Claire Dinning

As an educator within the Neonatal Unit, I am responsible for the education and training of all staff members working within the unit. I lead, advise, and support nurses in their clinical development, to ensure they can deliver high standards of evidence-based, safe, effective care to babies and their families.

Key Responsibilities:

Education & Training: I assess the educational needs of staff and ensure that appropriate teaching programs are in place to enhance their clinical skills. I develop and deliver teaching programs and competency packs, ensuring these resources align with the evolving needs of the unit and the latest evidence-based practices.

Development of Guidelines & Competency: I work within the multidisciplinary team to review and develop clinical guidelines, to support staff learning and competency. This includes ensuring that training and resources are regularly updated to reflect current best practices.

Knowledge & Research: Staying up-to-date with current research is essential to my role. I engage in learning opportunities to expand my expertise, so I can provide the highest standard of care, based on the latest evidence-based practices. This allows me to guide the team effectively and implement best practices within the Neonatal Unit.

Training Records & Skill Allocation: I maintain databases and accurate records of all training, ensuring equitable support for staff development. I ensure that nurses gain specific competencies so that they can be appropriately allocated to the right patients, ensuring the highest quality of care.

Sourcing & Teaching New Equipment: An integral part of my role involves sourcing new equipment for the unit. I oversee training on how to use this equipment, trial its implementation, and evaluate its effectiveness to improve patient care.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): I have written and reviewed SOPs and quick guides to ensure consistency in practice across neonatal services. These procedures provide clear direction and help ensure safe practice.

Problem-Solving & Troubleshooting: I address a variety of challenges that arise within the unit. I take a proactive approach to problem-solving, ensuring that issues are resolved fast and effectively, while also providing ongoing support to staff.

Staff Support & Communication: Maintaining professional relationships within the team is essential to my role and a key strength of mine is that I am approachable, an excellent communicator, and a good listener, and I try to ensure that staff feel supported in their development. I also maintain strong professional connections both within and outside the organisation. I have also proactively supported staff with capability issues.

Teamwork & Collaborative Working: I work collaboratively to promote a team-based approach to care, ensuring that plans are implemented effectively to achieve desired outcomes. I ensure that team members are managed and supported to deliver high-quality patient care.

Adaptability: During challenging times, I adapted my teaching methods and explored innovative ways to deliver essential training. This dynamic approach ensured staff had continuous access to vital learning resources, even in periods of uncertainty.

The Patient Navigator role at the Office for Rare Conditions was an innovative and unique position designed to support families in the West of Scotland attending the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), Glasgow, who have rare, low prevalence, or undiagnosed conditions. This role provided dedicated, tailored support and guidance to families navigating the complexities of living with a rare condition, ensuring they received the holistic, preventative, and emergent care they required.

Key Responsibilities:

Holistic Care & Needs Assessments: Conducting comprehensive needs assessments for families, and identifying the physical, emotional, and logistical challenges they faced. Delivery of holistic care addressing both immediate and long-term needs, particularly within fragmented care pathways that can often lead to delays in diagnosis or treatment.

Support for Healthcare Professionals & Families: Supporting healthcare professionals and families, acting as a liaison between them to ensure that care was coordinated effectively by helping to bridge gaps in communication and care, ensuring families were fully informed and supported throughout their journey.

Collaboration with Third Sector Organisations: Liaising with various third sector organisations and building a network of resources to support families to improve the patient journey. This helped ensure that families had access to community support and specialised services.

Emotional Support & Advocacy: Providing emotional support to families, who often faced significant uncertainty and stress due to the rarity of their child's condition. Offering a compassionate and understanding presence while advocating for families to help ensure they receive the best possible care.

Care Coordination & Resource Sharing: Working with families to ensure they receive tailored services and resources.

Data Collection, Reporting & Research: Database development, collecting data on patient experiences and outcomes then reporting on data for research, and continuous improvement of services for families with rare conditions.

Health Team Integration & Education: The role was integral to the integration of healthcare teams, facilitating communication and collaboration between specialists and other healthcare providers. Educating healthcare teams and families about rare conditions, increasing awareness, and improving care delivery.

As a senior charge nurse within the Neonatal Unit, I was responsible for ensuring the safe and effective delivery of care, maintaining high standards through staffing management and prioritisation of workloads. I would oversee the team’s daily operations, ensuring that care was always provided in a safe, efficient, and compassionate manner, particularly within the dynamic and evolving environment of the unit.

Key Responsibilities:

Safe Staffing & Time Management: I ensured optimal staffing levels by managing nurse allocation and the movement of patients across the unit. This involved careful planning and continuous review to maintain a safe working environment, allowing for the delivery of high-quality care.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration: I worked effectively within the multidisciplinary team, ensuring smooth communication and collaboration between medical, nursing, and allied health staff. This facilitated prompt decision-making and patient management, ensuring effective, safe patient care.

Patient & Family Support: I was consistently visible and approachable to families, ensuring they felt supported and informed throughout their care journey whilst creating a supportive environment for staff and students.

Leadership & Staff Development: I played an essential role in supporting both staff and students, guiding their development through mentorship and promoting a culture of continuous learning. I encouraged teamwork and provided direction during challenging situations to ensure that everyone felt supported and respected.

Quality Improvement & Patient Safety: I actively contributed to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme and was involved in leading quality improvement initiatives, using PDSA cycles and constant review. This allowed me to continuously assess and improve the effectiveness of care processes.

Decision Making & Reporting: I took full responsibility for reporting during daily huddles, where I would assess the safety and effectiveness of staffing, patient movement, and care delivery across the health board. I used professional judgment, while also respecting the perspectives and expertise of other team members.

Staff recruitment and HR: In this role I also participated in the recruitment of new staff, development, and support of staff into new roles and supported staff with return to work, work related issues and personal support.

As part of the initiative to support the attainment of UNICEF status across the Neonatal Units within the GG & C Health Board, I had a role in developing a new position aimed at ensuring the delivery of high-quality infant feeding support for families. This role was to help the health board achieve and maintain UNICEF standards for infant feeding and family support.



Key Responsibilities:

Development of New Role: Assessment of the service’s needs in alignment with UNICEF’s standards and identifying and implementing a service to support this.

Supporting Nurses & Midwives: I worked closely with nurses and midwives, guiding them to develop and maintain the skills required to offer advice and support to families regarding infant feeding. I ensured that staff had access to ongoing training, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to provide high-quality care that aligns with UNICEF's Infant Feeding Standards.

Building Professional Relationships: Effective communication and collaboration with colleagues across departments to bring about necessary changes within the neonatal service. This included regular consultations with the multidisciplinary team to ensure that everyone was aligned in supporting families with feeding challenges.

Family Support & Communication: Listening and clear communication to provide the best support for families. I worked directly with families, offering guidance on infant feeding practices and addressing any concerns they had. When necessary, I would facilitate referrals to ensure that families received the correct support.

Multi-disciplinary teamwork: I worked alongside other medical professionals to ensure that the care provided met the individual needs of patients so that the best possible outcomes were achieved for babies and their families.

Guideline Development & Review: I participated in the review and development of new guidelines and documentation to provide clear, evidence-based support for families. These resources were essential in guiding staff in the provision of care and ensuring that the Neonatal Units adhered to the highest standards of infant feeding support.