Senior Palliative Care Support Worker (Band 3) in Bristol

The role of Senior Palliative Care Support Worker requires independent working in the community; applicants should have excellent communication skills and IT skills. You must be adaptable, reliable and highly organised in order to prioritise your workload effectively. This is a role where no two days are the same and you have the chance to improve the experience of patients and families when life is at its most difficult for them.

Main duties of the job

• To provide holistic palliative care in the last 4 weeks of life.
• To provide emotional, physical and psychological support to patients, their families and carers.
• To work as part of the Hospice at Home team providing packages of care and support for patients in their own homes. This will involve a variable shift pattern over 7 days including some night shifts.
• To work autonomously to provide planned care for individual patients with the support of, and accountability to, the Hospice at Home Registered nurses.
• To role model the values of the hospice at all times by following the St Peters Hospice PCSW Code of Conduct and to contribute to a positive team culture.
• To promote the safety and well-being of patients and their families at the end of life by following Hospice policies and procedures and working as part of a wider multi-disciplinary team.

Job responsibilities

• Provide nursing care for patients at the end of life.
• Monitor the patients condition and record findings accurately verbally and in writing.
• Recognize changes in patients' conditions and take appropriate action to escalate concerns in a timely manner.
• Have the ability to identify non-clinical concerns, e.g., safeguarding, environmental risk, psychosocial challenges and communicate to the relevant health care professionals.
• Effectively manage volatile or unpredictable situations and call for help and assistance as appropriate for lone working.
• Cope with the emotional impact of delivering a service where patient death is a regular occurrence and supporting family and carers witnessing end of life can present challenging and heightened emotional environments.
• Work collaboratively as a Hospice at Home team member and as part of the multidisciplinary team to provide effective care delivery across an integrated health system.
• Support patients and carers to manage loss and change, including bereavement support and advice on what to do when someone dies.
• Maintain a safe working environment for patients, carers and staff through following policy and procedural guidelines and attending statutory and mandatory training.
• Work within the limits of own competence and responsibility and ask for help as necessary.
• Use hospice resources efficiently and effectively thinking of cost and environmental issues.
• Prioritise own workload and manage own time to ensure priorities are met and quality is not compromised.
• This role requires the post holder to be physically able to provide care through the moving and handling of patients and equipment.
• This post requires a driving license and access to a car with business insurance.

Communication

• Will frequently be required to use sensitive communication, using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills.
• Able to demonstrate active listening skills and understand complex information about the patient to be able to effectively address patient's needs.
• Ensure effective communication with the Hospice at Home team as well as with the wider multidisciplinary health care team.
• Both verbal and written communication skills are accurate, making relevant and up to date records on EMIS and document using visit and shift summary templates according to hospice guidelines.
• Respect the need for confidentiality of patient's details both verbally and written.

Person Specification

• A nationally recognised qualification/apprenticeship in health & social care at Level 2 or above or the equivalent level of knowledge and skills gained through relevant experience.
• Ability and willingness to undertake appropriate training for required clinical activities.
• A national recognised qualification/apprenticeship in health & social care, or palliative care, at Level 3 or above.
• Willingness to develop palliative care knowledge and skills for caring for patients at the end of life.
• Experience of working in a health or social care setting.
• Basic IT skills and good numeracy and literacy skills.
• Experience of working in patients homes and with patients at the end of life.
• Committed to providing high quality patient care.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Compassionate and trustworthy.
• Ability to establish good relationships with work colleagues, patients and families.
• Flexible and adaptable to change, able to work a range of shifts.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.