Day Services Palliative Care Support Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose:In and across all areas of St Michaels provision of Care.To deliver individualised, holistic palliative nursing care to patients and their familiesin their own homes/inpatient care settingto enhance their quality of life.

Care Provision

• Provideindividualisedcareto the patient and family membersunder the delegated direction of registered nurses, following care plansand risk assessment.

• Followingappropriate trainingto undertake a range of clinical care interventions e.g. stoma care.

• Develop and utilise skills in decision-making to enhance patient care, working in an autonomous environment, where appropriate

• Perform simple dressing changes following care plan

• Contribute to clinical and health and safety risk assessments.

• Using discretion and judgement inemergency situation.

• Escalatechanges in condition of patients/relatives to thenurseon duty.

• Provide emotional/psychological support to the patient and their family,identifyingreferrals to the wider hospice services.

• Ensure patients privacy and dignity aremaintainedat all times.Maintaina safe environmentfor both patients and staff

• Provide final care for the deceased patient

• Understand the complications/harm e.g. falls, pressure soresetc.that can be caused by patient immobility and contribute to the prevention of such complications.

• Helping with food preparation, ensuring dietary needs are meetandhelping to feed patients whenindicated.

• Providemedication managementup to and includingtier 3, working within your ownpersonal competency

• Be aware of theindicationsfor use of syringe drivers

• Responsible for thetimelydisposaland documentation of clinical waste and laundry,appropriate tocare setting

Communication

• • Createand promotea positive image for the organisation.

  • Encourage patients/relatives/carers to express what is important to them toidentifytheir needs, ensure that this information is recorded and informs the care plan.

  • Communicate in a professional and effective manner, with an open and honest approachwith internal and external health care professionals, patients,relativesand carers.

  • Recognise own limitations when offering emotional support.

  • Contribute to the bereavement care offered to families, reporting any vulnerabilities to the registered nurse.

  • Maintainpatientconfidentiality at all times.

  • Promote awareness of childand adultprotection issues and hospice policy.

  • Be a team player, following guidelines and policies.

  • Keepaccuraterecords of the care provided.

  • Working inter-professionally within the organisation.

  • Provide volunteers with informationto enable them to giveappropriate careto patients and their visitors.

  • Encourage user feedback

  Health and Safety

  • Actat all timesto promote the safety and wellbeing ofpatients, relatives/carers,visitorsand volunteers

  • Be aware of patients that are at risk e.g. of falling and ways to prevent falls.

  • Contribute to health and safety risk assessments and actions asrequired.

  • Follow the incident reporting process.

  • Follow policies of dress code to enable safe practice andensureinfection controlis adhered too.

  • Ensurethe environmentis free from hazards and all nursing equipment is clean, in good working order,safetyand appropriatelyused and stored

  • Safe storage and use of hazardous substances according to COSHH(Control of Substances Hazardous to Health)regulations.

  • Report faulty equipment to the facilities team using the WAM system

  • Adhere toall ofSMH policies and procedures

  Education

  • Attend mandatory training and service training opportunities.

  • Develop andmaintainown knowledge and skills in palliative care.

  • Undertake an appraisal and personal development review annually; considering aspirations for the future with a long-term goal; utilising education facilities offered at the hospice to enhance learning opportunities.

  • Act as amentor androle model tonew staffmembers.

Person Specification

General Requirements

Essential

• Please refer to job description above

Desirable

• Please refer to job description above

Qualifications

Desirable

• Care Certificate
• NVQ Level 3 in care or equivalent

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivering hands on care.
• Experience of dealing with challenging situations
• Basic IT skills
• Dependant on care setting, be in possession of a full UK driving licence, be over 21 and have held a full licence for 12 months.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering hands on care for people requiring palliative care

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

St Michael’s Hospice

Address

St Michael's Hospice

Hereford

HR1 4HA

Employer's website

https://www.st-michaels-hospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)