Job summary
Are you passionate about improving the quality of care for people with dementia? Do you see challenging behaviour as a form of communication? Are you driven to understand and meet the unmet needs of people living with dementia?
If so, then this is the job for you. Our Support, Time and Recovery (STR) workers in the care home intervention teams play a key role in supporting care home staff to implement care plans and improve the way they communicate with and offer care to people living in care homes who display behaviours that challenge.
Previous NHS experience is not essential. What you do need is experience working in a residential care environment and an understanding of the multiple factors that can often be barriers to staff being able to meet a resident's needs in this setting. You need to be an excellent communicator and to be able to engage people at all levels, particularly service users who may struggle to communicate their needs, care home staff and members of the multidisciplinary team.
Please use the supporting information section of the application form to outline how you meet the essential criteria on the person specification
Main duties of the job
The role of the STR worker is to facilitate the personhood and wellbeing of clients under the care of the CCHIT. The post holder will work alongside the multi-disciplinary team focusing on the psychosocial domains of patients' care with care home staff. The post holder would be expected to have autonomous skills in developing positive relationships with care home colleagues, and to model and demonstrate genuine empathy with clients, care home staff, and carers to support care home residents who are living with behaviours that challenge in the context of dementia or other mental health conditions.
The post-holder will work closely with the multidisciplinary team in formulating, modelling and monitoring behavioural support plans and interventions to help care home staff care for their residents. The post-holder will provide practical and psychosocial support for a defined caseload of care home residents, including their paid carers in the care home, and unpaid carers (family and friends) in their wider social network.
The post holder will work alongside care home staff in a collaborative way for a defined period of time to implement interventions detailed in the CCHIT care plan. They will assist with upskilling care home staff in these interventions and increasing their ability to apply these more widely to the care of other residents within the setting.
About us
The care home intervention teams work with people over the age of 65 (or those with younger onset dementia) who are resident in care homes, and who display challenging behaviour in the context of dementia or other mental health difficulties. The teams work on the basis that people's behaviour, even when challenging, can be understood, and this understanding often leads the way in identifying unmet needs and in developing good care planning and practice, involving the use of psychosocial interventions. The team is based at 50 Pampisford Road, CR8 2NE, Purley
The ability to travel around care homes in the borough of Croydon daily is essential for this role, although you do not need to be a driver, and many existing team members do use public transport.
The post holder will be well supported by both team-based supervision with the CCHIT team manager, and role-based group supervision alongside the two other STR workers working in the CHITs in the other SLaM boroughs.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both overviews please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both overviews please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Level 3 certificate in Health and Social Care or equivalent
Desirable
- Psychology degree or equivalent experience, or Evidence of continued academic development
Experience
Essential
- Two years or more experience within a mental health setting (either NHS, social care or private setting)
- experience in working with older people, and those with cognitive impairment and dementia
Desirable
- experience dealing with health acute psychiatric crises / care
- Experience of psychological formulation sessions
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the principles of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice in the provision of services
- Knowledge of the key principles of risk assessment and risk management
- Understanding of SMART goal setting
Desirable
- Training in specific interventions for people with dementia
- Some knowledge of psycho- pharmacology intervention
- Some understanding of the needs of people with mental illness and personality disorder
Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work with a wide variety of professionals and agencies
- Ability to work with carers and families and commitment to developing user focused services
- Good written and verbal communication and IT skills
- Ability to travel extensively within the community
- Ability to treat people with warmth, kindness, dignity and respect
- Ability to prioritise workload and carry out work efficiently and effectively
- Ability to work under times of change and pressure of work
- Ability to motivate clients who are difficult to engage and co-ordinate the support with fellow staff members
- Self-motivated and able to use supervision sessions effectively
Desirable
- Ability to reflect positively on practice
- Motivated to participate in required training and development
- Willingness to work flexibly and adapt to changing priorities
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Level 3 certificate in Health and Social Care or equivalent
Desirable
- Psychology degree or equivalent experience, or Evidence of continued academic development
Experience
Essential
- Two years or more experience within a mental health setting (either NHS, social care or private setting)
- experience in working with older people, and those with cognitive impairment and dementia
Desirable
- experience dealing with health acute psychiatric crises / care
- Experience of psychological formulation sessions
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the principles of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice in the provision of services
- Knowledge of the key principles of risk assessment and risk management
- Understanding of SMART goal setting
Desirable
- Training in specific interventions for people with dementia
- Some knowledge of psycho- pharmacology intervention
- Some understanding of the needs of people with mental illness and personality disorder
Abilities
Essential
- Ability to work with a wide variety of professionals and agencies
- Ability to work with carers and families and commitment to developing user focused services
- Good written and verbal communication and IT skills
- Ability to travel extensively within the community
- Ability to treat people with warmth, kindness, dignity and respect
- Ability to prioritise workload and carry out work efficiently and effectively
- Ability to work under times of change and pressure of work
- Ability to motivate clients who are difficult to engage and co-ordinate the support with fellow staff members
- Self-motivated and able to use supervision sessions effectively
Desirable
- Ability to reflect positively on practice
- Motivated to participate in required training and development
- Willingness to work flexibly and adapt to changing priorities
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
