Healthcare Support Worker - North Middlesex Virtual Ward Band 3

Role Overview & Responsibilities

The post holder will work closely with the NMUH Virtual Ward. The post holder will be employed by Whittington Health with primary responsibility at NMUH VW. However, the post holder may be expected to work across the wider RRVW team.

You will be expected to provide a high standard of nursing care and contribute to the prevention of unnecessary hospital admissions and facilitate early discharge from hospital. You will work with health professionals providing a high standard of nursing care, which reflects the NVQ3 Care competencies to all patients living in the Community

Qualifications: NVQ Level 3 or equivalent experience

• Participate in the assessment of care needs and the implementation of programmes of care in partnership with patients/carers in their own homes
• Identify changes in patients conditions and, within their capabilities, recognise where significant changes in the care plan are required and report these back to the senior nurse on duty in a prompt and timely manner.
• Liaise effectively with other nursing and multi professional team members within the scope of the Health care Assistant role and report back to the nurse in charge.
• Provide administrative support to the team

Be competent in additional clinical skills and knowledge areas, for example:

• Blood pressure monitoring
• Blood sugar monitoring
• Administration of medicines via gastrostomy plus setting up of gastrostomy feeds
• Administration of oral medication.
• Simple sterile dressings
• Best infection control practice

Be willing to quickly undertake further training/supervision in other clinical skills, knowledge areas for example:

• Continence re-assessment
• Venepuncture
• Injection technique
• Diabetes care
• Medication review
• Pressure area care
• Bowel care
• Palliative care

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

• Demonstrate a high standard of care within Whittington Health and national quality assurance frameworks.
• Always adhere to Whittington Health/NMUH policies and procedures.
• Organise own workload and establish priorities (and that of other unregistered nurses where appropriate). In collaboration with line manager/nurse in charge
• Always portray a positive image of the Virtual Ward.
• Be able to work unsupervised.
• Keep up to date and accurate patient records and electronic records
• Regularly participate in team meetings
• Liaise effectively with members the wider multidisciplinary team within the scope of the Health care Assistant role, reporting back to the nurse in charge as appropriate.
• Initiate referrals to other agencies, including Social Services, where appropriate
• Participate in the orientation of new staff.
• Regularly participate in one to one meetings, objective- setting and clinical appraisal with line manager in line with the KSF framework.