Staff Nurse, Health Protection / Public

The HSE’s Public Health Service protects and promotes the health of the Irish population, contributes effectively to major service design and policy implementation, strives to address health inequalities, and ensures a population needs based approach to integrated healthcare delivery.

The Public Health Service has embarked on a programme of strategic structural reform to implement a new, consultant-delivered service delivery model aligned to international best practice and to address the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath Report. The enhanced service delivery model introduces a strong Public Health Function strategically aligned within the HSE and to healthcare delivery structures.

The model radically changes the governance and operating structure within Public Health, introducing a more fit-for-purpose national and area management structure, with strong clinical leadership across each of the domains of Public Health practice. The model seeks to rebalance capacity to deliver effectively across all four domains of public health: Health Protection, Health Intelligence, Health Service Improvement and Health Improvement.

The model for public health is a ‘hub and spoke’ model, where the national role (the hub) coordinates, sets standards and policies, provides leadership, and centralises critical expertise. The area role (the spokes), input to the national function, respond to service delivery needs, retain local expertise, identify, and implement improvement initiatives, and support integration.

This new service model seeks to optimise the contribution of Public Health expertise to

deliver greater impact across an expanded remit of service provision. Aligned to this reform, six new Public Health Areas have been established in line with the Sláintecare HSE health regions (Regional Health Areas).

Each Public Health area is led by an Area Director of Public Health who with the authority, autonomy and responsibility assigned by the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) statutory function, play a key strategic and leadership role in protecting the population from threats to health, while also promoting health within their area of accountability. Consultants in Public Health Medicine (CPHM) lead multidisciplinary teams, for example: Surveillance Scientists/Epidemiologists, Senior Medical Officers, Nurses, Research and Information staff, Administrative and Communication staff; and delivers services across the four domains of public health.

Departments of Public Health apply infectious disease epidemiology and knowledge of the demographic and socio-economic profiles of the populations they service to provide

statutory public health functions including: expertise, advice and support, to internal

(National, Hospital, pre-hospital and Community Services) and external partners (e.g.

Environmental Protection Agency, Irish Water, Port Authorities Local Authorities etc.). The Departments also provide advice to the general public, and a range of local partners, organisations and services within their regional areas.

Public Health works across the four domains: health protection, health service improvement, health improvement and health intelligence, (hereafter referred as public health domains), and aims to prevent disease and improve health-related outcomes through the design, utilisation and evaluation of effective and efficient healthcare interventions including review of access and pathways of care. Such work will include population health needs assessment, population focused health service prioritisation, health service co-design/redesign (i.e. Models of Care), and health service implementation (including National Healthy Childhood Programme, Education & Training, Monitoring and Evaluation). Public Health Programmes will be organised to support Integrated Care Programmes for population cohorts and priority populations.

Public Health provides a nationally integrated, all-hazards Health Protection service,

mandated by the MOH legislation. Specifically, the health protection area teams work across Infectious Diseases, Environment and Health, and Emergency Preparedness and Response to provide a safe, effective, and agile service.

Area Directors of Public Health, Consultants and Specialists in PH have the responsibility and authority to investigate and control notifiable infectious diseases and outbreaks under the MOH legislation.

The National Healthy Childhood Programme (NHCP) is the HSE’s universal Child Health programme designed to improve the health and wellbeing of all babies, infants and children in the State. The MOH has a legislated mandate to ‘supervise and be responsible’ for the delivery of this Programme through a wide range of health professionals.

Initial appointments will be to health protection roles; however, the Staff Nurse-Health

Protection/Public Health role will be expanded to services across all public health domains, i.e., health protection, health improvement, health services improvement, health intelligence based on service needs in the PH Area.

The reform programme outlined for Public Health Medicine and/or the wider Health Service may impact on this role, and as structures change the job specification may be reviewed. With the implementation of Sláintecare reform programme and Regional Health Areas (RHA), the above is subject to change, in line with service reconfiguration.

Purpose of the post

The Staff Nurse Health Protection/Public Health plays an integral role in the delivery of the health protection service and other public health domains. They play a critical role in the surveillance, prevention, investigation, and control of communicable diseases, response to environment and health incidents and emergency planning and preparedness.

The Staff Nurse Health Protection/Public Health will assess, plan, implement and evaluate care to the highest professional and ethical standards within the model of nursing care practiced in the relevant care setting. The staff nurse will provide holistic, person-centred care, promoting optimum independence and enhancing the quality of life for service users.

The purpose of the Staff Nurse Health Protection/Public Health post is to:

· Provide clinical and professional nursing care in health protection as a key member of a multidisciplinary team (MDT).

· Contribute to an integrated approach to health protection and maintain collaborative working relationships with the wide variety of individuals and organisations involved with protection of the health of the population at a local, regional and national level.

· Actively participate in disease surveillance, ensuring the prompt identification, investigation, reporting and control of notifiable infectious diseases.

· Provide health protection and prevention advice and support, taking appropriate action regarding the care and treatment of individuals, groups or communities.

· Provide advice to members of the public, health professionals and facilities requiring information about infectious diseases prevention and control.

· Contribute to the development of major incident response plans and emergency planning.

· Analyse and interpret data, information and evidence, including laboratory data, relevant to the service area ensuring an evidence-based approach to Health Protection service and disease management strategies.

· Contribute to the development of evidence base in Health Protection service by actively engaging in audit and research.

· Participate in the delivery of clinical services, such as administration of prophylaxis and vaccinations.

We welcome enquiries about the role.

Contact Louise Carlton 021-4927601

louise.carlton@hse.ie for further information about the role.

Contact Liam Ryan 0877181323

Liam.Ryan2@hse.ie for enquiries relating to the recruitment process.