Respiratory Support Service: The role of the Clinical Nurse Consultant

The Respiratory Support Service (also known as Sleep Medicine) at the Children’s Hospital provides medical and nursing care for children who need for machines to help with breathing &/or oxygen. These machines and treatments are generally required during the night time sleep but some children require them in the daytime too. This might be when the child is asleep, long or short term use, or while they wait to have surgery.

During your contact with the Respiratory Support Service (RSS) you will meet different staff.  The RSS team is a team of people who work together and specialise in delivering a high level of support and care for patients and families who need these forms of treatment. Each team member has special area of knowledge.

A member of the team that you will have ongoing contact with is the Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC). The CNC works with the other health professionals within the hospital team to start respiratory support therapy and develop and manage your child’s care whilst they are a patient in hospital and after they are discharged home.

The CNC:

• Educates you and other family members about caring for your child’s special needs.
• Checks that other staff in the hospital understand what your child’s care needs for this treatment.  
• Educates other hospital staff about special issues for treatment with respiratory support

The CNC works with you and other staff at the hospital to plan your child’s discharge. In particular, we plan for any support needed once you are all back at home. Things the CNC helps with include:  

• Making sure that you are ready for discharge and that the timing of discharge suits you and your child.
• Helps to organise suitable out-patient appointments after discharge.
• Helps you to hire or purchase equipment your child needs
• Teaching people who work in your child’s community at places like day care or school, how to manage your child’s special needs.
• Provides information to help anyone in your child’s family or community about how to quit smoking. 

To contact the Respiratory Support Service CNC, please call the hospital switchboard on 9845 0000 and ask for them to be paged.