Healthcare Assistant – Home Nursing Services

Job Description

Job Title:

Healthcare Assistant – Home Nursing Services

Tenure:

Annualised

Base:

Workington Community Hospital / Cleator Moor

Responsible to:

Home Nursing Services Team Leader

Salary:

Annualised hours
£12.21 per hour, plus an unsociable hours uplift of £2.16 (day) and
£3.73 (night)

Hours:

Various hours available

JOB SUMMARY:

The role of the Healthcare Assistant is to work largely without supervision on a one to one
basis with patients, families and carers. This includes the provision of practical nursing care,
emotional,  social  and  psychological  support  to  individuals  with  palliative  care  needs,  their
families and carers.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST:

Key Responsibilities of the job

  Understands that any care and support provided within palliative and end of life care
complies with best practice and regulatory requirements and is up to date with
changing policies and practices to ensure that essential standards of quality and
safety are maintained.

  Undertakes and observes the Hospice at Home West Cumbria Initial Home

Assessment, recognising when to inform the team lead / senior hospice nurse or out
of hours on call of any situations which may pose a risk or threat to colleagues,
patient or family.

  Provides  direct  nursing  care  aligned  to  individualised  care  plans  to  patients  with

palliative care needs and those who are approaching end of life.

  Undertakes  continued  assessment  of  the  patient  during  the  episode  of  care  and
recognises  and  responds  to  any  change  in  the  patient’s  condition.  This  includes
seeking  additional advice  and  support  from  out  of  hour  professionals  in  relation  to
direct patient care and management.

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  Assists with ‘last offices’ as and when needed.

  Provides  families  and  carers  with  emotional  and  psychological  support,  effectively
communicating  information  to  improve  their  end-of-life  management  and  the
bereavement experience of those important to them.

  Attends and participate in supervision and de-briefings for patients, families and

carers alongside other health and social care professionals on an as required basis
and as part of maintaining own resilience and wellbeing.

  Produces documentation of the care given which complies with documentation
standards and is legible, traceable, permanent, contemporaneously recorded,
original and accurate.

  Works as a member of the wider hospice and organisational teams and to participate
and support the induction of new staff. To build positive relationships internally and
externally including peers and local health care professionals.

Personal Development:
  To be committed to personal and professional development and complete mandatory

and statutory training as required. To set challenging goals through the appraisal process
to ensure the effective delivery of personal objectives.

  To keep updated with current policies and procedures, as well as external trends and

developments.

General
  To ensure that personal conduct, ways of working and work activities are always aligned

to the Hospice’s purpose and values.



In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection
Regulations, to ensure the maintenance of confidentiality in respect of staff, volunteer
and client records and all privileged information relating to the services of the Charity,
its patients, staff and volunteers and particularly of the area for which directly
responsible.

  To promote and foster the Hospice’s reputation and standing within the community and

with private, statutory and voluntary sector agencies and organisations.

  To adhere to the Health and Safety policy and report all accidents, incidents or near

misses promptly and when requested to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.

  To be aware of obligations and to abide by the spirit and nature of the Equal

Opportunities policy to avoid direct and indirect discrimination.

  To undertake any other duties which may be reasonably required.

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Practical
Knowledge and
Qualifications

Skills and
Competencies

Experience

Person Specification
Healthcare Assistant (Annualised)

Qualities Required

NVQ Level 2 – Health and Social Care
NVQ Level 3 – Health and Social Care
Skills for Life Certificate
Demonstrable clinical competence in palliative care or a
willingness to undertake additional training
Awareness of Hospice at Home West Cumbria and care
services
Ability to communicate and transfer information
effectively with patients, families, carers and other
health care professionals
Ability to work in isolation without direct supervision for
the provision of clinical care, including catheter care,
pressure care, simple dressings and other activities of
daily living
IT skills with a working knowledge of Office applications
and a willingness to develop competencies within
organisational and EMIS clinical systems
Ability to work as a member of a team and to build
positive relationships internally and externally
Ability to cope with constantly changing situations to
achieve the best outcomes for patients, carers or family
members
Ability to empathise and understand the needs of
others, to handle conflict to de-escalate challenging
situations and ability to recognise self needs to
maximise resilience

Flexibility during times of change to support new ways
of working and to respond to changing working patterns
over a 24 hour period, 7 days a week
Ability to travel across the geographical area covered
by the post to attend meetings or undertake training
(face to face or remote)

Experience of providing palliative care in a variety of
settings
Experience of working in the community i.e., patients’
own home
Experience of working in isolation with an awareness of
associated risks

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