WIRRAL HOSPICE ST JOHN'S
Wirral
Full-time
Job Profile
Health Care Assistant - Hospice at Home Support Visits – Days and nights
rotational post.
Band 2
Job Information
Job Title
Hospice Pay Band
Job Summary
The post holder will:
Provide Hospice at Home services intended to support patients in their own homes in the last
12 months of life with support visits, day and night sits, in the patient’s home under the
direction of a registered nurse.
To support additional Community Services – delivered by the hospice multi professional team
as requested. To work on the hospice inpatient unit when service needs require this.
Working over 7 days a week, through combination of days and nights in hospice at home. Day
shifts being 7 ½ hours nights being 11 hours.
Key Responsibilities
Clinical
• To undertake a broad range of general caring activities and duties relating to the support
of patients in the last 12 months of life, usually in their own homes following care plans
set out by the nursing team.
• Provide emotional and practical support to patients, carers and family members
• Upholding all infection prevention and control requirements
• Carry out support visits face-to-face and provide feedback to nurses when appropriate.
• Recognise changes in patients’ conditions and act appropriately – follow guidance and
report to appropriate health practitioners.
• Work in accordance with the Hospice at Homes processes/systems /guidelines and as
defined by the Hospice at Home health practitioner, with minimum direct supervision.
• To develop positive relationships with patients and families, observing professional
boundaries
• Establish and maintain effective communications with patients, carers and health
professionals
• Offer basic support /contact family members/ carers after a patient’s death, when
appropriate in a professional manner.
• Work in collaboration with your colleagues to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe
•
and compassionate healthcare.
In line with Hospice policies on patient documentation, update patient records ensuring
entries are accurate, relevant and contemporaneous.
• Give the patient and family member information leaflets and written communication as
directed by line manager
• To keep a record of mileage and submit monthly for payments
Training & Professional Development
• To engage in team meetings and safety huddles/handovers.
• To engage in team reflective practice opportunities.
• To engage in annual appraisal process including identifying learning needs and
development opportunities.
• Completing hospice mandatory training within required time frames through required
medium e.g. face to face, electronically.
• Attend relevant training as identified by line manager or through appraisal process.
Provide support to new Healthcare Assistants and Volunteers.
General
Wirral Hospice St John’s has a responsibility to ensure that all children / young people and
adults are adequately safeguarded and protected and that “Safeguarding is Everyone’s’
Business”. As a consequence, all staff are required to adhere to national and local
safeguarding policies / procedures and to act upon any concerns in accordance with them.
To be aware of the confidential aspects of the post. To keep up to date with the requirements
of information governance, undertake mandatory training and follow Hospice policies and
procedures to ensure that hospice information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and
effectively. Breaches of confidentiality will result in disciplinary action, which may involve
dismissal. You must maintain the confidentiality of information about service users, staff and
organizational business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Caldicott
principles.
This job description is not intended to be an exhausting list of duties, but it aims to highlight the
typical main responsibilities for the post. It may be reviewed from time to time to ensure that it
relates to the job being performed, or to incorporate whatever changes are being proposed. This
procedure will be conducted in consultation with the post holder. You will, therefore be
expected to participate fully in such discussions. It is the organisations’ aim to reach agreement
to reasonable changes, but if agreement is not possible the Hospice reserves the right to insist
on changes to your job description, but only after the above-described process of consultation
with you
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Driving Licence/Use of Own Vehicle:
As driving forms part of your duties, it is an express condition of your employment with the
Hospice that: -
• You have your own vehicle and use it to undertake your duties; and
• You hold and continue to hold a valid driving licence of the relevant class at all times.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your own vehicle is properly insured to cover your duties,
covered by a valid MOT certificate and always has a valid road tax. You must provide a copy of
the insurance certificate to the Facilities Department.
You must produce your licence for inspection upon request and ensure that you take all
necessary steps to continue to hold the licence.
If you lose your licence for any reason, you must notify your manager immediately. If you lose
your driving licence and are unable to make alternative arrangements to fulfil your duties which
are satisfactory to the Hospice your continued employment may be at risk.
The Hospice will reimburse you in respect of fuel costs for business miles at the Hospice’s
business mileage rate. This is paid in line with Wirral Hospice St John’s Employee Benefits
Policy.
Organisational Philosophy of Care, Purpose and Values
Wirral Hospice St John’s aims to offer care and support for patients and their families living with
a life limiting illness based around what is important to them. It endeavours to meet the holistic
needs of our patients – physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs and support their
loved ones and carers without discrimination.
Wirral Hospice St John’s CARES
So that we can deliver on our Philosophy of Care and Purpose the Hospice has developed the
following Values which we uphold in all that we do.
Compassionate:
To care for and support patients, families, colleagues and the wider
community with compassion and understanding
Accountable:
To be accountable for our own actions and decisions, and to hold each
other to account
Respectful:
To treat others with respect throughout all interactions, acknowledging
and considering differing opinions.
Equitable:
Sustainable:
To act in an equitable manner for all, ensuring that individual needs are
considered and supported
To manage our resources efficiently, optimising use and value, whilst
minimising waste
Safeguarding
Wirral Hospice St John’s has a responsibility to ensure that all children/young people and adults
are adequately safeguarded and protected and that “Safeguarding is Everyone’s Business”.
Therefore, all staff are required to adhere to national and local safeguarding policies/procedures
and to act upon any concerns in accordance with them.
Equality and Diversity
Wirral Hospice St John’s has given its full commitment to the adoption and promotion of the key
principles of equality and diversity of equal opportunities contained within current legislation
and the Wirral Hospice St John’s Equality Policy.
Health and Safety
It is the duty of every employee to work in such a way that accidents to themselves and to others
are avoided, and to co-operate in maintaining their place of work in a tidy and safe condition,
thereby minimising risk. Employees will, therefore, refer any matters of concern through their
line manager. Similarly, it is each person’s responsibility to ensure a secure environment and
bring any breaches of security to the attention of their manager.
Confidentiality
During your duties you will have access to confidential material about patients, members of staff
or other hospice business. On no account must information relating to identifiable patients be
divulged to anyone other than those authorised persons, for example, medical, nursing or other
professional staff, as appropriate, who are concerned directly with the care, diagnosis and
or/treatment of the patient. If you are in any doubt whatsoever as to the authority of a person or
body asking for information of this nature, you must seek advice from your manager. Similarly,
no information of a personal or confidential nature concerning individual members of staff
should be divulged to anyone without the proper authority having first been given.
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
Wirral Hospice St John’s is required to process personal data relating to its employees, including
‘special categories of personal data’, as defined in the General Data Protection Regulations 2018
(the ‘Act’)
All such data will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the relevant
hospice’s policies. For the purposes of the Act, the term ‘processing’ includes the initial
collection of personal data, the holding and use of such data, as well as access and disclosure,
through to final destruction.
Other
This job description is intended to provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities of this
post, it is not exhaustive and may be modified and developed periodically following discussions
between the post holder and the relevant line manager.
Job Title: Health Care Assistant H@H visits
Hospice Pay Band: Band 2
Reports to: Team Leader
Responsible to: Clinical Manager
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
Essential
Desirable
• NVQ 2 in Health and Social
Care or equivalent Care
Certificate
• NVQ Level 2 in Health and
Social Care or equivalent
Care Certificate
Evidence
Application
Experience& attainments
• 6 months Support worker or
• Previous support worker/HCA
Application and Interview
health care assistant.
• Ability to use a range of IT
systems including electronic
patient records.
experience
• Understanding of life limiting
conditions for patients and families
• Understand information
Governance/use of patient
information
• Previous experience of lone
working
• Experience with Microsoft Outlook
and emails.
• Word processing/Microsoft Word
Clinical Skills
• Customer facing experience
• Have a keen eye for detail and
the ability to manage a wide
range of activities and changing
priorities
• Good organisation skills and
ability to work responsively
• Have a flexible approach
Application and Interview
Interpersonal skills
Other
• Ability to recognise risk and
highlight concerns
• Good Communication Skills
• Ability to work well as a member
of a team
• Ability to communication with a
wide range of people including
professionals and service users.
• Demonstration of compassion
and kindness
• Energy, drive and resilience,
ability to work within a changing
environment.
• Commitment to work unsocial
hours
• Driving licence and access to a
car
Application and Interview