Evolution of a youth work service in hospital.

Youth workers are based predominantly in the community and use a range of informal educational activities to help young people between the ages of 11 and 25 cultivate their personal and social development. The supraregional paediatric nephrology unit at Nottingham City Hospital successfully evaluated the role of a youth worker, funded by a national renal charity, and secured long-term funding for the post in 2000 (Hilton et al 2004, Watson 2004). This article describes the evolution of the youth service over a decade, following the amalgamation of two children's units into one site and the creation of a unified youth service for the Nottingham Children's Hospital in 2008.

A renal critical care educator: the interface between paediatric intensive care and nephrology.

This paper describes the new role of a renal critical care educator who is based in a regional paediatric renal unit 'outreaching' to three paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) within the region. For the first 18 months the objectives of training PICU staff in all aspects of haemofiltration has progressed in all units using flexible training programs which are under constant evaluation using questionnaires. The renal critical care educator has also worked alongside staff whilst continuous veno-venous haemofiltration (CVVH) is being performed to further instill confidence.