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Clinical Nurse Specialist - Children’s Outreach Nurse Life Limiting Conditions
Job Specification and Terms and Conditions
Job Title and
Grade
Clinical Nurse Specialist - Children’s Outreach Nurse Life Limiting Conditions
(Grade Code 2626)
Campaign
Reference
Closing Date
NRS0464
Proposed
Interview Date(s)
Taking up
Appointment
Organisational
Area
1st December 2011
Location of Post
Mid West Regional Hospital
Dooradoyle
Limerick
7th November 2011 at 12 noon
To be indicated at Job Offer Stage
Health Service Executive West
The person will have remit to in-patients in the Acute Services and children with life limiting
conditions in the community - Mid West Area.
As the Health Service Executive moves towards an Integrated Care Model of Service
Provision, you will be required to work in a hospital setting and/or a primary care setting and
across all population groups to meet service needs and/or to rotate between both the
hospital and a primary care/community setting.
Details of Service
Background to this Post:
An average of between 536-592 children die in Ireland each year prior to their eighteenth
birthday. The prevalence of life-limiting conditions in the Irish child population is unknown.
An estimate based on rates in the United Kingdom is 12/10,000. The duration of life-limiting
conditions can extend from days to weeks to months and even to years. This leads to a
significant need for care services for these children and their families. The provision of such
services should preferably be in the child’s own home.
Palliative care means the total care of children and their family at a time of serious illness
when the aim of treatment has changed from cure to improving quality of life. “It is an active
and total approach to care, embracing physical, emotional, social and spiritual elements. It
focuses on enhancement of quality of life for the child and support for the family, and
includes the management of distressing symptoms, provision of respite and care through
death and bereavement”. (Association for Children with Life-Threatening or Terminal
Conditions and their Families (ACT) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Heath
(RCPCH), 2003, Bristol, UK)
A comprehensive paediatric palliative care service needs to function within a co-operative
model with close liaison between general practitioner, community paediatrician, nursing
services, children’s hospitals and hospitals with paediatric units. The post holder will
endorse a palliative care approach and promote seamless care between agencies and
professionals involved in the child’s care.
The Service will provide total care of children and their family at a time of serious illness
when the aim of treatment has changed from cure to improving quality of life.
The Service will be active in it’s total approach to care, embracing physical, emotional, social
and spiritual elements. It focuses on enhancement of quality of life for the child and support
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for the family, and includes the management of distressing symptoms, provision of respite
and care through death and bereavement”
The Service will establish close liaison between general practitioner, community
paediatrician, nursing services, children’s hospitals and hospitals with paediatric units.
Reporting
Relationship
Purpose of the
Post / Role
Summary
Principal Duties
and
Responsibilities
The post holder:


Is professionally accountable to the Director of Nursing (DON) or designated officer
Will report to the Assistant Director of Nursing or designated officer as required on
operational matters

Is clinically accountable to the Clinical Director / Lead Consultant
The role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist - Children’s Outreach Nurse Life Limiting Conditions
is addressing a prioritised service need as outlined in A Palliative Care Needs Assessment
for Children (DOHC & UGF 2005)

To co-ordinate a service that provides continuity of care and quality of life for children
with life limiting conditions and their families.

Plan, implement, deliver, and evaluate care for a caseload of patients in collaboration
with local healthcare professional/carer especially those with specific palliative care
needs. This role will apply to acute and community care setting.

Act as an informed resource for health and social care professionals involved in the care
of children with life limiting conditions.

Facilitate education and training for health and social care professionals in collaboration
with relevant stakeholders.

Support collection of data in relation to children with life limiting conditions to support
national programme development.
Clinical Responsibilities

Assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care for a caseload of patients with local
healthcare professionals/carers

Collaborate with health and social care team to develop a plan of care within the
regional paediatric unit and the community. To provide pain and symptom management
for children with a life-limiting illness.

Co-ordinate a supportive service for children and families having assessed their
psychosocial and spiritual needs and refer for formal counselling services as required.

Establish and maintain good working relationships with nursing staff and medical staff
involved in the provision of quality care to children with life limiting conditions.

Act as a resource to colleagues, members of the multidisciplinary team in the regional
paediatric unit, outpatients and community, including GPs, PHNs, specialist palliative
care services and voluntary services.

Educate and support the primary health care team and voluntary services throughout
the course of the child’s illness, assisting in symptom management and terminal care.

Refer families for bereavement support as necessary

Have a working knowledge of 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
Child/Family Advocacy

Have knowledge and regard for the entire family as a unit, assessing and respecting
their coping mechanisms while encouraging healthy family patterns.

Act as the child’s advocate for the palliative care approach within the health and social
care team
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
Collaborate with health and social care team to address ethical issues

Ensure that the dignity of the child is maintained and respected

Collaborate with statutory and voluntary agencies to support the provision of optimum
care
Education and Training

Take every reasonable opportunity to sustain and improve knowledge and professional
competence of oneself with reference to An Bord Altranais Scope of Nursing Practice
Framework and code of professional conduct.

Identify the education and training needs of staff and initiate strategies to meet these
needs

Support training and education of families, local hospitals, community health care
professionals and voluntary services about the needs of children with life limiting
conditions.

Liaise with the relevant education providers and participate in teaching on various
aspects of pre and post registration nurses and allied healthcare professional
programmes.

Attend study days and conferences in order to update knowledge in the field of
children’s nursing/ life limiting illness conditions/palliative care and related subjects.

Assist in developing education material e.g., information leaflets and booklets for
parents and children relating to their conditions with their interdisciplinary teams.
Research & Audit

Audit the activities of the service with a view to assessing the effectiveness and
efficiency of the service

Monitor and evaluate the role of the Outreach Children’s Nurse

Participate in data collection to support own role and service provision

Demonstrate an interest in learning new techniques and skills and apply these to
practice

Identify clinical issues of interest and ensure they are incorporated into clinical practice
through teaching and example

Publish work related research and personal projects

Identify and implement operational processes to the standards of best practice in order
to optimise use of resources and to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.

Set up clinical standards of care and ensure they are appropriately audited

Maintain statistical data of patient/service activity and supply annual reports to line
manager

Co-ordinate and develop nursing/clinical policies and protocols in area

Monitor, access, utilise and disseminate current relevant research findings in order to
advise and ensure the provision of informed evidence based practice in the care of
children with life limiting conditions.

Be responsible for identifying opportunities for nursing research which would contribute
to the development of services

Report accidents/incidents, complaints immediately to the consultant in charge of the
child and follow the regional paediatric unit’s and the community’s incident monitoring
and complaints policy.
Consultancy
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
To act as and be available as a clinical resource and consultant, providing professional
advice inter and intra disciplinary, in the area of life limiting conditions to those within
and outside the service in order to promote improved patient management and
continuity of care.

To accept referrals and to refer in line with local and regional guidelines

To establish, standardise and monitor clear communication channels for such
consultations, inter and intra disciplinary.
This above Job Specification 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 the latest date for receipt of completed applications for the post:
Qualifications
and/ or
experience
(a)
Be currently registered in the Children’s Nursing Division of the Register of Nurses &
Midwives maintained by An Bord Altranais or be entitled to be so registered.
And
(b)
Have at least 5 years post-registration experience in the Division of the register in
which the applicant is currently practising.
And
(c)
Have a minimum of 2 years experience in the specialist area
And
(d)
Have the ability to practice safely and effectively fulfilling his/her professional
responsibility within his/her scope of practice
And
(e)
Must demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development
And
(f)
From the 1st September 2010 must have acquired a level 8 post registration
National Qualifications of Ireland major award relevant to the area of life limiting
conditions prior to application*.
*Examples of qualifications relevant to the area of life limiting conditions include Palliative
Care, Neonatology, Oncology, ICU, Motor neurone, Cystic Fibrosis etc. Please note this list
is not exhaustive.
Post Specific
Requirements
Demonstrate experience in the area of life limiting conditions.
Essential skills,
competencies
and/or knowledge
Professional Knowledge:

Demonstrates practitioner competence and professionalism in order to carry out the
duties and responsibilities of the role

Expert knowledge of caring for children with life limiting conditions

Overview of Children’s Healthcare Services

Relevant Strategies or Documents - A Palliative Care Needs Assessment for Children
(2005)

All clinical and theoretical knowledge appropriate to care of children with life limiting
conditions

Clinical Developments in the Speciality

Evidence based practice in dealing with Children with Life Limiting Conditions

Demonstrates an awareness of legislation and standards relevant to the role

Demonstrates a commitment to educational and professional development issues
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
Demonstrates an understanding of key issues and priorities in the health sector both
locally and professionally within nursing.

Demonstrate a willingness to engage in and develop IT skills relevant to the role

Adopts and develops the concept of customer care and challenges any interaction
which fails to deliver a safe, quality service to internal and external customers.
Interpersonal / Communication Skills:

Excellent Interpersonal and Communication skills both verbal and written

Ability to develop positive working relationships both internally and externally

Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams

Demonstrates evidence of ability to empathise with and treat patients, relatives and
colleagues with dignity and respect.
Management / Leadership Skills:

Ability to Manage Change / Change Management skills
Planning & Organisational Skills:

Demonstrate evidence of effective planning and organising skills including awareness
of resource management and importance of value for money.

Organisational & time management skills

Awareness of extended environment

IT / PC skills – database management & report writing

Ability to own on own initiative

Functions autonomously, without direct supervision in specialist nursing practice

Ability to meet deadlines

Ensure quality exists within the service through ongoing quality improvement plans,
Audits and re-evaluation.
Teamwork / Influencing Skills:

Ability demonstrate leadership and teambuilding

Ability work in a team

Ability to demonstrate motivation of self and others

Demonstrates the ability to build and maintain relationships including the ability to work
effectively as part of a multi disciplinary team
Problem Solving and Decision Making:
Other
requirements
specific to the
post
Campaign
Specific Selection
Process
Ranking /
Shortlisting /

Display evidence-based clinical knowledge in making decisions regarding client care

Demonstrate strong analytical, problem solving and decision making skills
Access to transport as post will involve travel.
A ranking and / or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information
supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and / or shortlisting 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.
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Interview
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 ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an
order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the
organisation.
Code of Practice
The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice
prepared by the Commissioners 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 Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on
candidates, feedback facilitates for applicants 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/eng/staff/jobs
in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, information for
candidates or on www.cpsa.ie
Child Protection
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 officer 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.
The reform programme outlined for the Health Services may impact on this role and as
structures change the job specification may be reviewed.
This job specification 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 Nurse Specialist
Children’s Outreach Nurse Life Limiting Conditions
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Tenure
The initial vacancy for this post is Specified Purpose and Whole time (Initial period of 3
years). This post is pensionable.
A panel will be formed from this recruitment campaign and future permanent or specified
purpose vacancies will be filled from this panel. 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 (as at 01/01/10) for the post is:
Euro 47,089 - 47,886 - 48,559 - 49,659 - 50,874 - 52,067 - 53,260 - 54,604 - 55,852
(pro rata)
Working Week
The standard working week applying to the post is: 37 hours (pro rata)
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: 25 – 28 days as applicable (pro rata)
Superannuation
Membership of the HSE Employee Superannuation Scheme applies to this
appointment.
Existing Members who transferred to the HSE on 1st January 2005 pursuant to
Section 60 of the Health Act 2004 are entitled to superannuation benefit terms under
the HSE Scheme which are no less favourable to those to which they were entitled at
31st December 2004.
Appointees to posts in the Mental Health Services which formerly attracted fast
accrual of service should note that the terms of Section 65 of the Mental Treatment
Act 1945 do not apply to New Entrant Public Servants as defined by Section 12 of the
Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004.
Probation
Every permanent 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 as stipulated in the Department of Health Circular No.10/71.
Protection of
Persons Reporting
Child Abuse Act
1998
As this post is one of those designated under the Protection of Persons Reporting
Child Abuse Act 1998, appointment to this post appoints one as a designated officer
in accordance with Section 2 of the Act. You will remain a designated officer for the
duration of your appointment to your current post or for the duration of your
appointment to such other post as is included in the categories specified in the
Ministerial Direction. You will receive full information on your responsibilities under the
Act on appointment.
Infection Control
Have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the role for example,
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Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of
Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.
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