Wirral Hospice St. John’s

Job Profile: Bereavement Support Coordinator

Band: 6

Responsible to: Patient and Family Support Services Manager

Accountable to: Head of Clinical Services

Job Summary:

This post forms part of the Patient and Family Support Services Team (PFST) which provides emotional, psychological, spiritual and rehabilitative support to hospice patients and their close support networks.

This post holder will

• Coordinate the administration and delivery of Hospice Bereavement Care within the hospice and community settings.

• Provide post bereavement support to family, friends and carers of hospice patients.

• Deliver support in individual, family and groups settings as appropriate.

• Supervise volunteers delivering bereavement care. To coordinate and support the running of volunteer led bereavement groups within the hospice and community setting.

• Work closely with the Hospice Counsellor, Social Worker and Spiritual Care Coordinator in identification of clients and delivery of service.

• Support the PFSTs educational commitments.

Responsibilities of the Post

Clinical / Professional

• To deliver post-bereavement support and advice with individuals and families.

• To engage in anticipatory bereavement work with individuals and families identified by other members of the PFST, where appropriate.

• To provide a supportive approach, which is appropriate to client needs.

• To identify cases appropriate for allocation to bereavement volunteers.

• To train, support and supervise a team of volunteers delivering bereavement care.

• To organise and administer the referral of clients who may need further support from external agencies.

• To maintain working relationships with other external services and ensure effective liaison.

• To work closely with all staff involved in the care of patients and those close to them.

• Attend internal meetings, reports, handovers and reflection sessions as appropriate.

• To participate as an active member of the multidisciplinary hospice team, sharing information and knowledge appropriately to enhance patient care.

• To support the development and delivery of memorial services with the spiritual care coordinator.

• Demonstrate flexibility with regard to reasonable requests to adjust duties and hours worked, including the attendance at the Hospice remembrance services.

• To maintain records on the organisations patient electronic health record to enable continuity of care/support and collection of accurate statistics.

• To discuss fully with service users the privacy settings for their bereavement records.

• To maintain a safe environment for patients their families, students and volunteers.

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.

Managerial / Administrative

In discussion with the PFSS Manager;

• To coordinate refine and develop the systems for the administration for bereavement care, making best use of IT resources and administration support.

• To coordinate and develop the internal and external referral processes for bereavement support.

• To support the development and administration of bereavement volunteer’s activities.

• To provide case load supervision and management of the bereavement volunteers.

• To engage in the bereavement and psychosocial training of hospice staff and volunteers and the wider hospice community as requested.

• To support the development and implementation of relevant policies and the identification of service priorities and opportunities.

• To engage in the processes for quality assurance, evaluation, audit and research within the hospice.

• Work within the agreed policies, procedures and guidelines identified by the hospice.

Professional Development

• To be responsible for own professional development

• To engaged in regular supervision in line with professional bodies guidelines (HCPC, BACP UKPT)

• To engage in regular managerial supervision with PFSS Manager.

• To complete organisational mandatory training requirements and appraisal processes.

• Attend training courses/conferences to support professional and service development.

• Be responsible for maintaining own professional registration/s.

This Job Profile may be developed or modified as necessary and in consultation with the post holder. The duties of the post may change from time to time and other duties may be undertaken which are consistent with the overall role and grade of the post.

Wirral Hospice St. Johns Person Specification: Bereavement Support Coordinator

Requirements	Essential	Desirable
EducationandQualifications	Degree (level 6) or Diploma (level 5)qualification.Level 4 Counselling diploma or aboveand 1 year qualified counsellingexperience, and either accredited orworking towards BACPProfessional RegistrationEvidence of post-qualification professionaldevelopment	Advanced communicationskills training.Counselling skills trainingSupervisory experienceBACP / UKCP Registeredmember
Knowledge	Knowledge of theories of loss grief andbereavement and the ability to apply themtherapeutically in work with adults.Understanding of common challengesfaced by those who are bereaved.Demonstrable understanding of end of lifecare issues	Knowledge of theories ofloss grief and bereavementand the ability to applythem therapeutically inwork with families and orchildren.Understanding of servicedevelopment.
Experience	Experience of providing emotional supportto those experiencing loss.Experience of working with adults andfamilies.Experience of working with groups.Experience of managing and supportingvolunteers or staff.	Experience of workingwithin a health setting.Experience of working inend of life care orbereavement.Experience of trainingvolunteers.Experience of offeringmentoring, coaching orsupervisory support.
Clinical Skills	Ability to;Carry out initial assessment of clients withcomplex loss and or multiple issues, face toface or by phone.Understand complex grief reactions andinterpersonal situationsIdentify and apply suitable support models.To provide bereavement support inindividual and group sessions.Identify and make onward referrals to otherspecialisms when required.Work independently with clients andmanage own case load within policy andtime constraints.To advise and support volunteers with theirindividual case work.

C. Sutcliffe 2018

		Computer skils to enable record keeping
Interpersonal Skills	• skills. advocate.	High quality interpersonal skills in individual, inter-professional situations. High quality interpersonal skills in groups. Excellent organisational and administrative	Skill to work across professional and multi- agency boundaries.
		Excellent communication (written and verbal) and negotiation skil including proven ability to listen, empathise and
		Energy, drive and resilience, ability to implement change. Ability to deal effectively with all types of conflict.