Central London NHS Trust
Our client Hospital is in fashionable West London.
Hospital accommodation is available ( single units) if you move with your family or partner we will assist you finding accommodation.
1. Send cv to nurses@profco.com
2. You will come to London for interview and to see the hospital and the unit.
3. Profco will assist you with NMC registration, all aspects of your job application paperwork and post interview logistics.
4. We meet you on arrival in London both for interview and to help you settle when you start work.
Band 5 and Band 6 posts
UK and European Neonatal Nurses required
To apply for a post email nurses@profco.com
We will email the NHS application form and a Job Description and other relevant information.
Perinatal Service
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) No. of Beds: 42
10 Intensive care
14 High dependency care
14 Special care
4 Mother and baby transitional care
PICNIC nursery 3 bed capacity – elective post operative intensive care service for 0 – 6 month infants
Nurse Patient Ratio: 1:1/2 for intensive care,1:2/3 for high dependency care and 1:4 for special care according to dependency and needs of the baby.
We also have a unit co-ordinator on each shift.
Scope of Service
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a Level III medical and surgical referral centre providing comprehensive service to sick or premature infants and their families 24 hours a day. We are one of the two perinatal centres in the North West London Perinatal network and are the lead surgical centre for the network. We also take referrals from other units throughout the South East of England.
We have a high risk maternity unit with an active fetal medicine service and are co-located near the Royal Brompton Hospital so are able to provide a collaborative cardiac service for mothers and babies.
Babies are either discharged home with the support of our neonatal nurse community liaison service or transferred back to the post natal ward or to their referring hospital. Some babies who have long term complex needs are transferred to the paediatric wards within the hospital.
Hours of Operation
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Criteria for admission to NICU
Most NICU patients are admitted directly from Labour and Delivery, post natal wards or are transferred to us from another hospital following delivery. Mothers whose baby is expected to need NICU are also transferred to this hospital prior to delivery
Admission criteria include
Need for emergency or expected intensive care/specialized diagnosis or treatment
Need for emergency or elective neonatal surgery
Practical procedures commonly undertaken on the unit
Endo tracheal intubation and Non invasive ventilation via NCPAP/vapotherm
Surfactant therapy
Ventilator support including high frequency ventilation + nitric-oxide therapy
Oxygen saturation monitoring
Chest tube placement
Haemodynamic monitoring
Peripheral arterial line placement
Umbilical venous and arterial line placement
Intravenous access and maintenance
Percutaneous (PICC) line placement
Total parenteral nutrition
Cerebral function monitoring - CFAM and Initial cerebral cooling
Peritoneal dialysis
Exchange transfusion
Management of congenital abnormalities including GI tract
Stoma management
Placement and management of replogle tubes and abdominal silo
Gastrostomy care
Post operative care
Management of thermoregulation
Promotion of breast feeding and lactation assistance/advice and naso/oro gastric feeding
Developmental interventions - Environmental and
Developmental Care of Infants
Education of Families/Parents
Staffing
Medical
We have 5 neonatal consultants (intensivists) and a Professor of Neonatology who provide 24 hour medical cover as well as a team of 28 junior/middle grade doctors. We have 5 paediatric surgeons who are supported by 6 middle grade doctors.
And an active research department which initiates and administrates national and international research programmes
The unit has a team of 3 Advanced Neonatal nurse practitioners who combined medical and nursing clinical work and contribute to multi professional development.
Allied health professionals
As we are a specialist centre we have support from a variety of therapists including
Neonatal Pharmacist
Paediatric Physiotherapist
Speech and Language therapist
Clinical psychologist - for staff and parent support
Specialist stoma nurse
Specialist gastroenterology nurse
Neonatal technician – 5 day a week service
Clinical Nursing Team
Number and Mix of Staff
We have over 100 nurses within the unit, Registered Nurses and Registered nurses with a neonatal specialist qualification make up a core part of our NICU multidisciplinary team. We also have a team of nursery nurses who care for babies in the high dependency and special care nurseries. A Family centred model is used to deliver nursing care and support to our neonates and their families. The nursing are supported by a senior nurse co-ordinator on each shift.
Patient/Staff ratios are 1:1/2, 1:2/3 and 1:4, depending on the following considerations:
Care requirements of the baby
Total number of babies and their individual care requirements)
Relevant infection control and safety issues.
Expected admissions, transfers, transports, discharges, and surgeries/procedures.
Adjusting Staffing to manage high and low activity levels
Additional temporary staffing is mainly obtained from hospital staff bank - contracted staff working on the neonatal unit are able to join the staff bank to work additional hours if they wish.
Qualifications of Nursing Staff : Qualifications/ Certifications Required
Neonatal sister/charge nurses /Unit co-ordinators
NMC Registered Nurse
Recognised Neonatal specialist qualification/certificate – comprising academic study and assessed clinical practice in neonatal intensive care.
3.5 years recent neonatal intensive care experience , 2 years at specialist staff nurse level.
Neonatal Specialist staff nurses
NMC Registered Nurse
Recognised Neonatal specialist qualification/certificate – comprising academic study and assessed clinical practice in neonatal intensive care.
3.2 years recent neonatal intensive care experience
Neonatal Staff Nurse
NMC Registered Nurse
2. 6 months recent critical care/ NICU experience this may be during trainingInservice education and continuing professional development
Continuing education is co-ordinated through the centre for professional learning by a Lead Nurse and team of Clinical Instructors. Post graduate courses including specialist neonatal modules leading to a qualification neonatal nursing are undertaken at London Southbank University or Thames Valley University. We expect all band 5 nurses to undertake a support development pathway that will lead to successful completion of the specialist neonatal modules. Entry on to these modules is by assessment of progress on the unit.
We have practice education team who are responsible for orientation and induction of new staff. And our induction programmes are tailored to individual nurses level of practice and knowledge
In-service education needs for unit staff are identified through staff needs assessment, clinical guidelines, quality improvement programmes, introduction of new treatments or equipment, clinical incident reviews and clinical audits.
Regular topics of clinical interest to all members of the team are presented via nursing journal club or midday teaching sessions.
All staff are expected to keep up to date with mandatory training which is provided by the trust
Mandatory updates include
Neonatal Life Support (NLS) – we are a designated NLS provider - 3 yearly
Basic life support
Breastfeeding workshop
Palliative care training
Pain management
Fire and Electrical Safety
Manual handling
Infection Control and prevention
Safeguarding children Level 3
Communication within the unit
Two weekly unit meetings lead by the unit matron
Monthly clinical governance and risk management meetings
Monthly Clinical guidelines and Audit meetings
Quarterly NICU newsletter
Bi monthly Mortality and Morbidity meetings held with maternity and surgical colleagues
Weekly parent support forum
Links with other departments
We have strong clinical and managerial links with the maternity and obstetric service and access to labour ward is though an adjoining door ensuring rapid response to any emergency calls.
As some of our babies go on to need longer term paediatric care we have regular ward rounds and meeting with specialist paediatricians including gastroenterology to help a smooth transition for babies and their family.
Links with other hospitals in the North West London Perinatal network
As part of the North West London Perinatal Network we are undertake clinical benchmarking, develop network wide clinical guidelines and transfer protocols.
Benchmarks completed 2009
Temperature on admission
Breastfeeding rates on discharge
Corrected gestational age on discharge
Benchmarks completed 2010
Sensory environment
Family centred care
