Play Team Professional Leadin317 Trustwidein317 TrustwidePUBLISHED WED 19 MAR 2025

Are you a qualified Healthcare Play Specialist? Interested in helping shaping the future of our play service?

We are looking for a dynamic, forward thinking and self-motivated registered Healthcare Play Specialist to help us shape the play strategy for the Great North Children's Hospital. The individual will be an active champion for children, young people and their families.

The successful candidate will have in depth knowledge and experience of models of outstanding practice. They will have both passion and enthusiasm for developing and supporting excellent play services and will be able to demonstrate a desire to support change and innovation.

The role requires a professional Healthcare Play Specialist who can demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, working closely with the play team and members of GNCH Management Team to shape the future delivery of play across GNCH. They will be able to motivate the play team to deliver high quality service to meet the needs of the patients and the service. Celebrating success and managing challenges and behaviours to meet aims and objectives.

The will demonstrate excellent communications skills, communicating the vision and aims of the play strategy across GNCH, and to a range of staff and external stake holders.

• Interview Date: 14 April 2025
• 30 hours/week

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

• Contribute to GNCH patient care through the provision of high-quality therapeutic care, relating specifically to play, and the appropriate use and development of play resources
• Being professionally responsible for the play service across GNCH and coordinating the play team. Ensuring a high standard of service delivery
• Ensure consistency of play service delivery across GNCH and wider scope where appropriate across the Trust.
• Provide a professional lead and role model to play staff.
• Responsible for leading the play
• Ensure equitable play provision for Children and Young People across GNCH.
• Required to provide assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of a variety of recreational and therapeutic programmes and activities, with regard to play, preparation, distraction, desensitisation and post procedural play to children, young people and their families to promote emotional health and optimal development.
• Implement developmentally appropriate methods for preparing children and families for diagnostic treatment/surgical procedures to optimise the quality of the medical/nursing experience.
• Liaise with SoHPS to ensure all staff are registered and meet professional codes of Conduct
• Support and mentor Play staff with personal and professional development
• Access, analyse, document and record interventions in line with Trust policy.
• Ensure equity of play provision across GNCH.

About us

• Provide a professional lead and role model to play staff, being professionally responsible for the play service across GNCH and coordinating the play team. Ensuring a high standard of service delivery
• To ensure consistency of play service delivery across GNCH and wider scope where appropriate across the Trust.
• Being able to practice safely and effectively within the scope of professional practice.
• Ensure all play staff are aware of and maintain the Society of Health Play Specialists Professional Standards
• Be able to practise within the legal and ethical boundaries of the profession, exercising your professional duty of candour
• Ensure staff are recruited to the play team with appropriate qualifications and skills
• Provide Mentorship to those working towards HPS qualification
• To organise and lead the play team meetings. Encouraging and maintaining regular attendance by all play staff. Creating an agenda for the meeting to include training and development items.
• Being able to communicate important messages to staff and act as a professional point of contact
• Be able to practise as an autonomous professional, exercising own professional judgement.
• Assist in service redesign, innovation, and excellence in service delivery.
• They will be an active champion for babies children and young people (BCYP), advocating for and ensuring that they are heard, while understood play service provision for them in hospital settings
• Take the lead in setting aims and objectives of the play service
• Lead on types of therapeutic play and distraction available for BCYP and families taking into account children with additional needs
• Ensure all play staff maintain any professional registration codes of conduct were necessary
• Plans develops and implements programmes of therapeutic play
• Lead on types of therapeutic play and distraction available for children and families taking into account children with additional needs
• Advise any issues/developments positive or negative about any aspect of play provision and service.
• Be responsible for professional standards and development of the play team.
• Inform, educate, support and advise other healthcare specialists, nursing staff, and families in the role of play.
• Ensure an outstanding and equitable play service is provided across GNCH
• Liaise closely with ward managers and attend appropriate meetings and contribute as required
• Keep up to date and adhere to national legislation, local policies, advice, and guidance. Take personal responsibility to meet the Professional Standards
• Immediately report any breach of the Professional Standards resulting in any disciplinary process by your employer or any police caution to SoHPS.
• Participate in Play Service Projects and produce reports as requested. These include audit of services

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.