Healthcare Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

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 patients condition. This includes seeking additional advice and support from out of hour professionals in relation to direct patient care and management.
• 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 Hospices 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 Hospices 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.

PERSON SPECIFICATION - Essential (E)/ Desirable (D)

Practical Knowledge and Qualifications

• NVQ Level 2 Health and Social Care(E)
• NVQ Level 3 Health and Social Care(D)
• Skills for Life Certificate(D)
• Demonstrable clinical competence in palliative care or a willingness to undertake additional training(E)
• Awareness of Hospice at Home West Cumbria and care services(D)

Skills and Competencies

• Ability to communicate and transfer information effectively with patients, families, carers and other health care professionals(E)
• Ability to work alone without direct supervision for the provision of personal care, clinical care, including catheter care, pressure care, simple dressings and other activities of daily living(E)
• IT skills with a working knowledge of Office applications and a willingness to develop competencies within organisational and EMIS clinical systems(E)
• Ability to work as a member of a team and to build positive relationships internally and externally(E)
• Ability to cope with constantly changing situations to achieve the best outcomes for patients, carers or family members(E)
• 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(E)
• 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(E)
• Ability to travel across the geographical area covered by the post to attend meetings or undertake training (face to face or remote)(E)

Experience

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

Please note an Enhanced DBS is required for this role

Please refer to job description for full details of the role and responsibilities. Applicants must meet all essential criteria as detailed in the person specification section

For an informal discussion please telephone Rachael McAllister Home Nursing Services Team Leader or Rachael Rooney Home Nursing Services Deputy Team Leader on 01900 705200.

For an application form and application pack please go to our website at www.hospiceathomewestcumbria.org.ukor emailhr@hhwc.org.uk

Closing Date: 10:00a.m. Monday 5th January 2026

Interview Date: Monday 19th January 2026

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 2 Health and Social Care (E)
• Demonstrable clinical competence in palliative care or a willingness to undertake additional training (E)
• Ability to communicate and transfer information effectively with patients, families, carers and other health care professionals (E)
• Ability to work alone without direct supervision for the provision of personal care, clinical care, including catheter care, pressure care, simple dressings and other activities of daily living (E)
• IT skills with a working knowledge of Office applications and a willingness to develop competencies within organisational and EMIS clinical systems (E)
• Ability to work as a member of a team and to build positive relationships internally and externally (E)
• Ability to cope with constantly changing situations to achieve the best outcomes for patients, carers or family members (E)
• 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 (E)
• 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 (E)
• Ability to travel across the geographical area covered by the post to attend meetings or undertake training (face to face or remote) (E)

Desirable

• NVQ Level 3 Health and Social Care (D)
• Skills for Life Certificate (D)
• Awareness of Hospice at Home West Cumbria and care services (D)
• Experience of providing palliative care in a variety of settings (D)
• Experience of working in the community i.e., patients own home (D)
• Experience of working in isolation with an awareness of associated risks (D)

Experience

Essential

• NVQ Level 2 Health and Social Care (E)
• Applicants must meet all essential criteria as detailed in the person specification section

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Hospice At Home West Cumbria

Address

Park Lane

Workington

Cumbria

CA14 2RW

Employer's website

https://www.hospiceathomewestcumbria.org.uk (Opens in a new tab)