons
Reporting Child Abuse
Act 1998
This post is one of those designated in accordance with Section 2 of the Protection of
Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998. You will remain a designated officer for the
duration of your appointment in this post or for the duration of your appointment to such
other post as is included in the categories specified in the Ministerial Direction. Such
officers will, on receiving a report of child abuse, formally notify the Senior Social Worker
in the community care area in which the child is living.
Infection Control
Have a working knowledge of Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)
Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National
Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene
Standards etc.
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