Job Title

Healthcare Assistant (Brampton Care Home)

Job Descriptions

Roles and Responsibilities:

Maintaining a safe environment:

•  The Health Care Assistant will participate in maintaining a safe environment for residents.
• The Health Care Assistant will be aware of the Homes Health and Safety Statements. These steps will include:

1. Be aware of procedure in the event of fire
2. Assist in keeping all rooms clean and tidy (bedrooms, sluices, storerooms, craft/therapy)
3. Move, or assist in moving equipment and or furniture as necessary
4. Washing and making up occupied and unoccupied beds
5. Returning trays and equipment to proper storage areas
6. Attending to the hygiene of equipment such as hoists, bed cages, patient chairs, commodes and other care home equipment
7. Attend to spillage, when necessary, as quickly as possible to prevent accidents.
8. Assist in the disposal of clinical waste according to the Care Home policy.
9. Assist mobile, but disoriented patients navigate safely around the Care Home.
10. Assist feeble visitors to the Care Home to prevent them falling or injuring themselves.
11. Assist with safekeeping of patient’s personal property.
12. Report broken or unsafe items that need repair
13. Sort soiled Laundry and prepare for collection
14. Sort and store clean laundry.

Communication:

• Effective communication is a valuable social attribute and a core skill is required by the Health Care Assistant. The Health Care Assistant will:

1. Treat everyone in a manner in which they themselves would like to be treated
2. Assist in maintaining a physical environment that communicates peace, safety, and comfort for residents and their families.
3. Communicate openly with the Nursing staff regarding residents and relative’s needs. This includes both telephone and verbal enquiries.
4. Direct all inquiries about the resident’s condition to a member of the Nursing staff.

• A Health Care Assistant is obliged to maintain confidentiality. This applies to information accessed through interactions with their relatives or through interactions with other staff. However, there is also an obligation to report to the Staff Nurse, or other relevant authority, any information that may include the potential risk to any person

Eating and Drinking:

• The Health Care Assistant has a significant contribution to make in helping patients meet their needs for food and drink. Under the direction of the Nursing staff, they will:

1. Prepare patients to enjoy their meals as much as possible (e.g., offering mouthwashes or an opportunity to clean teeth or dentures, to use toilet facilities and to wash their hands as appropriate)
2. Prepare the eating environment by making it as aesthetically pleasant as possible by removing unnecessary items from the immediate bedside (commodes, urinals and sputum cartons)
3. Feed or help feed patients
4. Assist patients with cutting or arranging their food so it can be easily eaten
5. Observe the amounts of food and liquids consumed by patients
6. Making patients comfortable after their meals (e.g., offering opportunity to clean their teeth or dentures)
7. Encouraging patients to drink plenty of fluid and making this possible by offering refreshing drinks frequently.

Eliminating:

• Eliminating waste from the body is an essential process for all living beings.
• It is a function of Nursing to assist people in this area of living when they need such assistance
• The Health Care Assistant

1. - Supervise patients in toilets and bathrooms when it is necessary
2. - Place patients on bed pans and commodes
3. - Attend to patients post elimination needs
4. - Assist with care of incontinent patients
5. - Measure and record volume of urine eliminated by residents and inform staff nurse
6. - Empty urinals recording volumes when directed
7. - Emptying urine drainage bags and recording volumes
8. - Emptying colostomy bags as directed by the Nursing staff
9. - Disposing of used sputum containers
10. - Taking care of patients clothing which may become soiled
11. - The Health Care Assistant will strictly adhere to the universal precautions in the infection control policy so as to prevent the spread of infection when dealing with human waste products

Personal Cleansing and Dressing:

• The Health Care Assistant contributes to the patients comfort and maintenance of personal dignity by assisting them, when necessary, with personal cleansing and dressing activities. These may include:

1. Washing patients in bed, shower or bath.
2. Helping with or performing mouth care.
3. Shaving patients when necessary.
4. Caring for patients when necessary.
5. Caring for patients’ hair and nails as needed.
6. Helping patient to dress and groom.
7. Checking the resident’s laundry and sorting and putting away of laundry.

 Mobilising:

• The Health Care Assistant will:

1. Assist residents with walking
2. Position patients comfortably either in bed or chair
3. Assist with turning and positioning patients in bed
4. Provide patients with aids that enhance opportunities for mobility
5. Participate in moving or lifting patients as directed and according to correct procedures which aim to prevent injury to all parties involved
6. Report all falls or other untoward events experienced by patients to Nursing staff

Death and Dying:

• The Health Care Assistant will:

1. Establish a quiet and comfortable and dignified environment for the dying person and family members to share
2. Listen with respect and with empathy to relatives who may wish to chat
3. Providing drinks or snacks for relatives who may be spending long periods with their dying family member
4. Provide comfort measures for the dying person as directed by the Nursing staff (e.g., mouth care, gentle sponging, adjusting pillows and bed clothes)
5. Assist with the preparation of body removal to the funeral home/church
6. Organise the belongings of the dead person to be returned to the family.

Collaborating in other activities:

• The efficiency and effectiveness with which the Care Home can meet the needs of its residents
• depends on how well all the staff work together as a team. The Health Care Assistant is a key member of the Care Home and may be requested to undertake some activities that are indirectly related to patient care. These may include:

1. Checking supply of stocks and listing those that need recording
2. Maintain orderly storage of supplies
3. Report to the Nursing staff any requests from Residents or their relatives
4. Report to the Nursing staff any complaints of pain or distress expressed by residents
5. Be willing to undertake training schedules that will be organised at the Care Home
6. Actively involved in scheduled activities for residents
7. Ensuring fresh supplies of drinking water and clean glasses
8. Checking flowers and plants and ensuring regular watering and discarding any dead flowers

Professionalism/Codes of Conduct:

• To behave always in a manner which promotes good working relationships between all members of the care home’s team.
• To show courtesy and respect in all communications between management, colleagues, residents and relatives.
• To behave in a manner so as to uphold and enforce the philosophy statement of the Nursing
• Home, i.e., Compassion, Respect, justice, honesty and equality.

Staff Development:

• The Healthcare Assistant will be required to undertake mandatory training in moving and handling and fire safety training on commencement in post and refresh as required.
• The Healthcare Assistant will be required to attend study days and in-service training as arranged to develop personal skills in caring for patients. HACCP training is mandatory and will be provided to you.

General Responsibilities:

• The Healthcare Assistant must be conversant with, and implement, all policies / procedures / guidelines / standards as laid down by the Care Home.
• The Healthcare Assistant must have an awareness of Philosophy of the Care Home.
• The Healthcare Assistant will be expected to comply with the Care Homes Dress Code, which may be amended from time to time.
• The Healthcare Assistant must practise economy at all times in the use of supplies, equipment, materials, heating and lighting.
• The Healthcare Assistant must respect confidential information obtained in the course of Care duties and refrain from disclosing such information without the consent of the patient or person entitled to act on their behalf, except where disclosure is required by law or is necessary in the public interest. You will be required to sign a Confidentiality Statement prior to commencement.

Health and Safety at Work:

• Attention is drawn to the responsibility of all employees to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and other people who may be affected by their actions at work.
• Verbally reporting any accident or untoward incident within twenty-four hours of the event and following this up with written details.

Terms Of Job Description 

The above list of roles and responsibilities is not meant to be an exhaustive outline of all duties held within the role, but instead reflect the core elements of what sets the Healthcare Assistant role apart. By signing this agreement, you are confirming that you are aware that there may be additional duties required during the performance of the role.

Qualifications

Bachelors Degree

Skills

• Communication Skills
• Attention to details
• Ability to work under pressure

Experience

• 1