Community Healthcare Assistant

Job summary

The Integrated Community Team brings together Community Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Social workers and Reablement workers to work as one team to serve the localities across the county.

The teams work alongside GPs to provide care for people in their place of residence or in the community. They also work with teams within the community Hospitals as well as our county-wide specialist services, voluntary organisations and other care providers to provide assessments, treatment and support for people within the community. The role involves working as a member of this team to provide a high standard of care to our services users, their families and carers as delegated by their Manager.

Main duties of the job

Deliver essential nursing care in a flexible manner, in a variety of community settings as directed by the registered nurse, using evidenced based practice and according to training, experience and proven competence to meet the demands of the service.

The successful candidate will be working within the Community Nursing service delivering a range of clinical care for people within their own homes. The Community Nursing teams form an integral part of the Integrated Community Teams (ICTs) and are key to the exciting and dynamic developments underway to strengthen ICTs in delivering timely, high intensity acute and routine patient centred clinical interventions to support people in their own homes and prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital.

Contribute to patient assessments by registered nurse and the development and ongoing evaluation of care plans, including recording of pathology results and liaising with appropriate professionals.

Undertake direct patient contact for above clinical activities without direct supervision of registered nurse.

Complete accurate record keeping of patient's notes and computer systems in line with Trust Policy.

Instigate emergency procedures such as CPR as necessary.

Assist in keeping accurate patient records for the monitoring and continuity of patient care by recording tasks performed, on paper and computer, both Care Services and General Practice Information systems, in accordance with Trust Policy.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Job responsibilities

Support the daily planning and operation of patient clinics where appropriate.

Undertake specific clinical tasks which include administration of routine medications, monitoring blood pressure, pressure area care as appropriate, which includes application of compression hosiery and topical cream application, venepuncture, continence reassessments and bladder scanning, catheter care - including bladder Instillation, stoma care - changing stoma bags, capillary blood testing- undertaking and recording, routine drawing up and administration of Insulin as prescribed, urinalysis using dipstick testing, & wound care.

Provide reassurance and support to patients and carers by listening to their concerns explaining to them any procedures that may be undertaken by the post holder or registered nursing staff after gaining informed consent. Refer patients appropriately to other members of our Multi-Disciplinary Teams where appropriate.

Working with service users who present high levels of challenge to services and who may have mental health needs. Responding to a rapidly changing working environment as a result of clinical incidents or admissions, this can mean frequent intensive concentration. Use of a lap top on a daily basis. Exposure to bodily fluids and blood born viruses. Working alone in line with the Trusts policy

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Experience in a relevant health or social care setting
• Has a UK driving license and has own car
• NVQ level 3 in a Health or Social Care related subject

Desirable

• Previous community experience
• Care certificate

Skills

Essential

• Enjoys working as part of a team and confident to work alone
• Good communication and listening skills
• Friendly and approachable
• Able to work alone, using own initiative