As Auckland is the only tertiary centre with a paediatric cardiac service, access to acute care involves separation from home and local supports for many families. Particularly, children with complex cardiac conditions face multiple admissions to Auckland for surgery/ interventions. With advances in technology and skill, an increasing number of cardiac defects are identified antenatally. Improving long term survival and outcomes for children with cardiac conditions means that there are increasing numbers of children and their families living with cardiac conditions in the community. There is a need for specialised support for these families and the health services who care for them in their local communities.

The relatively small size of the service, increasing patient population and distances involved pose challenges, and the Nurse Specialist role is significant in addressing the needs of families within these constraints. The Paediatric Cardiac Nurse Specialists maintain a constant link with families from diagnosis through to the community, often over years. This constant link provides support, education and access to other resources as necessary.

Paediatric Cardiac Nurse Specialists help families navigate the often complex systems and resources involved across different services and work closely with local health services as a resource/ liaison. They participate in and/or coordinate several initiatives aimed to meet the complex needs of these families: involvement in fetal counselling and support, a home INR program for children requiring long term warfarin, Home Monitoring for single ventricle, inter-stage infants (adapted from an American initiative) are some examples.