Janet Dickins

I qualified as a paediatric staff nurse in September 2000 and started my career at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. I worked on the orthopaedic surgery ward, the burns ward and on the Post-Anaesthetic Critical Care Unit where I gained a huge amount of airway experience over four years.

Working on the sleep unit has allowed me to gain so much experience and knowledge regarding sleep issues and the effects the lack of sleep has on the body. I learnt how to set up sleep studies and look for signs on the study that indicated that there was a physical problem. I became familiar with certain conditions / syndromes that could cause problems related to sleep and respiratory problems. The experience and knowledge I have gained on the sleep unit has given me so much confidence to be able to transfer my skills and help and support families that are struggling with a child with sleep problems.

My job involves assessing the child in the nurse-led sleep clinics along with their immediate family. After I have collected all the information I then diagnose the problem and put a plan in to place to help the family deal with the sleep issues. I implement a sleep routine for the child, which they follow along with any other advice / techniques to help the child to initiate and maintain sleep. Once the family have the tools to be able to put in to practice the new sleep routine, I continue to help and support the family alongside the sleep practitioners and evaluate their progress along the way.