This post offers an exciting and new opportunity to join University Hospitals Plymouth Maternity Service as a Band 6 tongue tie practitioner. The practitioner will work to provide high standards of care and support to the neonate and parents when referred for tongue tie assessment. This includes providing an effective and compassionate family-centred tongue tie service and ensuring optimal care for women, their babies and their families.
The successful candidate will have a keen interest and knowledge in supporting the feeding journeys of parent infant dyads in the early days.
You will need to be a dynamic, autonomous and professional individual who has excellent communication skills and is able to work effectively in a demanding and continually evolving environment.
It is desirable that the practitioner will already be proficient in the division of tongue ties, but training can be provided upon successful recruitment.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide an effective and compassionate family-centred tongue tie service; to ensure optimal care for women, their babies and their families. Provide high standards of care and support to the neonate and parents when referred for tongue tie assessment. The post holder will safely and competently perform frenulotomy on those patients that require it post assessment. Provide support and education to other members of the multi-disciplinary team, from initial recruitment, during induction and on-going development. Be a role model in high standards of clinical practice and leadership; ensuring that a high standard of practice which is based on current evidence, guidelines and policies. Assist in the implementation of new guidelines and initiatives from both local and national requirements. The post holder will support the delivery of high-quality safe care to women and babies across tongue tie and infant feeding services. The post holder will be a competent individual, working as a member of the maternity team.
The post holder will provide a high standard of information and support around infant feeding including psychological and emotional care and support. The post holder will provide appropriate information related to infant feeding and may signpost to other organisations. The successful candidate will support the "Baby Friendly Initiative" which will include data collection and auditing to monitor and improve practices.
About us
We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.
Job responsibilities
Key Dimensions:
1. Liaise with Multidisciplinary Team. Maintain contact with infant feeding team, neonatal staff, maternity staff and health visitors
2. Work collaboratively with all relevant agencies to influence/develop policies which will enhance health
3. Have a sound knowledge of the Baby Friendly Initiative and be able to support birth parents initiate and maximise lactation and progress to responsive oral feeds.
4. Recognise and encourage healthy, responsive feeding plus recognise and implement effective support for babies who are not feeding effectively.
5. Assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of holistic care linked to the individual service user in relation to infant feeding following frenulotomy and specialised plan of care if not undertaken to support feeding.
6. Identify and support babies and families who have unmet health needs, including jaundice and faltering weight providing support and targeted interventions and where necessary referring to specialist services
7. Maintain legible, accurate and contemporaneous records in accordance with Trust policy.
8. Be able to identify child protection concerns and take appropriate action as per child safeguarding guidelines.
Policy and service development:
1. Acting within agreed policies and following local guidelines, provide a high standard of care which meet the needs of the families and babies within our care.
2. Contribute to service and policy review and development of frenulotomy, protocols and guidance.
3. Provide statistical data to support commissioning requirements.
4. Lead on and participate in clinical audits
5. Aid with the resolution of complaints within clinical speciality
6. Collate and provide Tongue tie data monthly to the clinical lead.
7. Proposes policy changes as an integral part of the role to support the Infant feeding team.
8. Responsible for care and safe keeping of medical devices, organisational property and ethically manage organisations resources
9. Identify when equipment or disposable resources need replacing and alert clinical team lead Quality
Quality:
1. Ensure all record keeping is recorded accurately and promptly within the appropriate notes.
2. Assist colleagues with the collection of relevant data for audit/evaluation of the service.
3. Demonstrate a willingness to be flexible and develop new initiatives according to emerging needs within the service.
4. Share best practice with colleagues, present ideas and initiatives.
5. Supporting and making recommendations to senior managers in order to prioritise and focus efforts to drive forward and achieve business objectives, service improvement strategies and statutory requirement
Communication:
1. Be skilled at adapting language and professional approach to a varied client group
2. Be competent in writing concise accurate contemporaneous client records
3. Be competent at making referrals to the wider multi-disciplinary team
Learning and Development:
1. Maintain own professional standards and education by attending relevant study sessions, mandatory training and reporting back to team members
2. Be responsible for own professional development and attending annual Personal Development Review identify own personal training needs and participate in team objectives setting, complete personal objectives and individual development plan
3. Participate in the appraisal process and agree personal development objectives
4. Participate in training of others and maintain an effective learning environment
5. Maintain NMC registration in line with revalidation requirements and abide with NMC Code of Professional Conduct.
6. Provide DBS documentation in line with organisational procedure
7. Is a member of the Association of Tongue Tie Practitioners and contributes and shares updates on National and International research
8. Work under direct and indirect supervision of Infant Feeding Lead
9. Is guided by principles and broad occupational policies is responsible for using highly skilled clinical judgement in order to undertake highly specialised clinical procedure
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
* Evidence of personal development and acquisition of transferable skills relevant to the job description
* Understanding of current issues affecting the NHS and BFI
* Experience of initiating and participating in clinical audit and research.
* Experience of working within multi-disciplinary teams
* Practical experience in managing health related complex caseloads (e.g., experience in infection control, aseptic technique, managing bleeding and other complications)
* Recent relevant experience of working with children and families
* Current NMC registration
* Evidence of relevant post graduate development at Level 6
* Ability to prioritise own and team's workload and demonstrate ability to delegate work appropriately
* Track record of broad clinical skills demonstrated through personal development
* Teaching and facilitation skills
* Able to develop, establish and maintain positive relationships with other both internal and external partner agencies
* Work under pressure and demonstrate ability to change priorities at short notice
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills
* Ability to recognise and respond appropriately to children and their families in challenging situations
* Good IT skills
* Highly developed physical skills, accuracy important, manipulation of fine tools, materials (e.g., intravenous injections, frenulotomy scissors)
* Previous experience of leadership within a skill mixed team
* Specialist training in frenulotomy (ATTP or similar)
* Experience of working within a multi-agency team
* Baby Friendly Initiative Training
* Experience of working independently
Aptitude and Abilities
* Always puts patients first
* Customer service focus
* Willing and able to take personal responsibility
* Demonstrates passion for excellence
* Seeks out and takes opportunities for improving the service offered
* Takes pride in their work and their team
* Flexible in their attitudes and behaviours to support team working and delivery of objectives
* Respects, values and cares for others
* Supports learning and development of self and others
* Supports and promotes equality and diversity
* Ability to travel between Trust sites
* Ability to be flexible to meet the needs of the team, the service and the Trust
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
#J-18808-Ljbffr