Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached a copy of the job description and person specification

The Unit has facilities to provide NICU care for Wolverhampton as well as the surrounding Black Country hospitals. A daily neonatal and maternity video huddle helps to facilitate the timely transfer of extreme preterm infants ideally in utero to New Cross. The neonatal unit has all the expected facilities for an NICU including high frequency oscillation and nitric oxide, and the facility to provide therapeutic hypothermia for up to 2 babies at a time. General and specialised neonatal surgery, when required, is undertaken at Birmingham Childrens Hospital, as are complex cardiac and other paediatric speciality reviews. There is good liaison with all departments at Birmingham Childrens Hospital and KIDS/NTS teams. Birmingham Childrens Hospital PICU, Surgical and Cardiology teams have provided outreach bedside support to us for complex neonatal babies. The neonatal unit continues to provide initial care for infants with congenital heart disease and for surgical cases such as Gastroschisis and Oesophageal Atresia. Longer term care of infants with stoma is supported by surgical outreach nurses.The unit engages closely with the Obstetric Team at New Cross Hospital, including in perinatal mortality, risk management, maternity and neonatal forums, intrapartum committee meetings and fetal multidisciplinary meetings.The Unit is staffed and equipped to standards required for Level 3 intensive care, as recommended by the Clinical Standards Advisory Group for Neonatal Intensive Care. This unit uses full Badger electronic patient recording system. To capture all patient data and is paperless. Weekly ward rounds are undertaken with Consultant. Microbiologists who offer support and guidance on management. There are weekly Nutrition ward rounds. Investigations are analysed in the main laboratories which are equipped to deal with small volume samples. Clinical Chemistry, Haematology, Microbiology and Radiology results are available by computer link. Standardised TPN is available in line with BAPM recommendations. The large array of electronic equipment is maintained by a dedicated, full time medical electronics technician. There are cerebral function monitoring equipments and equipments to perform total body cooling. We are one of the centres for Total Body Cooling for babies with moderate to severe HIE for in born as well as other babies in West Midlands. Neonatal transfers are carried out by the Newborn Transport Service and KIDS retrieval team. A transport system for emergencies is available within the department.There are twice weekly cranial ultrasound sessions by trained ultrasonographers using the Units own machine. Depending on clinical need cranial ultrasound scans could be obtained on any week day. The team also undertakes renal ultrasound scanning for antenatally detected renal pelvic dilatation.There is a weekly echocardiography clinic for babies with suspected congenital heart disease. There exists very close collaboration with the Cardiology team at Birmingham Childrens Hospital and all patients are discussed and managed jointly with the Birmingham Cardiology team. Acute echocardiography is performed by our team of 5 consultant neonatologists with additional expertise.A hip ultrasound scanning service which is supervised by twopaediatric orthopaedic surgeons who have clinical duties at New Cross & Birmingham Childrens Hospital, exists. Retinopathy screening is carried out on site by a ConsultantOphthalmologist based at New Cross. The ROP treatment is done locally by Opthalmic surgeons based at Birmingham Childrens Hospital.Short term and illness-based follow up is offered by theneonatal consultants. As well as developmental follow up till 2 years.Babies discharged from NNU who need admission to thepaediatric ward will be managed by the on take paediatric consultant but the overall Consultant responsibility will be borne by the babys neonatal consultant. Babies with on-going complex needs who will require paediatric follow up will generally be referred to the appropriate general paediatric or community consultant . We have dedicated full time in house neonatal physiotherapists, Speech and Language, Psychology, Dietetics and Pharmacy. An Occupational therapist is awaiting appointment.Bereavement service is delivered by 2 bereavementnurses.We currently collect neonatal data on the Badgernet neonatal database, and utilise NIPE SMART (for New-born Infant Physical Examination). The Badger data provides information for clinical purposes, audit, bench marking of services, activity data for Specialised Service Commissioners & NNAP project. There are excellent opportunities for linked research with obstetrics and the community paediatricians on epidemiology and follow up of preterm babies. The NNU is benchmarked against international standards via Vermont-Oxford Network. The maternity department is also now using a fully electronic patient record; Badgernet maternity system.Research involvement with national studies is supported by a dedicated research team. Consultants are encouraged to be involved in research and develop their skills in this area.Teaching and Education is central to the service. Over the recent years we have developed a dedicated neonatal teaching schedule with 3 sessions per week of consultant supported teaching as well as 1 session per week of skills teaching provided by our Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioners. This aims to compliment the regional teaching sessions provided to trainees and the network education sessions for nurses.Weekly meetings:NNU Consultant Business Meeting. Departmental Clinical Meeting/Journal club. Local Neonatal Teaching.Monthly meetingsbNNU ward meeting.Neonatal Mortality Review Meeting.Acute services Risk Management Meeting.Maternity Services Liaison Committee meeting.PMRT meeting.Fetal MedicineMeetings.Intrapartum Care Meeting.Obstetric Risk Management Meeting.Cranial ultrasound review meetings.Echocardiography peer review.Joint Perinatal Forum.Directorate management meeting.WMNODN (West Midlands Neonatal Operational delivery Network) meetings - The post holder is expected to contribute, and represent New Cross Hospital at such meetings, or alternately to provide unit cover enabling other critical team members to participate in Network meetings.