Clinical Nurse Specialist Cleft Lip And Palate, University Hospital

Purpose of the Post

Cleft Lip and Palate Team CUH

The CLP team at CUH was first established in the 1970s. The CLP Team is one of 3 specialist Cleft centres on the island of Ireland. Providing a supra-regional service for HSE South West and surrounding area. Cleft Lip and Palate is a common birth defect affecting approximately one in every 650 live births in Ireland. Children born with this congenital condition can present with interrelated complex issues, requiring specialist multidisciplinary team input including dentistry, orthodontistry, ENT, audiology, SLT, plastic surgery, maxillo-facial surgery, social work and nursing. Provision of specialised care is through a “hub and spoke” model of care and is benchmarked with standards laid out by the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain & Ireland (CFSGBI), and by the HSE National Clinical Programme (NCP) for Paediatrics.

Given the number of specialties and MDT members involved in providing the service, the co-ordination aspect of the CNS role will serve to safe guard patients and help them navigate through a very complex care pathway. The CNS will provide direct support and education regarding infant feeding which can be a very challenging area for mothers of children born with CLP. The role will ensure that patients receive the appropriate diagnostics and surgical /nursing / MDT interventions at the right time.

Development of this post is critical to support the holistic delivery and continued development of high quality, outcome driven service at CUH with integrated care across services in Munster and CLP services nationally.

Key Aspects of the Post

• Integrated care across CUH, CHI and community services

• Assessment /monitoring of infants pre and post surgery (particularly those with complex needs associated with genetic/cardiac/neurological co-morbidities etc)

• Provide essential support to families and patients who access the service

• Clinical coordination of referrals received from maternity services in the South (UMHL, UHK, STGH, UHW, CUMH)

• Clinical coordination across MDT services in CUH (dentistry, orthodontistry, ENT, audiology, SLT, plastic surgery, max-fax) to ensure children access the right care at the right time

• Collection and submission of national audit data

The CNS post holder will deliver care in line with the five core concepts of the role set out in the Framework for the Establishment of Clinical Nurse/Midwife Specialist Posts, 4th edition, National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery (NCNM) 2008.

Caseload

The CNS will focus initially on the following service user groups: Children from birth/diagnosis to 21 years of age.

The concepts are:

o Clinical Focus (Direct and Indirect Care)

o Service user/client Advocacy

o Education and Training

o Audit and Research

o Consultancy (including leadership in clinical practice)

Informal Enquiries

We welcome enquiries about the role.

Contact Diarmuid Nolan –Assistant Director of Nursing, Diarmuid.nolan@hse.ie /087 3653102- for further information about the role

Contact Eimear O’Sullivan- People Resourcing, Eimear.OSullivan6@hse.ie – for enquiries relating to the recruitment process