Qualified Social Worker

Purpose of the job

To provide safe care and support of adults at risk ensuring all their basic needs identified in their support plan and risk assessments are fully met.

To provide person-centred quality care that is tailored to the needs and aspirations of each individual. This personalised approach must ensure that individual outcomes are met and everyone is treated with dignity, respect and compassion.

Duties and responsibilities

This is not a comprehensive list of all the tasks, which may be required of the post holder. It is illustrative of the general nature and level of responsibility of the work to be undertaken:-

Social Care Worker

1. To support the delivery of agreed plans of care ensuring that service users are supported safely and individual needs and service targets are met. The quality and standard of care must meet CQC fundamental standards.
2. To support clients with their personal care as determined within their individual care plan. Personal care can include supporting service users undertake activities such as dressing, washing, bathing or shaving, toileting, getting in or out of bed, eating, drinking, taking medication and communicating.
3. Postholders are required to be involved in monitoring the progress of service users, being mindful of triggers for challenging behaviour, seizures and acting appropriately in line with agreed guidelines and to highlight any changes in an individuals behaviour to the manager so that the support plans can be updated.
4. To provide support for individuals who may regularly place emotional demands on the jobholder; and raising significant issues to the manager.
5. The activities and support undertaken by care workers should have a direct impact on the positive well-being of individuals. Therefore, postholders will work with senior officers to ensure that activities motivate and interest service users and provide a positive experience. As such they will contribute to the planning of daily activities and risk assessments.
6. Postholders will attend and contribute positively to meetings as requested by the manager providing input by sharing the outcome of interactions with service users and highlighting issues that may have an impact on the review of the service users case.
7. To ensure the accurate administration and recording of medication, including rescue medication, in line with the Councils Medication policy. Postholders will need to ensure that agreed protocols are followed when supporting an individuals personal care such as peg feeding, postural care, changing stoma bags, buccal suction, medication via a peg etc.
8. Postholders are expected to ensure all records are updated and accurate. This includes ensuring appropriate information security protocols are applied when sharing and preparing information relevant to the service users care. Records include care plans, risk assessments, work related logs and other template based documents.
9. As postholders will be have direct contact with a range of people involved in care delivery; service users, families, care/medical professionals, other colleagues etc, they must ensure they act and communicate professionally and appropriately at all times.
10. Where appropriate to attend and contribute positively to meetings as requested by their line manager.
11. When delivering direct care postholders will need to exercise appropriate interpersonal caring skills in order to meet the needs of clients as covered under point 2 of this Job Description. This includes using guiding and persuasive skills as appropriate to encourage the service user to undertake tasks such as eating, dressing etc. Referral will be made to a senior officer where the service users response could have a negative effect on their or others health, safety, and/or care.
12. Postholders need to be aware of individual communication needs of service users as outlined in the care plan and ensure available/accessible support from specialist services such as sign language or interpreters is used where appropriate.
13. Postholders will be required to use appropriate equipment to support service users who have mobility issues and will be expected to undertake visual checks of and ensure the safe use of lifting equipment such as hoists slings and changing beds and to provide regular physical support to clients such as pushing / pulling / clamping wheelchairs and using hoists and slings
14. Whilst working within agreed procedures, protocols and practises the postholder will be expected to carry out their duties in line with the agreed care plan and service standards and where appropriate to use their own initiative to resolve for day-to-day problems/situations that arise. Such issues may involve assisting service users with important phone calls, appointments etc. and working with assistive technology where required. However, when dealing with issues such as challenging behaviour or medical emergencies these should be reported to a senior officer as soon as practically possible.
15. To support individuals handling small amounts of their own personal money, ensuring that agreed financial procedures are applied including completing client financial record sheets.
16. The job involves working with individuals with challenging behaviour. The postholder is expected to follow protocols, risk assessment and behaviour support plans ensuring that all incidents are reported to a manager as soon as practically possible.
17. To ensure that service users are safely transported between venues and events and taking appropriate action in line with agreed protocols, procedures and practice to deal with issues that arise during the journey.
18. The role involves operating equipment such as hydraulic lifts in accordance with training.
19. The job involves ensuring that correct safety procedures are applied when transporting medication and medication aids such as oxygen on vehicles.
20. The role involves escorting clients safely in vehicles. To conduct basic daily vehicle checks ensuring safety procedures are applied by the checking of seatbelts, wheelchair clamps in accordance with training and assisting the driver in conducting vehicle checks on external lights.

Health and safety

1. To use equipment as instructed and trained.
2. To inform management of any health and safety issues which could place individuals in danger.
3. To be proactive and familiarise yourself with risk assessments and support plans relating to: individuals within the service, the activities and the environment.

Data Protection and Information Security

1. Implement and act in accordance with the Information Security Acceptable Use policy and Data Protection Policy.
2. Ensure that factual and correct records are maintained and shared only with those who have the right or need to know.
3. Protect the councils information assets from unauthorised access, disclosure, modification, destruction or interference.

Person specification

Essential requirements:

• Ability to embrace the values of KMBC 
• The ability to provide physical assistance to meet individuals assessed need in such areas as personal care and delivery quality care that meets CQC fundamental standards. 
• Ability to fill in forms and provide short written reports using standard template documents 
• Demonstrate a personal commitment to continuous learning and development
• Demonstrate a personal commitment to support, appreciate and value the contribution of others 
• Demonstrate a commitment to improving our services and provide person-centred caring and social support for service users to meet their needs and outcomes. 
• Demonstrate a commitment to working as part of a team in a flexible and responsive manner and communicate in an open and honest manner Be aware of issues with regard to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory practice and to act accordingly ensuring a person-centred approach treating individuals with dignity, respect and compassion. 
• The ability to motivate individual service users to meet their full potential and lead an independent and as full a life as possible. 
• Sufficiently physically able to undertake the moving and handling of service users as required

Qualifications:

• NVQ 2 Care or the ability to undertake training within a negotiated time scale
  
• Ability to use equipment as instructed and trained
• Ability to inform management of any health and safety issues which could place individuals in danger 

Personal attributes and circumstances

• Able to work contracted hours within agreed rota patterns to be agreed with manager.
• Willingness to work flexibly from any location determined by the Authority, when required evenings and weekends and at short notice.