Health Visitor

Here in Devon, we strive to deliver an excellent service to the children, young people and families living in our Community. Health visiting in Devon affords amazing variation allowing you opportunity to make a difference to the lives of families and communities across both rural and urban locations. Devon is varied with health inequalities and affluency which cross paths across the varied landscape. You will work within corporate teams and be rostered to work in our duty hub covering a defined geographical area. You'll be supported by Team Leaders and various dedicated health professionals including Health Visitors, School Nurses and Community Health Workers. You'll lead and manage changing and challenging work load priorities. Working in close partnership with community, voluntary and statutory agencies; multi-agency working and safeguarding children will be an integral part of your role. We are working together with our local midwifery services to support the Better Births agenda., Children in Care Council, 2016 We need workers who think about how they treat us. Thismeans workers who treat us fairly and who show us they care. We dont want to belabelled and we should be treated like normal people dont look down on us.Workers need excellent communication skills, this includes listening skills.Our workers need to be able to listen to our views, ask how and what we arefeeling and make sure they understand what we are saying by checking back withus. We expect our workers to demonstrate that they respect us and ourexperience in real ways by not taking phone calls during meetings, and bywriting down what we say and talking in short simple language. Finally, weexpect our workers to work hard for us. This means doing what they say theywill do, sticking to promises and not making excuses. We expect our workers torespond promptly to us and provide up to date contact details, especially forout of hours. It is important that workers build good relationships with us andare flexible and willing to change their view and always do what is best forus. Job Purpose : To effectively lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme(HCP) 0-19 (DH 2010) thereby improving outcomes for children and families. To contribute to the Public Health Agenda, meet PublicHealth targets and reduce health inequalities in partnership with key agenciesmeeting National agendas To promote the protection of children, adhering to the LocalSafeguarding Childrens Board policies and procedures. To actively lead teams both within Health Visiting andSchool Nurses and partner agencies where appropriate, Advisory Boards ofChildrens Centres. A requirement to be rostered regularly in the hub within adefined geographical area to provide a Single point of access to families andstakeholders providing information, advice and triaging referrals within theservice. To work as part of a team to ensure that Key PerformanceIndicator targets that are set / negotiated by Local Area Teams / Commissioners forthe service, eg : antenatal visits are met. To support service development, standard setting, clinicalaudit and bench marking, deliver a high quality needs led, safe and effectiveservice to all client groups. Key Responsibilities : This list is intended to summarise the key responsibilitiesand is not intended to cover every task that may be required of the role : To provide effective clinical leadership to the PublicHealth nursing team, enabling the team to deliver to the current HealthVisiting and School Nursing standards, ensuring that evidence based practice isused. To take responsibility for the line management of supportstaff (skill mix) within the team, providing supervision and annual appraisalas per Devon County Council policy. Support the manager and professionallead / team leader in the development of the skills and knowledge of the team inorder to maintain the competency level of the whole team. Participate in therecruitment, selection and retention of staff to enhance skill mix within theteam. Facilitate inductions for public health nursing staff new toDevon County Council. To mentor pre-registration students on a regular basis. Tomentor SCPHN students as needed with the support of a Practice Teacher. To actas Preceptor for newly qualified practitioners in their first year of practice. To actively take responsibility for appropriatelyidentifying, accessing and participating in supervision, according toindividual need Child Protection, Restorative, and Clinical. Work closely with Childrens Centres actively participatingin joint care planning meetings and attending Advisory Board meetings as thenamed Health Visitor as per Partnership Agreement. School nurses to work closely with learning communities,teachers and Boards of Governors as appropriate. Has an awareness of national policy and how this affectslocal policy and service development and provision. Initiate and participate in research, audit, surveys andservice user feedback. To lead meetings in local area bases and delegate workappropriately to the skill mix team and promote positive team working. Develop and maintain effective communication networks, withservice users, health care professionals and other statutory and voluntaryorganisations Patient Care Responsibilities To undertake clinical activities within the scope ofprofessional practice. NHSP competencies. Plan, implement and evaluate health enhancing activities tomeet health needs of the local population through home visiting, communitydevelopment, clinics, workshops, support groups and parenting programmes,focusing on key national and local targets. To develop a workload profile, identifying needs asUniversal, Universal Plus, Universal Partnership Plus. To identify children and families in need of early helpthrough the Common Assessment Framework, known locally as the Early HelpAssessment. To act as Lead Professional as required. Support and manage projects around health enhancingactivities postnatal support services, Baby Friendly Initiative, promotingthe emotional health of young people. Act as a named Health Visitor / School nurse within context ofcaseload management. Act in accordance with current local and Trustguidelines / policies to protect children at risk. Takes professionalresponsibility and accountability in the joint decision making process withinthe Child Protection arena. Freedom to Act Able to work alone, assessing risk within risk managementguidelines, and is accountable for own actions within the Standards, Policiesand Procedures, set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Devon CountyCouncil and local Safeguarding Children Panel. This includes mandatory childprotection clinical supervision. Able to recognise situations where advice and help arerequired from managers, professional or child protection leaders eg : safeguarding and seeks advice accordingly. Able to arrange safe, timely and effective responses toacute situations, for example, disclosure of domestic or child abuse,individuals with suicidal intent. In such situations, able to offer appropriatefirst line assistance and refer appropriately. Location / Mobility You may be required to work at or from any additionallocation as may be determined by Devon County Council from time to time. DevonCounty Council also reserves the right from time to time to change your base ona permanent basis to a location determined by it at the time the change ismade. You may also be required to travel between Devon County Council premisesfor the performance of your duties. Confidentiality and Information Security As a Devon County Council employee, you will be required touphold the confidentiality of all records held by the company, whetherpatients / service records or corporate information. This duty lasts indefinitelyand will continue after you leave the companys employment. All information which identifies living individuals inwhatever form (paper / pictures, electronic data / images or voice) is covered bythe 1998 Data Protection Act and should be managed in accordance with thislegislation. This and all other information must be held in line with DevonCounty Council Policies and NHS national standards including the RecordsManagement : NHS Code of Practice , NHS Constitution and HSCIC Code of Practiceon Confidential Information and should only be accessed or disclosed lawfully.Monitoring of compliance will be undertaken by Devon County Council. Failure toadhere to Information Governance policies and procedures may result indisciplinary action and, where applicable, criminal prosecution. Information Governance Responsibilities As a Devon County Council employee you are responsible forthe following key aspects of Information Governance (not an exhaustive list) : Completion of annual information governance training Follow Devon County Council Governance Policies andProcedures Reading applicable policies and procedures Understanding key responsibilities outlined in theInformation Governance acceptable usage policies and procedures including DevonCounty Council and NHS mandated encryption requirements Ensuring the security and confidentiality of all records andpersonal information assets Maintaining timely and accurate record keeping and whereappropriate, in accordance with professional guidelines Adherence to the clear desk / screen policy Only using email accounts authorised by Devon County Council , NHSmail etc. These should be used in accordance withPolicies. Reporting information governance incidents and near missesto Devon County Council Information Governance using the correct procedure. Only using approved equipment for the use of Devon CountyCouncil business Governance Clinical governance is a framework through whichorganisations delivering health and care services are accountable tocontinuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding highstandards of care by creating an environment in which clinical and other formsof care flourishes. Employees must be aware that clinical governance places aduty on all staff to ensure that the level of care services they deliver topatients is safe and high quality, and that they follow / comply with DevonCounty Council policies and procedures. Registered Health Professional All staff who are a member of a professional body mustcomply with standards of professional practice / conduct. It is the postholders responsibility to ensure they are both familiar with and adhere tothese requirements.

We are looking for registered Health Visitors who are innovative; motivated; and enthusiastic, seeking to make a real difference improving outcomes for children and families in Devon! Please note that an active drivers license and access to a car are required for this post., Essential

• Ability to effectively manage time and caseload.
• Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures.
• Proficient in health needs assessment, evaluation and action planning.
• Excellent Team Working Skills.
• Excellent written and communication skills, to be confident and articulate.
• Ensure the delivery of clinically effective practice through the effective utilization and integration of evidence based practice. Ensure implementation of evidence based standards of care, policies and procedures.
• Ability to work within own boundaries of competence.
• Evidence of partnership working.
• An awareness of and understanding of wider public health issues.
• An ability to interpret and implement National
• Regulations for Data Protection and Record Keeping.
• Self-motivated, assertive and able to negotiate complex cases and situations.
Desirable
• Up to date health visiting / school nursing experience.
• Previous experience participating in research projects., Ist Level NMC registration.
• Qualification-Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Degree- Health Visitor / School Nurse.
Desirable
• Qualification at Masters level.
  
  With two coastlines, Dartmoor and Exmoor, as areas of natural beauty we have an amazing landscape to frame your working day.
  
  Employee Assistance Program
• NHS pension scheme
• Development Opportunities
• Perks at Work and Discounts Scheme
• Flexible working within service hours
Professional development is a high priority for us and we provide a range of training opportunities and in-house expertise that will support your own professional development. Successful candidates will receive a full induction, preceptorship where indicated, safeguarding and clinical supervision.