JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: Salary: Contract: Hours: Accountable to: Based at: Carer Wellbeing Support Worker, Hospital Service 21,597 (for 37 hrs per week) Fixed term to end August 2018 initially Part-time/full time to be worked flexibly in response to demands of the role across 7 days. Some evening and weekend working and Response Line cover to 7.00pm on rotation to meet the needs of the service. (Part time is 18.5+ hrs). Hospitals Team Leader Based at acute hospital(s): St Richards Chichester, Worthing, Princess Royal Haywards Heath or East Surrey Redhill with some work supporting the community hospitals in West Sussex. Response Line cover at CSWS main offices (currently Crawley and Littlehampton). Job Purpose To provide direct access general information, and personalised advice, support and advocacy for adult carers and young adult carers as part of the generic county-wide Hospitals Team. To support carers in hospital settings and at the interface of hospital and primary care/ community services, delivering individual personalised support, integrating with Admission Avoidance and Hospital Discharge Teams and CSWS services. Help develop the local service undertaking development work as directed. As an active member of the CSWS Response Line team, offer carers flexibility of access to a consistently high quality, carer-friendly response and front-line emotional support as needed. Generic Information, Advice, Support and Advocacy 1. Work in partnership and raise awareness of carers rights including the right to a needs assessment enabling carers to receive this through statutory teams (Adult Social Care, Mental Health Teams, Proactive Care Teams, other providers etc). 2. Provide front-line emotional support for carers as a worker on the Response Line, through active listening and encourage carers to take up support appropriate to their needs and register with Carers Support West Sussex. Page 1 of 5
3. Refer carers onto specialist Carer Support Workers and make referrals to Adult Social Care Services, DWP and other partner and external services as appropriate. 4. Work with colleagues in primary care to include carers on GP practice Carers Registers. 5. Provide relevant information on available support, services and events and offer personalised time-limited individual support at the earliest opportunity. Support can be provided individually on the telephone, face to face or in groups. 6. As a key worker after the initial point of contact, work with individual carers to prepare time-limited support plans and provide casework support, promoting carer wellbeing, choice and control. 7. Provide an enabling role for carers such as accompanying a carer to their first group session to help prevent social isolation. 8. Provide focused advocacy to enable a carer s voice to be heard, for example assisting to make a comment or complaint or supporting carers to attend a health or social care appointment or consultation session. 9. Work with the team to target hard to reach and new carers from under-represented and diverse communities, such as LGBT and BME, Gypsies and Travellers etc ensuring information is given in appropriate languages and formats. 10. Provide an active link worker role with GP practice clusters and hospitals, working flexibly to provide cross-cover where requested. 11. Work in partnership with other CSWS Teams, Families and Friends Network, Wellbeing Programmes, Carers Health Team, Prevention Teams, respite providers and other specialist workers and external organisations to provide joined-up support for carers. 12. Promote, facilitate and support carer groups, programme workshops and events across programmes:- Carer Champions/Carer Awareness, Carer Training and Skills, Carer Employment, Dementia Wellbeing, Primary Care and Hospitals and Young Adult Carers. 13. Actively promote a range of resources and support tools including equipment, assistive technology and training opportunities across a wide range of subjects such as keeping healthy, relaxation, coping strategies, planning for the future, finances and benefits. 14. Link with and promote the role of Carer Champions across primary and community services and hospitals. 15. Participate in the CSWS Response Line on a shared rota across 7 days per week. Work within agreed protocols/procedures including de-brief peer support for other duty staff. 16. Input activity and outcome records to Customer Relationship Management System. Work to achieve agreed carer outcomes, contract Key Performance Indicators and targets as agreed with the Carer Voice Network. 17. Link with and support the work of CSWS Specialist Teams and Programmes to integrate carer support pathways. Attend regular peer meetings with other Support Workers and any other meetings appropriate to the role as requested by the Coordinator or Team Leader. 18. Understand and comply with Safeguarding Policy and Procedure as part of everyday work with carers. Undertake regular training to keep up with changes in policy and procedure. 19. Observe strict confidentiality regarding information obtained during the course of the role. Page 2 of 5
Role at the Acute and Community Hospitals 1. Maintain a regular presence at the hospital and liaise with/work as part of the integrated health and social care Admission Avoidance, Transfer and Discharge Team(s). Foster a fully integrated approach to supporting carers, recognising that a high degree of casework will be relatively short-term and often crisis intervention. 2. Build effective working relationships with hospital and community practitioners Rehab Ward staff, Community Matrons, OT s, Physiotherapists, Social Workers, Intermediate Care Team, One Team and Carers Health Team etc. Actively promote carers rights including recognition as partners in providing care. 3. Join the Community Matrons/other staff on ward rounds, engage in conference calls and undertake weekend work either on-call or at the hospital by agreement. 4. Develop a working knowledge of hospital discharge processes, structures and policies for involving carers in decision-making. Understand the related roles of professional colleagues. Focus support on care at home to reduce delayed transfers. 5. Help raise awareness of carers and the Support Worker role in the hospital setting. Promote carers interests with ward, community staff and social workers who support discharge to improve carer experience. Help publicise Carers Support services including giving talks to doctors, nurses, social work teams and others if requested. 6. Actively seek carer referrals from wards, clinicians and other professionals such as nurses, OTs, Physiotherapists and Social Workers and ensure CSWS information is always readily available. 7. Maintain an understanding of funding arrangements for patient care in the community (Social Care Funding and Continuing Healthcare). Inform carers on how to access financial advice and information on home care, respite and residential care. 8. Maintain an understanding of Power of Attorney & Court of Protection arrangements and a basic knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and assessments to help advise and link carers to specialist advice. Carer Engagement & Other Responsibilities 1. Promote the work of CSWS, the website and social media opportunities and encourage carers to consider joining the CSWS Carer Voice Network. 2. Encourage positive partnerships between carers, their families, key stakeholders and local partner groups and organisations. Help raise awareness of carers issues and promote better outcomes for local carers. 3. Actively promote the concept of carers as expert partners in care. 4. Ensure that carer choice and control shapes support and service delivery and enable carer experiences and preferences to be fed-back through monitoring and case recording. Page 3 of 5
Other Any other reasonable duties as requested by the Team Leader, Locality Manager or Chief Executive. Health and Safety As an Employee of CSWS you have a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure health and safety of all carers, colleagues, volunteers and visitors in accordance with Health and Safety Policy including to:- Take reasonable care of yourself and others at work. Ensure that Health and Safety rules are not broken. Report and take action to address operational Health and Safety risk Equality and Diversity CSWS is committed to anti-discriminatory policies and practices. The post-holder is required to make a positive contribution to promote equality of opportunity and diversity. Page 4 of 5
CARER WELLBEING SUPPORT WORKER, HOSPITAL SERVICE COMPETENCIES Communication 1. Maintains excellent and effective communication with carers, providing a high standard of customer service 2. Approachable with strong active listening skills, solution and carer focused 3. Communicates proactively and builds and maintains positive relationships with carers, colleagues, volunteers and partners 4. Enthusiastic about potential for wider use of marketing and social media tools Understanding Carers Issues 1. Good understanding of carers issues and needs and empathetic caring approach 2. Working knowledge of the local health and social care system, primary care and hospital services and broader community wellbeing services 3. Widely promotes carer health and wellbeing, prevention intervention and use of assistive technology (Equipment for Independence) 4. Promotes personalised, time-limited support, choice and control for carers, including carers from hidden communities 5. Proactively seeks carer feedback and encourages carer engagement 6. Working knowledge of support area 7. Ability to maintain professional boundaries Use of Resources and Organisation and Planning 1. Uses IT skills to the level required by the role (Word, Excel, Database, Internet, E-mail, mobile phones and other social media) 2. Manages own time effectively 3. Effectively input activity outcome records to Customer Relationship Management System and satisfaction systems 4. Works effectively as part of the wider team with a high degree of flexibility 5. Works well with external partners and organisations, building trust and respect 6. Seeks and uses feedback constructively Open to Change 1. Able to think positively and creatively when presented with challenges that may be involved in liaising with other professionals 2. Demonstrates openness to new ideas 3. Able to embrace change in policy and practice within the service Page 5 of 5