Children’s Community Nursing Service

Community children’s nurses will support your child at home or another setting in the local community. The team will administer intravenous medication, provide nursing support to children who are dependent on technology. For example, they are tube fed or have a tracheostomy.

They also provide support for children with complex and life limiting conditions and end of life care in collaboration with other community facing services. Their aim is to prevent or reduce the amount of time your child needs to spend in hospital. To help you and your child, they will provide information, resources and support to help your child be as independent as possible. They will work with you and the other health staff and organisations who support your child’s health and wellbeing.

Contact the Children’s Community Nursing Service

Available Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.

Referrals

Call the team on 01872 246 956 and ask to speak to the triage nurse for the day. Referrals can be accepted from any professional involved with the child or young person.

Paediatric epilepsy nurse specialist service

The paediatric epilepsy nurse specialist service help those that have recurrent seizures that start in the brain.

Epilepsy

There are around 40 types of seizures and a person can have more than 1 type of seizure. Epilepsy can affect anyone, at any age and from any walk of life.

Over 400,000 people in the UK have epilepsy and about 50 million worldwide and approximately 65,000 children in the UK have a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition which is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.

What is epilepsy

  • Epilepsy is the tendency to have recurrent seizures that start in the brain.
  • The brain uses electrical signals passing between neurones to send messages. Our brain is the ‘control centre.
  • Interruption to these messages or a build up of electrical signals can lead to a seizure.
  • What an individual experiences during a seizure will depend on where in the brain the epileptic activity begins and how widely and rapidly it spreads.

Treatment of epilepsy

  • First line treatment for epilepsy is anti-epileptic medication.
  • Anti-epileptic drugs are prescribed to stop seizures occurring. They are not a cure for epilepsy.
  • There are over 20 different medications, which come in tablets, capsules, liquids, syrups, sprinkles.
  • Other treatments include vagus nerve stimulation, ketogenic diet, surgery and complimentary medicine.

Availability

The paediatric epilepsy nurse specialist service is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Existing referrals and enquiries

Children’s Services Care Management Centre, Truro Health Park, Infirmary Hill, Truro TR1 2JA

Professional referrals

Short Break Service

The Short Break Service gives short breaks or respite to families who have a child with a learning disability and physical health needs. These breaks are provided from homes called Gwyn Dowr, Layland and Roston.

Gwyn Dowr

Higher Pengegon, Camborne, TR14 7TZ. Call 01209 881 881.

A large detached house in a quiet residential area of Camborne. Our leaflets for parents and children provide more information.

Layland

Old Road, Liskeard, PL14 6DJ. Call 01579 373 616 or email the Layland unit.

A large detached bungalow in a quiet residential part of Liskeard. It can support up to 4 children at a time. Read our leaflet for parents and children for more information.

The short break service is available to children and young people aged between 3 and 18.

Roston

Crane, Camborne, TR14 7PW. Call 01209 881 848.

Also in Camborne, Roston is a large detached bungalow in a quiet residential area close to the shops and local amenities. Our leaflets for parents and children provide more information on what to expect when staying at Roston.

Special school nurses

About the Special School Nursing service

The special school nursing service is part of the NHS. The team enables children and young people in Cornwall with learning disabilities and complex medical needs to safely access education.

Who is this service for?

Children and young people aged between 3 and 19 years who are attending one of the 3 special educational needs schools below.

What do we do?

We work in partnership with children, parents, carers and the education team to enable pupils to meet their full potential. We work extensively with external agencies including social care and wider health provisions.

School contacts

Each of the 3 special schools has a designated school nurse.

The team occasionally go off site for meetings, home visits or training.

There will be strategies in place to ensure daily school life can continue for the pupils when we are not available.

A limited service is provided during the school holidays.

Referral information

You will be referred to our service through a children’s community nurse.

Resources

Youth justice specialist nurses

The Youth Justice service is a multi-disciplinary team of staff from social care, health, education, housing, police, probation, and drugs and alcohol services. Its aim is to identify the specific issues that may be influencing the child or young person’s behaviour using a trauma-informed approach. The service then offers a suitable intervention that aims to meet the young person’s needs and reduces the likelihood of them getting in to further trouble.

Youth justice specialist nurses work alongside the Youth Justice service to reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes. They are a small team of qualified specialist community public health nurses. Their role is to ensure that the physical and emotional health needs of young people who are working with the service are identified and addressed through appropriate health services.

The team will refer any child or young person for whom they identify unmet health issues, to the youth justice specialist nurses. The nurses will then undertake a holistic health assessment and will offer advice and support where appropriate or may act as an advocate for young people to assist them to access the health services that they require.

Who is the service for?

Children and young people aged between 10 and 18 years of age who are within the youth justice system.

For more information call Jo Staves, Lead Youth Justice Specialist Nurse, on 01872 326 782.

Useful resources