Childrens Palliative Nurse
Alexander Devine Children'S Hospice Service
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Job summary
Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service in Berkshire provides specialist palliative and end-of-life care for children across Berkshire and surrounding counties, including home and community settings.
The role involves needs-led care, assessment of families, and contributing to a 24/7 rota with Alexanders Care Team. It emphasises compassionate, child-centred support and collaboration with external agencies to deliver comprehensive care.
Qualifications
- Significant post-registration experience.
- Experience of needs assessment/care planning.
- Experience of interagency working.
- Experience of caring for children and families with LL/LT conditions.
- Enhanced DBS.
Responsibilities
- Works collaboratively to develop and maintain a care strategy with the Alexanders Care Team.
- Manages a 24/7 rota and provides emergency and end-of-life care.
- Assesses children and families to identify respite, palliative and end-of-life needs.
- Maintains records and ensures safeguarding and data protection compliance.
- Leads on coordinating care with other agencies to deliver holistic support.
Skills
Education
Job description
Working as part of the Alexanders Care Team this post is to provide holistic care and support to children with a life threatening and life limiting condition [LT/LL] and their families across the geographical area supported by Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice Service.
The post will involve a flexible, needs led approach to care delivery, contributing to a 24/7 rota by the Alexanders Care Team.
The post holder will assess children and families and identify the need for short break respite provision, palliative and end of life care in the childs home or other community setting and in the hospice, working both autonomously and in collaboration with other agencies.
Our childrens hospice service is free of charge for families, but it costs over £2.8 million a year just to maintain our current level of care. With very minimal government funding, our charity is almost entirely reliant on donations, fundraising and gifts in Wills to meet the costs of running our service. Which means every penny donated makes a huge difference to those we support.
Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice Service (Alexander Devine) is a local charity that provides specialist care and vital support to babies, children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, and their families, across Berkshire and into surrounding counties.
We individualise our approach to meet the unique clinical, emotional and practical needs of each child and their family, ensuring they receive the best possible care and support. Our comprehensive range of care services include Respite care, Specialist play, Symptom management, Family support, End of life care and Bereavement support. We provide care from our childrens hospice in Maidenhead as well as in the family home and across the community, including hospitals and schools.
Our hospice facilities offer opportunities for children and their siblings to experience fun, joy and adventures, and help families make precious memories for as long as they have. These include a hydrotherapy pool, sensory room, music room, games room, outdoor playground and sensory garden, six childrens bedrooms and two self-contained family flats. We also have a dedicated bereavement suite with its own garden.
Date posted: 29 October 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: £39,059 to £47,730 a year pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: B0614-26-0010
Job locations: Snowball Hill, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 3LU, United Kingdom
- Works collaboratively with the Alexanders Care Team to develop and maintain a strategy that meets the needs of children and families.
- Works both as an independent practitioner, and as an effective member of the wider interdisciplinary clinical team.
- Maintains high quality in all areas of work and practice, supporting the development of quality in the organisation.
- Participates in all areas of audit and risk management and uses data from audit / quality monitoring / patient satisfaction questionnaires / service review to inform clinical governance and service improvement.
- Ensures patients are consulted in the development of services and utilises information to ensure that services are responsive to patient needs.
- Is responsible for ensuring own clinical practice complies with Data Protection, Confidentiality and Caldicott principles.
- Actively promotes diversity, in the delivery of services, in the development of staff and within the organisation. Supports and sustains relationships that promote dignity, rights and responsibilities. Identifies and takes action to address discrimination and oppression.
- Monitors and maintains the health, safety and security of self and any practitioners he / she is responsible for in work area. Identifies and assesses risks in work activities, and develops strategies to manage these effectively. Practices within risk management / occupational health legislation and Organisational procedures.
- Develops own skills, taking responsibility for continuing professional development and performance, maintaining own portfolio in accordance with post registration requirements. Works to achieve competencies appropriate to grade and role. Identifies own development needs in relation to current practice and future plans, setting personal development objectives.
- Represents Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice Service [ADCHS] at interagency meetings as requested.
- Demonstrates commitment to the values of ADCHS and the ethos of hospice care.
- Actively promotes Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice Service and supports the development of childrens palliative care across Berkshire.
- Contributes to fundraising initiatives for the ADCHS.
- Holds own defined caseload and Works flexibly to support 24/7 rotas, emergency and end of life care.
- Communicates complex, sensitive information effectively and empathetically to patients and relatives, managing difficult situations and maintains the highest standards when communicating with children, families and the wider public.
- Completes and maintains up to date records in line with principles of best practice.
- Actively manages assessment, evaluation and the delivery of care, promoting all elements of high quality care planning.
- Leads on developing the health component of the care package for the family working with other agencies to develop a holistic package.
- Supports families throughout the care pathway including initial diagnosis and discharge planning form hospital to community.
- Works flexibly to plan appropriate intervention where there may be escalation of symptoms or family difficulties and offers support to families as needed.
- Checks and administers medication to children in their own home in line with ADCHS Medicines Management policy.
- Works as an expert practitioner in palliative care acting as a resource for other healthcare professionals.
- Assumes a central role in problem solving and service co-ordination to ensure patients and carers receive high standards of seamless quality care.
- Works with non-specialist interdisciplinary practitioners to complement their care, and the quality of the service provided.
- Actively participates in interdisciplinary meetings.
- Acts on clinical incidents pertinent to area, to reduce clinical risk.
- Is familiar with ADCHS safeguarding policy and report any concerns accordingly.
- Establishes local and national networks, linking with other practitioners in specialist area in order to share / learn from examples of good practice.
- Provides informal support and education to patients / carers and all professionals as appropriate.
- Participates in the delivery and evaluation of formal education programmes related to palliative and end of life care.
- Identifies and plans education, participating in planning and delivery.
- Conducts / facilitates primary research / contributes to research programmes. Promotes evidence based practice in palliative and end of life care. Is aware of clinical trials that may affect patients in own clinical area.
- Uses reflective practice, evaluation and research findings critically to contribute to the improvement of services.
- Provides formal mentorship and clinical supervision to other members of the Alexanders Care Team.
- Develops specialist policies, guidelines and care procedures for the organisation and supports the development of care pathways.
- Develops and contributes to an information database of support services available to health care professionals and patient groups.
- Demonstrates ability to place patient and family at centre of care.
- Excellent personal and communication skills.
- Good facilitation / presentation, teaching and assessing skills.
- Excellent organisational ability.
- Motivated and enthusiastic.
- Creative, resourceful and imaginative.
- Excellent role model.
- Ability to critically analyse research and evidence based practice.
- Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding.
- Familiarity of systems for quality control, clinical governance and clinical audit.
- Significant post registration experience.
- Experience of needs assessment/care planning. Caseload management.
- Experience of interagency working.
- Experience working in community setting.
- Experience of provision of training / education to a range of staff and patients.
- Experience of caring for children and families with LL/LT conditions including assessment and symptom management.
- Experience caring for children with complex health needs.
- Caring for children at the end of life.
- Car driver - vehicle available for working.
- Flexible working hours contributing to 24/7 rotas.
- Commitment to the mission and ethos of Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice Service.
- Able to work within and uphold our core values: determined, empowering, valuing others, integrity, nurture and empathy.
- Ability to work alone and as a member of a team.
- Able to assess risk to maintain personal safety in a variety of settings.
- Ability to cope with the physical demands expected of the role e.g. shift work, moving and handling, clinical and caring procedures.
- Good IT skills.
- Enhanced DBS.
- Passed fit to undertake the duties of the post by Occupational Health.
- RSCN or RN (Child) degree or diploma level.
- Evidence of continual professional development and education.
- NMC Registered.
- Relevant specialist course eg palliative care and/or advanced communications.
- Community qualification.
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.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Employer name: Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service
Employer's website: https://alexanderdevine.org/
For questions about the job, contact:
warrenk@alexanderdevine.org
Warren King
01628822777
Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service's privacy notice.
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