Every day our Health Visitors provide high quality healthcare in people's homes or at convenient local clinics and children centres, helping children and families to stay well, manage their own health with the right support and avoid unnecessary visits or long stays in hospital.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (LGT) have exciting opportunities available for passionate and committed Health Visitors across the borough of Lewisham. We are looking for candidates with excellent clinical and communication skills to join our 0-5 yrs skill mix teams contributing to delivery of 'The Healthy Child Programme'. You will help make a tangible difference to peoples' lives and enjoy the very best of London life on your doorstep.

In our latest CQC inspection LGT Children's Community Directorate were awarded an outstanding rating. The Health Visiting Service was re-accredited by UNICEF UK as Baby Friendly Level 3 and we are now working towards Gold standard accreditation. UNICEF UK commended the service for providing a high standard of care to pregnant women and new mothers.

We have successfully delivered the MECSH programme since 2015 and offer regular MECSH training and supervision with the opportunity to become a MECSH trainer.

Term Time Hours Avaliable

Main duties of the job

LGT welcome applications from newly qualified and experienced Health Visitors. Some of the benefits of working with LGT include: a robust preceptorship programme for NQHV's the first 12 months, outstanding safeguarding support from our safeguarding team, corporate membership with the iHV and a comprehensive suite of training opportunities for health visiting staff to support revalidation and professional development.

We also offer additional benefits through our employee assistance scheme, as well as the inner high cost area supplement for working in London. Our staff's work life balance is very important to us and we therefore offer flexible working and condensed hours. All clinical staff are provided with mobile devices which also supports flexible working opportunities.

About us

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development

Widening access (anchor institution) and employability

Improving the experience of staff with disability

Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development

Making equalities mainstream

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will be responsible for a skill mixed health visiting team of all grades. To provide high quality health visiting services to a defined population employing the principles of health visiting (CETHV 1977). To maintain and improve health and life chances for children and families through health needs assessment, health promotion and the initiation and participation in public health strategies. The health visitor is in a unique position to provide services, planned and opportunistic, with the well population in primary prevention, at home, in the child health clinic and other settings. Whilst managing an individual caseload he/she works as part of the primary health care team and collaboratively with statutory and voluntary agencies to promote the health and wellbeing of the local population.

Key Result Areas & Performance:

To adhere to the NMC code of Professional Conduct and be conversant with the Scope of Professional practice and other NMC advisory papers.

To maintain own level of clinical competence exercising awareness of professional responsibilities by reading relevant literature and taking opportunities for continuing professional development.

To use evidence based practice within a clinical governance framework to develop and maintain best practice in health visiting.

To generate, facilitate and participate in audit/research and to benchmark all clinical practices to improve quality.

To develop and monitor the quality of health visiting to support the provision of best practice.

To be aware of Trust policies and procedures and participate in the development of new policies.

To be aware of and follow the Trusts policy and procedure regarding complaints.

To keep accurate comprehensive updated records. To write factual reports for both child protection case conferences and child care legal proceedings.

To provide and maintain statistical/audit data as required by the Trust.Health Visitor Band 6 JD Updated March 2017 BL.

To participate in clinical supervision as per Trusts guidelines. To facilitate professional meetings for the skill mixed health visiting team.

To provide peer support within a primary care setting for vulnerable families and child protection cases and to attend conferences.

To manage the delivery of health visiting services to a defined population in accordance with the local delivery plan and government targets.

To manage and deliver a planned programme of health promotion for children under five in line with relevant research and national guidelines in partnership with GP practices and children Centres .

To work collaboratively with primary care and develop and maintain close communication with GPs, members of the primary health care team, social care and health and other service providers.

To identify local health needs and develop strategies to meet them.

Provide a core health visiting service to all families in a defined population.

Assess, develop and implement individualised care plans for each child based on a needs assessment, in consultation with parents/carers.

To provide a health visiting service in the home, in child health clinics and other settings.

To be a nurse prescriber and attend regular updates.

Promote and support breastfeeding, identify and support those at risk of postnatal depression, encourage smoking cessation and support families in their parenting, implementing parenting programmes using advanced communication and counselling skills.

Support clients with mental health issues and take part in psychological assessment reviews, using counselling skills, parent advisor and assessment tools including Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) PSQ and GAD

To work within the Trusts Child Protection Policies and Procedures as related to the 1989 Childrens Act, the current Pan London agreement, the Laming Report and recommendations from part 8 reviews.

To assess, identify and refer children at risk to social care and health. To attend in care reviews, strategy meetings and child protection case conferences, where highly emotive, contentious and complex situations may arise.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• RGN Part 1 or 12 NMC
• RHV/Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Health Visiting
• Education to first degree level or equivalent.
• Evidence of Continuing Personal and Professional Developments.
• Registered Nurse Prescriber

Desirable

• Additional / ENB qualifications (i.e. ENB 997/998 or equivalent)

Experience

Essential

• Ability to prioritise workload, working to deadline.
• Experience of leading and managing team.
• Good working knowledge of child protection
• Experience of working with professional from local statutory and voluntary agencies.
• Understanding of Clinical Audits and Benchmarking
• Knowledge and ability to apply local and national policies and frameworks in the delivery of primary care services
• Knowledge of recent NHS development/reform keen to learn new areas of work
• Experience of using Screening tools to assess maternal mental health
• Vaccination/Immunisations skills/knowledge
• Relevant Clinical Skills - Child Development skills
• Experience of teaching and assessing students.
• Recent experience of work in the community

Employer details

Employer name

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

Address

Community

London

SE13 6LH

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

197-RF2946-S