Ms Rachel Watson

Ms Watson qualified as a Registered Children’s Nurse in 1996, and she has worked in both the Hospital and Community settings. In 2018, she completed the Assessing the ill/injured child course at Coventry University. In 2022, Ms Watson graduated from Birmingham City University with a BSc (Hons) Nurse Specialist Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) degree and a Community Practitioner Nurse Prescriber Qualification. Ms Watson has worked on a general medical and surgical children’s ward as a Staff Nurse and as a Community Children’s Nurse, School Health Nurse, and Health Visitor. Ms Watson has worked within various establishments gaining valuable experience within her Nursing roles. She has been involved in delivering the national school based vaccination programme including influenza, HPV, Men ACWY and teenage booster, as an immunisation Nurse and undertaking developmental and health assessments of babies and children, following the Healthy Child Programme as a School Health Nurse and a Health Visitor. She specialises in carrying a caseload of babies and children with significant safeguarding concerns, in her current position as a Strengthening Families Health Visitor and working in partnership with children and families, the multidisciplinary team, Social Care and Education Staff.

Ms Watson is passionate about safeguarding and working with the most complex of families in both the Community and Hospital setting and has gained clinical skills from her role as a Staff Nurse and a Community Children’s Nurse, in particular with administering medication and nursing procedures. She is competent in Oxygen therapy, Nasogastric and Gastrostomy tube, central venous line and tracheostomy care, suctioning, catheterisation, end of life care, aseptic techniques, wound care, and medicine administration. She is competent in writing Child Protection and court reports and has an extensive knowledge of Children’s medical conditions and child development.

Ms Watson is a mentor and assessor and supervises and manages staff in her present role. As a School Health Nurse, she ran awareness sessions for education staff on anaphylaxis and EpiPens, epilepsy and asthma and has trained and supported parents and carers with their child’s nursing needs.

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Ms Watson has mentored and assessed Children’s Nurses and been their Preceptor, throughout her career, passing on her knowledge and skills. She presently carries out caseload supervision with Public Health Nurses and Health Visitors.