Service Community Children’s Nursing Service

Service overview

Our Community Children’s Nurses (CCNs) provide expert nursing care, support, and advice for children and young people outside of hospital, like at home or in the local area.

We support a wide range of health needs, including:

  • Complex medical and nursing needs.
  • Physical and learning disabilities.
  • Life-limiting, long-term, or life-threatening conditions.
  • Acute or short-term conditions (West Berkshire only).
  • End-of-life care.

We offer a range of support, including:

  • Home and school visits to assess and manage nursing need.
  • Training for parents and carers to confidently care for their child at home.
  • Help to reduce hospital visits, allowing children stay in familiar environments.
  • Joined-up care through close working with other professionals involved in the child’s health and wellbeing.

Accessing our service

Our Children's Community Nursing (CCN) Service supports children and young people from birth up to 18 years old.

Referrals can only be made by health professionals. Parents and carers are not able to refer directly. To access the service, children must be registered with a GP in Berkshire.

In the west (covering Reading, Wokingham, and West Berkshire), we support children with either acute or long-term nursing needs. In the east (covering Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead, and Bracknell Forest), children must have a nursing need along with either a diagnosed learning disability or a long-term complex medical condition.

We aim to respond to referrals as quickly as possible. Urgent referrals are reviewed within two working days, and those for end-of-life care are prioritised and responded to on the same working day. Routine referrals are acknowledged within five working days.

Preparing for an assessment

Your assessment will be arranged between your family and your named Community Children’s Nurse (CCN) at a time and place that works best for you. Most assessments happen at home, with the child or young person, along with their parent, carer, or legal guardian.

If your child is still in hospital and a referral has been made to support their discharge, the CCN may visit the ward to meet you both in person.

During the visit, your CCN will chat with you and your child about their health, home, and school environment. We’ll also do a few simple health checks like weight, heart rate, and temperature.

The whole appointment usually takes about an hour, depending on your child’s needs.

You don’t need to do anything special before we visit. But if you can, it’s helpful to have a list of any medicines your child is taking, share the names of professionals already involved in their care, and note down any questions you’d like to ask. This helps us understand your child’s needs and make the most of our time together.

Managing your health

Patient appointment

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Contact us and FAQs

Community Children’s Nursing Service (West)

Contact number: 0118 378 3932

Email: ChildrensCommunityNursingWest@berkshire.nhs.uk Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (bank holidays 9am to 5pm)

Community Children’s Nursing Service (East)

Contact number: 0300 365 0123 Option 4

Email: ccneast@berkshire.nhs.uk Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Frequently asked questions

What happens if my child needs to use a medical device?

If your child requires the use of any medical devices, the Community Children’s Nursing Service will provide you with information and advice as soon as the device is received.

What happens if I need out-of-hours support?

TBC

How to access supplies such as milk?

TBC

We can also help you with

Is there any information for friends, family and carers?

If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.  

How do I request an interpreter?

We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.

Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.

We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:

  • telephone interpreting
  • video remote interpreting (VRI)
  • face‑to‑face interpreting
  • written translation
  • British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting
How can I get information in an accessible format?

Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.

We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:

  • British Sign Language (BSL)
  • large print
  • braille
  • audio
  • easy Read
  • email
  • text message
  • face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present

If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.

Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?

Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.

These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.

To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.

Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.

Treating our team with respect.

Respect is important.

We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.

Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.

We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.

This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.

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