Community Public Health Nurse

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.

We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.

We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.

Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.

It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .

Job overview

The role of the Public Health Nursing Service is to deliver government programmes to improve the lives of children and their families. The Healthy Child Programme (DH 2009) is a cross-government strategy that is currently used to deliver a core universal programme, which is led by Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (SCPHN).

The Public Health Nurse is a Practitioner working with children and families within the community, working in an effective, safe and inter-professional manner with all agencies. The specific role is to support families and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and support their progression on the Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC) policies such as the SEND Graduated Pathway for Gloucestershire.

The Public Health Nurse works within a defined area of practice under the instruction and supervision of a SCPHN – Health Visitor in accordance with agreed protocols and competencies.

The specific job purpose is to support the Public Health Nursing Team 0-19 years. In the delivery of services to ensure the health needs of the population are met, through developing and maintaining close partnership working with multi-agency teams such Early Years, SEND and Social Care.

• Responsible and accountable for assessing and implementing programmes of care from the Healthy Child Programme, as directed by the SCPHN.
• Demonstrate clear knowledge and skills in relation to safeguarding children issues and work within GHC Safeguarding policies and Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board (GSCB) protocols.
• Practice in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct and scope of practice.
• Provide leadership and act as a role model for junior members of the team by representing the values and beliefs of the nursing profession in addition to working under the GHC Values Framework (WARM).
• Attend mandatory training and maintain and develop skills for CPD and revalidation. Continually evaluate own professional practice to maintain expertise and participate in reflective practice and clinical group supervision.
• Be responsible for the day to day management of workload as delegated by the SCPHN.
• Maintain clear, accurate and contemporaneous records in line with the Data Protection Act, Local Policies and NMC Standards.
• · Be able to present complex issues relating to client care in a professional manner to all Service Users, Statutory, Non Statutory and Voluntary agencies with the support of and under the supervision of the SCPHN.

Working for our organisation

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.

The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:

• 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
• 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
• 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
• 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative

Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

• Undertake a chosen Champion Role to support other practitioners in a specialist area.
• Once trained, responsibility for undertaking Blood Spot Screening where required for one off or annual testing.
• Attendance at Team Meetings and Forums to support professional development.
• Attend regular PHN meetings for updates and support.

Please see job description and person specification.

Person specification

Essential

• Educated to degree or diploma level (or equivalent).
• Evidence of continued professional development.
• Registered Nurse/Midwife - membership of NMC.

Essential and Desirable

• Sound understanding of the NHS Plan & other National Policies and the impact on local services
• Knowledge of health visiting role / that underpin evidence based practice.
• Accurate clinical record keeping following national and local guidelines
• Maintain records as per NMC Guidelines/local policy.
• Good listening, communication presentation and networking skills.
• Experience of working with children who may have additional needs
• Ability to travel around the locality as requested, independently and efficiently. (If you have a full driving licence there will be an expectation to drive trust vehicles where required)

• Understanding and experience of the application of research in practice.
• Use clinical systems to interpret and analyse accurate data using set systems.
• Experience of working across agencies.
• Experience in identifying and assessing health needs including community health needs.
• Use clinical systems to interpret and analyse accurate data using set systems.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:

• Free car parking at many of our sites
• 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
• A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
• A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
• Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
• Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
• Recognition and long service awards
• Fast Track physiotherapy
• Our Wellbeing line
• Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.

For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.