Children’s/Paediatric Nursing Service

The Children’s or Paediatric Nursing Service provides acute, community and specialist care. Our specialist care team has a range of specially trained nurses to address your child’s complex health needs. This includes; Clinical Education (Paediatric & Neonatal), Paediatric Asthma and Allergies Nurse Specialist, Paediatric Epilepsy Nurse Specialist, overseeing the effective management of children’s nursing services.

Acute Children’s Nursing Services

Acute children’s Nursing Services are provided in Antrim Area Hospital and Causeway Hospital. The Paediatric Ward at Antrim Area Hospital promotes an ethos of family centred care and works closely with the Community Children’s Nursing service providing an integrated children’s nursing service.

The Paediatric Ward at Causeway Hospital incorporates a children’s inpatient ward and outpatient facility. The ward accommodates acute medical and surgical inpatients. There are medical, surgical and specialist paediatric outpatient clinics, which include cardiac, neurology, diabetes and allergy clinics, held in a designated area of the Paediatric Ward. Family centred care is practiced and there is close working with the Community Children’s Nursing (CCN) service providing an integrated children’s nursing service.  The CCN team is based within the Paediatric Ward in Causeway Hospital.

The Neonatal Unit is part of the Regional Neonatal Network and has a mixture 0f intensive care, high dependency and special care cots. Within the Unit there are advanced neonatal nurse practitioners, enhanced neonatal nurse practitioners and a team of highly skilled neonatal nurses. The Unit promotes family centred care and provides a high standard of care through latest research and technology. Education and development is a key priority.

Community Children’s Nursing

The Trust’s Community Children’s Nursing teams provide a service to children who are acutely or chronically ill, have complex health needs and or require palliative and end of life care.

The teams:

• Provide direct nursing care to children at home thus minimising hospitalisation where appropriate.
• Provide child specific advice within educational or residential facilities.
• Teach parents, teachers and other carers to provide care and treatment to specific children through a comprehensive competency framework.
• Monitor a child’s progress and liaise with medical and other allied health professionals as necessary.

The registered nursing staff are supported by a team of support carers who may care for a named child/children either in the home or school environment.

The Community Children’s Nursing teams work closely with the Education and Library Board to ascertain the health needs of children in special and mainstream schools. Where applicable, the team provides training and information to teachers and classroom assistants for children with specific health needs.