Job responsibilities
1.Communication and Relationship skills
a)Verbal information sharing, within the Home Treatment Team or the wider Multi- Disciplinary Team, which includes Primary Care.
b)Receive referrals to Home Treatment Team in the absence of qualified staff.
c)Ability to communicate clearly and effectively over the telephone within the boundaries of confidentiality.
d)Maintain accurate, timely electronic records. Ensure they are kept safely in accordance with Livewell Southwest (LWS) policies, including the Data Protection Act and the LWS Confidentiality Policy.
e)Assist in preparation of standard letters.
f)The post holder demonstrates a positive attitude to mental health attending to patients with respect and courtesy.
g)The post holder will ensure that professional boundaries are always adhered to.
h)Collaborating in completion of CPA and System one documentation under supervision of a qualified staff ensuring all entries are countersigned in accordance with LWS Record Keeping Policy
i)Has confidence to communicate with people who are experiencing mental health difficulties when English is not their first language.
j)Liaise with MDT members and other agencies at the request of qualified staff.
k)Attend handover meetings and be confident to discuss patient care within the Home Treatment Team.
l)Deliver medication in line with LWS policy and local Home Treatment protocol and collect medication from Pharmacies and Glenbourne.
m)Assisting patients in various social activities delegated by the qualified staff and take responsibility for any costs to be reimbursed with the assistance of qualified staff and finance department.
2.Knowledge, Training and Experience
a)The post holder will participate in updating their practice; knowledge and skills within their sphere of practice, under the guidance of qualified staff, including LWS mandatory training and Mental Health essential training e.g. Mental Health Act and Care Programme Approach.
b)Vocational Level 3/NVQ 3 e.g. Certificate in Mental Health at level 3 or equivalent and commitment to further education.
c)Experience of working with people with mental health problems.
d)Experience dealing with a variety of mental health problems in various settings both in the community and in hospital with support and supervision from qualified staff.
e)An awareness of Policy and legislation and how to access the information both in writing and electronically.
f)An awareness of Mental Health and Mental Health service delivery.
g)Adhere to Policy and Legislation relating to Mental Health e.g. Mental Health Act 1983, Equal Opportunity Law, Disability Discrimination Act, Human Rights Act, Care Programme Approach and Clinical Governance.
h)Knowledge of the lone worker policy.
3.Analytical and Judgmental Skills
a)Map reading planning the safest most cost-effective route for community visits.
b)When working out in the community have the ability to weigh up situations and seek support and guidance over the telephone where necessary.
c)Must have the ability to make rapid risk assessments on each visit to promote the safety of the patient, staff, carers and general public. E.g. Risk assessment tools v experience and acting safely to protect all.
4.Planning and Organisational Skills
a)Liaise with other services to arrange appointments that both meet patient and service demands.
b)Plan home visits once allocated by qualified staff. Post holder to organise logistics and plan visit:
Identifying car, phone and bleep.
Complete White Board (lone worker policy)
Collect medication to be delivered from qualified nurse.
Implement a variety of packages of care as outlined in the individual patients care plan.
Report back to qualified staff.
Record information of visits both manually and electronically.
Plan further interventions as indicated within the care plan.
5.Physical Skills
a)Confidence to drive in an urban environment.
b)Competent keyboard skills to enable information to be inputted into System one and eCPA. Must be able to keep electronic diary up to date and confidence to take on more IT skills as clinical technology improves.
c)Ability to take accurate physical observations i.e. blood pressure, pulse and temperature and record in notes advising qualified staff if there were any problems. E.g. starting someone on Clozapine will require close monitoring of physical condition in line with CPMS guidelines.
d)Home visits to multi-occupied buildings, many without lifts.
e)Escorting patients out of their home environment providing programmes of care and ongoing assessment of need. (e.g. Anxiety Management Programmes).
f)Driving frequently to home visits throughout the city.
g)Due to patients living conditions it may be necessary to stand/crouch for periods of time.
6.Responsibilities
a)Awareness of independent responsibilities in the implementation of
Lone worker policy both LWS and local Home Treatment.
b)Assist in formulation and planning of care alongside qualified member of staff.
c)Observe and report progress on patients visited in the community and to pass on to the person responsible for the shift.
d)Accompany qualified staff on assessments or reviews.
e)Report to qualified staff any perceived risks to patients and staff.
f)Contribute to clinical case discussions.
g)Observe for any evidence of side effects of medication and report to qualified staff.
h)Promote RECOVERY
i)Escort patients to appointments.
j)Work with qualified staff to ensure patient care delivered to high standard.
k)Assist in smooth running of Team base and conducting various administration tasks, e.g. photo copying, faxing.
l)The post holder will be required to participate in the on-call rota. To adhere to the Home Treatment Policy and protocols for the implementation of this service.
m)Support new staff when they join the Team.
n)The post holder is required to comply with all infection control policies and guidance, attend relevant updates and report issues of concern to their immediate line manager (if no action or explanation received, then it is the individuals responsibility to escalate to Director of Operations/Chief Executive Office).
7.Responsibility for Policy and Service Development
a)Involvement in development of Home Treatment Team across the city.
b)Adhere to all appropriate National, LWS and Local Home Treatment policies and protocols.
8.Responsibilities for Human Resources
a)May be involved in interview panels.
b)The post holder will behave in a manner that does not bring the Team or LWS into disrepute.
9.Responsibility for information resources
a)Responsible for recording eCPA
b)Responsible for System one contacts.
c)Maintain accurate, timely paper and electronic records. Ensure they are kept safely in accordance with LWS policy
10.Responsibility for Research and Development
a)Have an awareness of clinical audit within the Home Treatment.
11.Freedom to Act
a)The post holder will actively participate in line management supervision with a senior member of the Team.
b)The post holder will actively participate in clinical supervision in accordance with LWS policy.
c)Can work independently in the community with support, guidance from qualified staff over the telephone. E.g. Home visits and clinical picture has changed and package of care needs adapting.
d)The post holder will actively participate in the LWS appraisal system.
e)The post holder will carry out other duties commensurate with the position as required.
12.Mental Effort
a)Accurate manual and electronic record keeping whilst coping with constant interruptions and distraction in the work place for example: telephone calls and questions from colleagues.
b)Concentration whilst driving at busy times of day.
c)Concentration for short and prolonged periods of time depending on the clinical environment.
d)Managing to extract information from people with communication difficulties due to acute distressing mental health problems.
e)The post holder will constantly deal with sensitive, intricate and complex clinical and service decisions whilst frequently being required to change from one activity to another at a third party request i.e. Telephone or staff interruption and be able to respond in a positive and constructive manner to emergency situations.
13.Physical Effort
A. Home visits to multi-occupied buildings, many without lifts.
B. escorting patients out of their home environment providing programmes of care and ongoing assessment of need. (e.g. Anxiety Management Programmes).
C.Ability to frequently travel independently and in a timely manner between Livewell Southwest sites and community locations including areas not served by public transport.
D. Due to patients living conditions it may be necessary to stand/crouch for periods of time.
a)Emotional Effort
a. Ability to deal with people who in mental health crisis on a daily basis e.g.
People actively wishing to kill themselves.
People who self-harm.
People who are volatile.
People who are thought disordered.
People who are very difficult to engage within a therapeutic relationship.
b.Ability to cope with stress generated from the constant changing priorities within the Team throughout a shift.
b)Working Conditions
a.Ability to cope with visiting people who are living a squalid, unpleasant accommodation often dirty and smelling with cigarette smoke.
b.Ability to make safe decisions and take the necessary action to reduce the risks associated with community work for yourself and colleagues 24/7.
c.Ability to assess the location of the visit and take steps to minimize any risks identified, (e.g. visits to tower blocks, accessing via a lift at night, parking availability, assessment to plan joint visits, visits to high crime areas or anti-social behaviour problems.
