Healthcare Assistant Gateshead, England
Job description
To assist the nursing staff in providing nursing, clerical support hotel type services within the ward area.
To assist nursing staff in providing support for carers.
To undertake personal care duties for patients in hospital.
To support all members of the MDT to deliver high quality, safe patient care.
To ensure a safe working environment.
To assist the registered staff to care for patients.
To Assist in endoscopy procedure room and endoscopy recovery areas.
Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust provides a range of acute and community services from our facilities including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital,Bensham Hospital andBlaydon Primary Care Centre. Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
As a group, we employ around 4,200 staff and currently provide 600 hospital beds across Gateshead. Our primary focus is on providing excellent general health services to our local community complemented by key specialist areas including gynaecology, maternity, palliative care and old age psychiatry.
Alongside a full range of local hospital services, we provide breast screening services for Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and parts of Durham - and we are the North Eastern hub for the National Bowel Cancer and AAA Screening Programmes, covering a population of around seven million people.
Anyone applying for a position, which involves a regulated activity will require an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and that the disclosure will, where appropriate to the role, include information against the Independent Safeguarding Authority barred lists for working with children or working with adults or both.
communicates information to staff, patients, relatives and carers.
Communicates information in an empathetic and reassuring way where there may be barriers to communication/understanding i.e. speech/language/hearing difficulties.
Communicates with patients, clients, relatives and staff whose first language may not be English.
Is able to communicate effectively using written and oral skills.
Establish and maintain effective relationships with patients, relatives and colleagues.
Provide and receive routine information requiring tact or persuasive skills; barriers to understanding.
Exchanges factual information with patients using persuasion, reassurance, tact, empathy, may overcome barriers to understanding e.g. patient has physical or mental disabilities.
Knowledge, Skills, Training and Experience
Please include theoretical, practical, professional, special knowledge etc, required to fulfil the job satisfactorily at entry level. Please include educational level normally expected or equivalent level of practical experience.
Essential
Experience of working and communicating with people.
Minimum of level 2 functional skills in English.
Minimum of level 2 functional skills in Mathematics.
Desirable
Experience in hospital or care environment
Experience in using I.T.
Range of routine work procedures requiring job training
Knowledge of personal care and related procedures through on the job training.
NVQ training or equivalent experience.
Analytical and Judgemental Skills
Please include analytical & judgemental skills required for the post e.g. making judgements in situations where information is either difficult to obtain / understand or medical notes/information on history is unavailable.
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Able to judge when to involve senior staff
Able to assess own ability
Able to assess when a patient may cause harm to themselves or other patients
Make Judgements involving facts or situations, some requiring analysis.
Prioritise which duties to respond to first.
Report patient conditions.
Planning and Organisational Skills
Examples include; planning or organising clinical or non-clinical services, departments, rotas, meetings, conferences and for strategic planning.
Able to prioritise the delivery of care to patients under the instruction of qualified staff.
Able to assist with the planning and discharge of patients in a timely manner
Able to assist with the timely transfer of patients
Able to ensure that patients attend departments in a timely manner
Able to organise own day to day work tasks or activities.
Physical Skills (manual dexterity)
Examples Include: hand-eye co-ordination, sensory skills, (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell etc), dexterity, manipulation, speed and accuracy, keyboard and driving skills.
Be able to operate machinery such as patient hoists.
Be able to stand for prolonged periods of time and mobilise for periods up to 12 hours.
Be able to respond with speed when required in emergency situations.
Be able to perform repetitive actions such as bending.
Be able to use a keyboard.
Hand eye co- ordination for manoeuvring wheelchairs, bathing patients, using hoists.
Patient/Client care:
Please specify the level of involvement in the provision of care to patients/clients and including how responsibility is shared with others.
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To assist other nursing staff in attending to physical, psychological and spiritual needs of the patient.
To take and record patients vital signs and input into Vital Pac.
To be able to recognize a deteriorating patient.
To maintain patient confidentiality.
To undertake and record urinalysis results and report accurately.
To undertake and record blood sugar results and report accurately.
To prepare patients for meals
To assist patients with meals
To practice safely within infection, prevention and control measures
Provides personal care to patients/clients and undertakes personal care duties e.g. bathing, toileting.
Policy and Service Development:
Level of involvement in the implementation of policy and contribution to the decision making process both within own department and other functions.
Be able to contribute to the decision making process to improve service delivery.
Follows policies in own role, may be required to comment.
Follows policies, may participate in discussions on proposed changes to procedures.
Financial and Physical Resources e.g. budget, stock and equipment:
Responsibility for cash, budgets, and physical assests, vehicles, plant and machinery including the security of equipment.
To ensure that all equipment that is not safe to use is quarantined.
To carry out safety checks on equipment as required under the instruction of the qualified staff.
Duty of personal care in relation to handling patient cash/ valuables.
Maintain stock control under the instruction of the qualified staff.
Orders ward supplies as appropriate.
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Human Resources
Responsibilities of the job for the training and development of employees/students/trainees. In addition responsibility for the operational management of staff such as recruitment, discipline, appraisal, and career development.
To engage in the yearly CONTACT appraisal.
To act as a buddy for newly appointed Health Care Assistants
To act as a role model for student nurses
To carry out continued professional and personal development as identified by ward manager.
Information Resources:
Level of responsibility for either paper based or computerized records and systems, responsibility for information systems both hardware and software, plus the generation and creation of information
Requirement to complete paper based patient records.
Requirement to use I.T. systems to arrange patient transport input vital signs and order equipment.
Records personally generated information.
Contributes to updating of patient records.
Research and Development:
Responsibility for informal or formal clinical or non-clinical R & D including audit.
To assist with audit and research projects as requested to support improvement in practice.
Undertake surveys or audits of own work as necessary.
Occasionally participates in audits, surveys, and research and development activities.
Freedom to Act
Please specify the level of autonomy and accountability, the level of discretion in the role and where guidance is available from e.g. supervisor, departmental procedures / NHS Guidance/legislation.
Work under supervision and a set of defined parameters to deliver patient care.
Responsible for maintaining own professional and personal standards.
Well established procedures, supervision close by at all times.
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Physical Effort
Please describe activities, frequency and the degree of effort required
Frequent moving and handling of patients and equipment
Frequent moderate effort for several short/long periods.
Turns, manoeuvres patients for toileting and bathing using aids.
Occasional requirement to move patients on trolleys.
Mental Effort
Please describe the scope, circumstances and frequency of concentration & interruptions
Frequent interruptions while carrying out tasks
Frequent conflicting demands on time and resources.
Frequent concentration, work pattern predictable
Concentration for personal care duties follows routine.
Emotional Effort
Please describe the exposure, frequency and involvement in distressing or emotional situations
Frequent exposure to sensitive and emotional situations.
Required to be able to respond to unpredictable and difficult situations.
Occasional/ frequent distressing or emotional circumstances.
Care of terminally ill/ patient deaths.
Working Conditions
Please describe the type and extent of exposure to unpleasant working conditions/hazards
Frequent exposure to bodily fluids.
Occasional/frequent highly unpleasant conditions.
Smell, noise, dust/body fluids, faeces, vomit, emptying bed pans. Urinals and catheter bags.
CONTROL OF INFECTION
All Trust staff have a duty to provide a safe environment by considering adherence to infection prevention and control as an integral part of their roles and responsibilities. The individual roles and responsibilities for staff are outlined in the Trust’s Control of Infection
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policy (IC 1). There should be specific discussion of control of infection within the KSF/Appraisal process and as a minimum all staff must demonstrate good hand hygiene and practice and support the Clean Your Hands Campaign.
PRIVACY & DIGNITY & RESPECT AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
The Trust is committed to ensuring that all current and potential staff, patients and visitors are treated with dignity, fairness and respect regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, marital or civil partnership status, religion or belief or employment status. Staff will be supported to challenge discriminatory behavior.
