Healthcare Assistant / Twilight Healthcare Assistant - Inpatient Unit in Watford

• Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week) and Part time (22.5 hours per week)
• Location: Watford Peace Hospice
• Interview date: TBC

To provide care that meets the holistic needs of individual patients and their carers/families, including physical, emotional, spiritual, practical and if appropriate, pre- and post- bereavement needs.

Main duties of the job

• Proactively contribute to the delivery of high-quality safe evidence-based care.
• Deliver high quality Specialist Palliative and End of Life care as part of the In-Patient Unit multidisciplinary team.
• Under the direction of a multi skilled team, support the assessment, planning and evaluation of individualised patient centred care, ensuring a holistic approach that is sensitive and responsive to the patients ever-changing needs.
• To support the smooth running of a shift, ensuring staff and patients are safe.
• To support the management of calls (call handling service) for all our community services.
• As a member of the wider organisation, demonstrate delivery of the agreed vision and values.
• Acting as a Rennie Grove Peace ambassador within the community.

About us

At Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, our unique care provides a lifeline of compassion and support to patients, carers, and families facing progressive life-limiting illness. We provide palliative and end of life care support, including bereavement services, within Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire and our patient services are available to adults, as well as patients transitioning into adult services (16 to 25 years).

Bereavement support is offered for all ages to families of patients and those around them, as well as throughout the community, in schools and workplaces. We are proud to offer care in the place that best suits the individuals needs, whether thats at home, in a care home, in a short stay in our inpatient unit, out in the community, or in our purpose-built Living Well Centre facilities. As a hospice care charity, we have offered this support, free of charge, for over 40 years.

Our staff team of 340+ includes a wide range of patient-facing disciplines plus operational support based in Watford, Tring, St Albans, Chalfont St Giles and Berkhamsted. The Charity is now one of the larger UK hospice charities, reaching a GP population of 797,037 of whom 75% live in Hertfordshire and 25% in Buckinghamshire.

Job responsibilities

• To provide care that meets the holistic needs of individual patients and their carers/families, including physical, emotional, spiritual, practical and if appropriate, pre- and post- bereavement needs.
• To work in accordance with the individual patients care plans, observing and promptly reporting any identified patient or family needs.
• Under the direction of the Registered Nurse participate in the assessment, admission, discharge and handover of patients.
• Under the direction of the registered nurse, provide general nursing care to allocated patients. This includes bathing, toileting, personal hygiene (i.e. eye, mouth, nail care) and basic observations.
• Under the direction and observation of the registered nurse, and following training and achievement of Rennie Grove and Peace Hospice Care agreed competency frame work, undertake delegated and agreed extended HCA roles, including:
• Integrated Palliative Care Outcomes (IPOS) reviews
• Monitoring and recording of blood glucose levels
• Blood pressure
• Urinalysis
• Medicine management awareness practice including syringe driver checks
• Plebotomy and other pathology specimens
• Dressing of simple wounds
• Adherence to and updating individualised care plans and ensure that any change relating directly or indirectly to the patients care or wellbeing is promptly and accurately reported to the Staff Nurse or nurse in charge.
• Participate in team working and maintain effective communications between members of the multidisciplinary team both in the inpatient unit team, and wider Hospice teams.
• Assist with the smooth running of the clinical area by carrying out other duties such as tidying, stock checking, and monitoring and cleaning of equipment and patient areas.
• To be an active participant in the clinical governance framework of the wider hospice, contributing to audits and delegated responsibility for clinical equipment, maintenance/checking/ordering/oxygen.
• Be responsible for Clinical Governance, coordinating, completing and reporting back on delegated routines/duties that contribute to the smooth running of the service.
• To be part of the wider service multidisciplinary team, attending shift handovers, staff meetings and hospice team briefs.

Person Specification

Experience

• Care certificate/NVQ qualified level 2 or evidence of working at equivalent or apprenticeship standard in health or social care.
• Previous experience in a health / social care work setting.
• IT experience and willingness to input into an electronic record system following induction training.
• Willing to undertake direction and delegated duties reporting concerns.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective communications at all times.
• An understanding of the importance of Safeguarding adults.
• Sensitivity and understanding to the needs of your team and customers, many of whom may have experienced Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care services or be bereaved.
• Experience of supporting palliative / EOLC patients and their families.
• An understanding of palliative and hospice 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.