Children’s Community Nursing Team (CCN)

The Children's Community Nursing Team (CCN Team) provides clinical nursing care for children and young people with complex and ongoing clinical health needs in the community. The team cares for children and young people between the ages of 0 – 18 years who would need to return to hospital or their GP for their health care needs. The service is managed and delivered by nursing staff who have a registered sick children’s qualification and who have received additional and ongoing training specifically to care for sick and unwell children and young people, including palliative care and end of life symptom management.

The service operates in partnership with children and their families/carers to promote hospital avoidance, unnecessary hospital admission and facilitation of early discharge. This is encouraged by teaching and supporting children and young people and their families to manage their conditions at home where possible. 

Where the service is based

Children are predominantly visited within their own homes but may be seen at Southend Hospital children’s ward, children’s centres and schools or nurseries.

The service has an administrator based at Rayleigh Clinic.

How to contact the service

Monday to Friday including bank holidays - 08:30-18:30

The administration telephone line is staffed from 9:00-15:00 Monday to Friday, with 24-hour voicemail facility.

Outside of these hours the service operates a triage line seven days a week, 365 days a year for urgent enquiries.

Children’s Community Nursing Team Administration Assistant: 0344 257 3956
Triage mobile: 07966 792396, please leave a message and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
Children’s Community Nursing Team email: epunft.ccn@nhs.net

Please ask for a referral from one of the following:

• multidisciplinary team
• health professionals providing care to the child, including consultants, clinical nurse specialists, GP's and health visitors

Referrals are also accepted from families who have previously been seen by a PCN and discharged.

Referral criteria

Referrals are accepted for children and young people who:

• have a clinical health need requiring nursing support/intervention
• under 18 years of age or under 19 years with a complex disabilities and remains under the care of a consultant paediatrician
• child lives within south east Essex and registered with a south east Essex GP
• the child attends school within south east Essex but lives out of area (provision dependant on need, liaison, medical responsibility)

The child is resident within south east Essex for short periods: shared parental responsibility, on vacation (provision dependant on need, liaison, and medical responsibility).