Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Associate Practitioner in Dementia - Activity Coordinator

This job is now closed

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen within the Dementia Care Team under the Mental Health and Safeguarding directorate to work alongside with the Dementia CNS and Dementia AP for a Band 4 Associate Practitioner - Inpatient Activity Coordinator.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate individual for Wexham Park Hospital and Heatherwood Hospital to create, organise, and communicate a varied programme of activities for our inpatients with a diagnosis of dementia.

As a Dementia Associate Practitioner - Activity Coordinator you'll play a key role in our dementia patient's hospital experience. You must have the ability to understand the needs of patients with dementia and prepared to go the extra mile to ensure an excellent dementia care experience.

The role balances listening skills with motivational ideas and also balances the emotional connection to our dementia patient to their life experiences with practical application of planned activities to help them settle in an acute environment.

Preparation, planning, and purpose are at the heart of this role and your people skills, passion for planning and respect for the individual will make a big impact for everyone.

If you are interested and share a passion for going above and beyond in bringing out the best in every dementia patient you can speak to:

Bryan Tan - Dementia CNS, Wexham site - 07770728168

Main duties of the job

To work with patients with dementia to improve their mental health, physical health, and wellbeing through recreational therapeutic activities.
Deliver multi-cultural meaningful activities linked to the individual patients in terms of their general needs and abilities: i.e., physical, learning, mental health and cognitive ability and needs.
To form therapeutic relationships with clients using appropriate communication skills and approaches that demonstrate insight into patients with dementia, respecting their autonomy, culture, and views.
To assist the Dementia Clinical Nurse Specialist to promote and advertise the service across the whole trust through various media (i.e., posters, global emails, training & awareness sessions, involving staff in activities, etc) and face-to-face contact.
To develop, organise and facilitate programmes of therapeutic activities including groups session's and one to one bedside therapy.
To assist in identifying patient's strengths and needs to plan and implement suitable activity programmes for groups and individuals.
To carryout evaluating the effectiveness of activity with patients, carers and the multi-disciplinary team and make necessary adjustments as directed by the Dementia Nurse Specialist.
To always maintain confidentiality.
To work alongside volunteers and provide direction regarding activity provision
To have good time management being punctual, organised, and reliable.

About us

There's never been a more exciting time to build your career at Frimley Health, one of the country's largest and most respected trusts

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.

We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.

We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR - Epic - went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.

Our threecore values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other.

If you have a passion for clinical excellence, patient care and your own career development, you'll feel at home at Frimley Health.

Date posted

12 September 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£26,405 to £28,976 a year Per Annum Inc HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

151-HW357

Job locations

Wexham Park Hospital and Heatherwood Hospital

Wexham Road

Slough

SL24HL

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Dementia Associate Practitioner - Activity Coordinator will be responsible for developing, organising, and facilitating the delivery of high-quality therapeutic activity programmes for elderly patients including those with dementia across the Trust. The aim is to improve patient experience and to prevent and reduce delirium for some of our most frail and vulnerable patients.

The post holder will be working alongside with the Associate Practitioner in Dementia and is under the supervision of the Dementia Nurse Specialist. The role is also expected to assist in providing dementia awareness training to all hospital staff and ensuring carers are signposted to relevant dementia support. The post holder will have a specific site as a base but can work cross-site to undertake a range of delegated tasks and delegated authority toimprove the dementia service.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Person Specification

Qualification

Essential

Educated to GCSE Level or equivalent
3 years of dementia care experience in the clinical area.
Knowledge and understanding of the management of dementia.

Desirable

Experience of delivering training and development of staff in the Trust
Foundation Degree in Health Care or working towards, Access courses with a special interest in Dementia

Competencies

Essential

Experience of working with older adults in professional capacity
Demonstrate an understanding of the acute physical NHS environment
Experience of ensuring that values, including care, compassion, competence, courage and commitment are adhered to daily and any concerns are raised to relevant Line Manager.
Ability to influence other and facilitate change

Desirable

Experience of working with older adults with dementia in a professional capacity.
Experience of reading & understanding outcome measures.

Knowledge

Essential

Knowledge of relevant national and local policy such as the National Dementia Strategy
Health and safety. Awareness of risk.
Knowledge and understanding of the key issues and problems relating to care for people with dementia in hospital, person-centred care and effects of therapeutic activity.

Desirable

Knowledge of medical conditions/Surgical procedures

Special Requirements

Desirable

Car driver with a valid full licence to drive in the UK
Flexible and reliable as the role requires to cover bank holidays and some weekends

Person Specification

Qualification

Essential

Educated to GCSE Level or equivalent
3 years of dementia care experience in the clinical area.
Knowledge and understanding of the management of dementia.

Desirable

Experience of delivering training and development of staff in the Trust
Foundation Degree in Health Care or working towards, Access courses with a special interest in Dementia

Competencies

Essential

Experience of working with older adults in professional capacity
Demonstrate an understanding of the acute physical NHS environment
Experience of ensuring that values, including care, compassion, competence, courage and commitment are adhered to daily and any concerns are raised to relevant Line Manager.
Ability to influence other and facilitate change

Desirable

Experience of working with older adults with dementia in a professional capacity.
Experience of reading & understanding outcome measures.

Knowledge

Essential

Knowledge of relevant national and local policy such as the National Dementia Strategy
Health and safety. Awareness of risk.
Knowledge and understanding of the key issues and problems relating to care for people with dementia in hospital, person-centred care and effects of therapeutic activity.

Desirable

Knowledge of medical conditions/Surgical procedures

Special Requirements

Desirable

Car driver with a valid full licence to drive in the UK
Flexible and reliable as the role requires to cover bank holidays and some weekends

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

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Wexham Park Hospital and Heatherwood Hospital

Wexham Road

Slough

SL24HL

Employer's website

https://www.fhft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Wexham Park Hospital and Heatherwood Hospital

Wexham Road

Slough

SL24HL

Employer's website

https://www.fhft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)