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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the full job and person specification for full details. The healthcare support worker will be expected to undertake the following duties under the supervision of a registered practitioner:

Patient Care

• Assist all patients with their personal care needs, empowering patients or families/carers and actively encouraging participation. This may involve maintaining hygiene needs for individuals such as helping patients to wash and dress themselves and assisting with toileting needs, maintaining privacy and dignity at all times.
• Perform clinical observations (following appropriate assessment of proficiency and under the direction of a registered practitioner where agreed.) and accurately record using agreed electronic national early warning signals such as SEND and report and escalate any concerns appropriately by reporting to the registered practitioner immediately.
• Prepare patients, families/carers and the environment for clinical activities supporting patients and their families/carers and preparing specific equipment as necessary.
• Participate in the initial assessment of patients’ needs, under the direct supervision of a registered practitioner.
• Observe and report the patient’s condition to a registered practitioner as required.
• Monitor closely patients having undergone a clinical activity ensuring their safety and wellbeing and reporting to a registered practitioner as required.
• Assess and monitor the patient’s skin integrity and report and document immediately any changes or concerns in their condition.
• Assist patients to meet their food and fluid intake giving attention to special diets, supplements and cultural requirements. In order to avoid malnutrition, ensure an age appropriate nutritional assessment is undertaken (e.g. MUST). All food, nutritional supplements and fluid intake to be recorded accurately as required.
• Actively encourage all patients, families/carers to share the responsibility for the maintenance of their health and to promote healthy living where appropriate and identified as part of the care plan.
• Assist patients to mobilise safely, taking account of development/physical needs using equipment and techniques as prescribed and recorded in the plan of care contributing to the falls and moving and handling risk assessment. Undertake patient transfer and escort duties between departments as appropriate and as per policy.
• Recognise when a patient’s condition changes and seek advice and expertise from registered practitioners in accordance with Trust policy.
• Assist in the care of a patient requiring end of life care in accordance within their spiritual and cultural needs.
• Assist as appropriate in the support of families/carers of patients receiving end of life care.
• Assist with the collection of specimens as requested such as mid-stream urine, stool, sputum, urine analysis and hospital acquired infections ensuring accurate labelling and transportation as per trust policy and in accordance with the training provided.

Communication

• Contribute during handover process to ensure continuity of care and to accurately feedback to a registered practitioner the care given to patients during the shift and of any changes in the patient’s condition.
• Communicate effectively with members of the multidisciplinary team, patients and carers, using all methods of communication. Where there are barriers to understanding, arrange access to information, support and other services to aid effective communication.
• Greet all patients and visitors to the department with courtesy and respect, being mindful of age specific body language and tone of voice, demonstrate sensitivity and empathy.
• Help patients, families/carers and visitors orientate themselves to their surroundings when admitted to the ward/department providing written and verbal information as required.
• Answer telephone calls (and bleeps) appropriately and efficiently, accurately relaying messages to both colleagues and patients using SBARR as appropriate.
• Use paper and electronic systems to retrieve and record patient information in line with Trust documentation standards and operational systems. Ensure information is accurate and securely maintained.
• Apply the principles of information governance and patient confidentiality to all aspects of your role.
• Obtain age/capacity appropriate consent from the patient/family or carer/guardian before any clinical intervention is undertaken; where this is not given, report this to a registered practitioner.
• Participate in discussions about ward and departmental issues at ward/departmental meetings.
• In instances when a patient/family, carer or visitor feels the need to raise concerns or complain seek support from a registered practitioner.
• Maintain professional boundaries and working relationships with patients and colleagues.
• Ensure patients, families and carers are kept informed of delays with their treatment, investigations and clinic times as required when known.