Community Specialist Nurse

Kentown Children's Palliative Care Community Specialist Nurse

The post holder will be a registered children's nurse utilising knowledge and expertise in the care and management for a defined caseload of children with palliative care needs. They will deliver safe, personal, effective and compassionate care to children, young people and their families, ensuring empathy and quality is everyone's prime objective. They will be part of a team of Kentown palliative care nurses working across Lancashire and South Cumbria leading, developing and coordinating children's palliative care, promoting a holistic approach to care and acting as a resource for multi-agency teams.

As a senior nurse there is an expectation that the post holder will fully participate in clinical and professional leadership, the post holder should inspire, motivate and empower others; this will require them to be highly visible and to have an accessible approach for the children, young people and their families. The post holder will play a significant role in the education and training of staff, empowering them to care for children and young people and their families when life is limited or bereavement has occurred;

liaising between community services, hospital and hospices.

• To work as a Kentown nurse for Children's Palliative Care within East Lancashire Hospital NHS Trust, supporting and advising children, young people and their families requiring palliative care, including those families facing the end of their child's life; at the time of death and following death.
• Support children, young people and their families in order to prevent inappropriate hospital admissions and enable children with palliative care needs to be cared for in the place of their choice.
• To assess and develop plans of care to meet the needs of the child, young person and their families so that appropriate care and support is established and maintained as they move between hospital and community settings. This may include attendances at clinic appointments for individual patients.
• Provide support at home for children and their families, through the mobilisation and coordination of local services to support the patient and family during palliation and bereavement and signposting them to the most appropriate professional to act as a key worker.

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

• Date posted: 23 October 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 7
• Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: 435-F122-26
• Closing date: 05 November 2026

• Work with children and families to ensure that all families are offered the choice of an advance care plan.
• Provide verbal and written information for families which is age appropriate and culturally sensitive.
• Be responsible for ensuring that the environment and Trust processes are responsive to the needs of the bereaved parents and family, recognising the importance of maintaining privacy and dignity.
• To develop and strengthen links with local and regional palliative care networks and be a key player/support within the multidisciplinary team to provide safe, appropriate and effective management of children with palliative care needs.
• Have a commitment to collaborative working and support the transition process for young people with palliative care needs into adult services.

• Act as a good role model, providing effective palliative and end of life care advice, guidance and support to the childrens community nursing team and advise paediatric teams as needed.
• To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development.
• Lead on the development of guidelines, protocols, pathways, policies in relation to palliative and end of life care for children and young people.
• Be the source of contact following the death of a child, participating in child death review meetings, sharing good practice and any lessons learnt.
• Contribute to service evaluations and reviews to assess the workload and make plans for service development.
• Participate in the research and audit process ensuring that childrens…