Community Assistant Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Main Duties & Responsibilities

As part of the Urgent Community Response Team, you will be required to:

Contribute to the delivery of care pathways for patients with long term conditions, palliative care and rehabilitation needs for example, to achieve quality of life and independence where possible. Work within the Urgent Community Response Team to prevent unnecessary admission to hospital. Work within the Urgent Community Response Team to support early discharge from hospital. Work with all health care professionals, and statutory/non statutory agencies to provide a seamless, integrated service to our service users.

Clinical

The post holder will:1. Assess patients with straight forward requirements based on predetermined department protocols.2. Prepare for, carry out and monitor assessments and treatments in specified clinical areas, and discharge in line with predetermined department protocols.3. Work generically applying competency based treatment techniques/care to patients with specific conditions under the supervision of a qualified practitioner, following a prescribed treatment pathway.4. Observe patients carrying out daily activities in their own homes as well as giving advice on equipment or methods they may use to make these tasks easier.5. Assist the patient with personal care as appropriate.6. Modify and progress intervention / treatment using own clinical reasoning, notifying a qualified practitioner accordingly.7. Monitor patients and promptly alert a qualified practitioner when there are unexpected changes.8. Demonstrate problem solving, and contribute to the solution, working with colleagues.9. Make basic judgements on patients response to prescribed treatment, and report findings to a qualified practitioner.10.Plan and prioritise own visits to delegated patients, and ensure these are documented on SystmOne.11.Ensure that SystmOne inputting is completed on a daily basis.12.Where there are barriers to understanding, such as hearing impairment, mental capacity impairment and other difficulties in comprehension, explanations require adjustments in order to gain understanding, consent and concordance.13.Establish and maintain therapeutic relationships with patients and carers, incorporating motivation, encouragement and confidence building to enable patients to engage in their treatment/care/rehabilitation and management plan.14.Liaise with the wider Urgent Community Response (UCR) Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) and communicate with GPs, Social Services, inpatient teams, other allied health care professionals and the voluntary sector as required to ensure identified needs are met and care co-ordinated appropriately.15.Participate in multi-disciplinary/multi-agency meetings as appropriate, e.g. Gold Standard Framework.16.Communicate with patients/carers by exchanging factual information, reassurance, tact and empathy.17.Establish and maintain appropriate working relationships with colleagues, patients, carers and other health care professionals.18.Demonstrate dexterity and coordination when undertaking treatment of patients where accuracy is important, e.g. taking blood sugars, venepuncture, supervising transfers, passive exercises.19.Be responsible for ensuring equipment is prescribed and used safely, following appropriate training, and that it is maintained appropriately.20.Contribute to the requisitioning of supplies and equipment through electronic ordering systems.21.Work predominantly independently on specified tasks, with regular clinical support and supervision by a qualified practitioner.22.Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of consent, and gain consent as appropriate following department policy.23.Share responsibility for maintaining store cupboards, pool cars, cleaning specialist equipment and general house keeping tasks.24.Share responsibility for indirect patient contact tasks, such as, answering telephones, arranging appointments, processing referrals and inputting activity data.25.Be exposed to bodily fluids, infected material, blood products on a daily basis, therefore must utilise universal precautions and adhere to infection control policies.26.Demonstrate good IT and standard keyboard skills.

Professional

The post holder will:1. Attend and contribute to staff meetings and multidisciplinary team meetings plus other meetings where appropriate.2. Be an active member of the in-service training programme by attendance at and participation in, training sessions, courses and reflective practice as required to develop current job role.3. Be able to make own travel arrangements to patients, clinics, base and meetings as required.4. Be required to demonstrate own duties to students, new starters and/or less experienced staff; and be involved in induction programmes for new staff / students as required.5. Be aware of limitations of own scope of practice, and when to involve a more senior practitioner, both in daily practice and in emergency situations.6. Acknowledge and recognise peoples expressed beliefs, preferences and choices.7. Demonstrate an awareness of clinical governance and risk management, and apply to work situation.8. Provide peer support to other practitioners, demonstrating leadership skills as required.9. Identify and explore own contribution to team working, and reflect on own practice.10.Actively contribute to the working of the team and express ideas on improving services for users and the team.

Organisational

The post holder will:1. Undertake mandatory training as required.2. Participate in the Personal Development Review process3. Follow Trust policies, and local procedures.4. Ensure absence reporting is undertaken as determined by Team Leader and Trust Policy.5. Contribute to clinical audit as required.6. Complete the staff survey as required.7. Complete risk assessments and incident forms as required.8. Take part in clinical supervision as per Trust Policy.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ level 3 in Health & Social Care, or equivalent knowledge and experience
• Foundation degree programme, or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and skills acquired through training and experience

Knowledge, Skills and Ability

Essential

• Experience of a higher level of skills and knowledge of practice.
• Experience of working in a health or social care setting
• Good communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• A team player
• Highly motivated
• Able to provide high standard of care
• Tact and diplomacy
• Empathy and sensitivity
• Ability to use own initiative
• Good observational skills and reporting skills
• Ability to manage stressful situations
• Leadership skills
• Work flexibly to accommodate patient/service needs

Desirable

• Experience of working within a community care setting
• Knowledge of SystmOne

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Professional appearance
• Ability to kneel, bend and stoop and worked in cramp environments
• Manoeuvre limbs of around 5-6kg
• Be reliable

Other

Essential

• The post holder will need to be passed fit to perform full duties of the post through occupational health with any reasonable aids and adaptations as necessary. Some roles require additional level of checks as part of the employment process i.e. roles which come into contact with children, vulnerable adults or their families.
• Must hold full and valid driving licence and have access to a vehicle
• Be able to make own travel arrangements to patients, clinics, base and meetings as requried.
• This is a 7 day service and some weekend working will be expected. Hours of service delivery. 8am-8pm

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

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust

Address

1 Mill Close

Aylsham

NR11 6LZ

Employer's website

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