Specialist community public health nurse - Occupational Health Nurse

This occupation is found in the public, independent and private sectors. Health visitors and school nurses are employed in the NHS, local authorities, community interest companies, social enterprises and schools. Occupational health nurses are employed by any type of employer in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to make sure work in partnership with people to prevent ill health, protect health and promote safety and wellbeing. Using a formidable evidence base they will lead, influence and collaborate with other agencies, organisations and professionals to improve and embed sustainable changes to the overall health, safety and wellbeing of people at home, within communities, in schools and in the workplace. SCPHNs play a key role in the safeguarding of those people who are most vulnerable in society, and are ambitious for the public health of the communities they serve. They actively pursue sustainable development goals that promote everyone’s right to a healthy life.

SCPHN health visitors (HV) are uniquely placed to reach every infant and child in their own home, and be connected to their whole family and community. They build trusting relationships with children, carers and families, to positively influence their future health outcomes. They identify their health needs and strengths and deliver timely, effective, evidence-based interventions in partnership with them. They provide a universal service that ensures support for infants, children and families is personalised, effective, timely and proportionate. The needs and the welfare of the infant and child are at all times central to their work. Health visitors use their professional autonomy to adapt and tailor their response to the health, safety and wellbeing needs of individuals, families and communities within diverse and changing contexts. They are sensitive to different cultural perspectives and use in-depth knowledge of local communities to develop strong community relationships and to connect families with the community resources that best meet their needs. Health visitors are advocates for fairness, equity and social justice and will challenge discriminatory practices and behaviours. They understand the impact of the wider determinants of health and are committed to addressing health inequalities through prevention and early intervention, and the promotion and improvement of health. They lead services that are person-centred and evidence driven, with creativity and resourcefulness, and evaluate the impact of their interventions to continuously improve the quality of care and outcomes for infants, children and families. They maximise the positive impact of health visiting services by working within a collaborative system, planning and coordinating care and maintaining continuity across different services and agencies. They embrace and champion new technologies and are skilled in leading changes in service delivery

SCPHN school nurses (SN) are autonomous practitioners who uphold the rights of school-aged children and young people at all times. Working collaboratively across health, education and other agencies, and as an integral part of a broader public health service, school nurses advocate for optimum health for all school-aged children and young people, seeking to ensure that services are fair, inclusive, equitable, anti-discriminatory and positively influence health and wellbeing. Using a variety of advanced communication skills, school nurses build mutually trusting relationships with school-aged children and young people, and parents, carers and families. Importantly, school nurses actively listen to school-aged children and young people, taking account of what matters to them and always putting the needs, welfare and safety of school-aged children and young people first. School nurses provide culturally appropriate support and early interventions which aim to promote positive choices and reduce risk-taking behaviours. They focus on and support the holistic needs of school-aged children and young people. They understand the wider determinants of health and are committed to addressing health inequalities across the life course, through health education, health promotion and evidence-based age and maturity appropriate interventions. They know their community and its assets and lead services that are person-centred and evidence driven to ensure positive health outcomes for school-aged children and young people. They collaborate and work effectively with teams and other professionals across a range of sectors and agencies.

SCPHN occupational health nurses (OHN) lead and work in a range of work environments and sectors. They lead services to enhance the health, safety and wellbeing of people in their workplaces and beyond. Working autonomously, they promote and protect the health of the workforce, ensuring a healthy balance between work and wellbeing. As a distinct group of public health professionals, they help to prevent work-related ill health and disease by advising on the creation of workplaces that are safe, efficient and inclusive. Occupational health nurses collaborate with other professionals, sector experts, employers and employees to lead workplace health initiatives that are responsive to the needs of individuals and organisations. They are able to use and analyse data effectively combining their specialist nursing skills with broader understanding and experience of the distinct sector they work in to embed health initiatives in the wider organisational planning for the benefit of people and communities and in addressing inequalities. Applying their professional judgement and business acumen, occupational health nurses create innovative strategies for inclusive workplaces that enable people of varied abilities to be productively employed. They champion the need for workplace health, safety and wellbeing strategies that recognise the impact of health on work and the value of work to health. Recognising the value of a diverse working population, occupational health nurses embed person-centred approaches to health that address the needs of a varied workforce. They are change agents who influence at strategic and sector level, thinking globally but acting locally, to create a healthy workforce for the present and the future.

SCPHN public health nurses (PHN) are specialists in public health who do not have a predetermined field of SCPHN practice. They may work in roles across a wide range of sectors and settings, applying their specialist public health knowledge and skills to the people, communities and populations they serve. They take a life course and whole population approach to make a valuable contribution to the wider society’s health, safety and wellbeing and in addressing health inequalities. They advocate for people fostering therapeutic relationships that build confidence and trust. They may provide public health information, support and provide timely interventions to people. Equally they may offer public health advice and support to voluntary or third sector organisations within the wider community. They proactively collaborate with interdisciplinary and inter-agency teams and services to ensure that people who require wider public health support, care and interventions have fair and equitable access to public health resources, that promote their health, safety and wellbeing, prevent ill health and protect those who are vulnerable.