Support Worker

Position: Support Worker

Accountable to: Home Manager, Deputy Home Manager

To work with other staff to provide care and support in meeting the daily needs of adults at Croftdown House. To assist and enable our clients to gain greater confidence in integrating into community life, assisting them to build, maintain and develop new skills and relationships. To promote a stimulating homely environment and to enable our clients to live the life they want to live; decreasing their dependence on staff and to gain increasing independence and to reaching their full potential.

Principal Responsibilities
Clients Welfare

1. To assist clients in all activities of daily living according to their individual care plans
2. To offer appropriate support physical, emotional and psychological to individual clients, assisting clients to manage their personal care and health needs.
3. To assist all our clients in the areas of nutritional and cultural requirements
4. To Key work taking on responsibility for specific areas of care and support and aspirations of our clients
5. To assist service users who need help with getting up in the morning, dressing, undressing, washing, bathing and the toilet.
6. To organise and provide appropriate support for clients preparing to move-on to greater independence, including support through the move and resettlement into their new home.
7. To ensure that service users are as fully involved as possible in decisions which affect them individually.
8. To contribute to the protection of clients from abuse, reporting any bad practices.
9. To ensure that client’s personal property and clothing is maintained to a high standard, reporting any issues to the Home Manager or the Deputy.
10. To support & escort clients to appointments, day trips, holiday, short breaks, places of worship and other social settings.
11. To assist in creating a warm, stimulating and welcoming environment where our clients can grow and achieve their potential.

Administrative and financial responsibilities

1. To carry out risk assessments, complete full assessments, develop action plan and participate in clients review process.
2. To record and update clients files, prepare weekly and monthly reports and correspondence, maintain accurate records of events and medical appointments. Records of activities, skill reaching, client’s finances and handover information.
3. To be responsible for handling petty cash, client’s monies, receipting monies as appropriate and conducting such transactions in accordance with Jericho Lodge strict financial procedures.
4. In consultation with the management team, to liaise with outside agencies, health professional regarding the welfare of our clients.
5. To deal with all appropriate forms and assist clients in completing forms, maintaining tenancies and with budgeting
6. To assist in the administration of medication according to Supreme care policy and procedures
7. To participate in shift work, including bank holidays, weekends and sleep –ins

Service & Colleague Welfare

1. To adhere to company policies and procedures and organisational code of conduct, aims, objectives, values and mission.
2. To promote equal opportunity, anti – discriminatory and anti oppressive practices
3. To be a role model at all times to clients, colleagues, and professional agencies
4. To carry out and comply with all health and safety checks, fire regulations and hazard reporting, ensure fire and other equipment are regularly tested and recorded and complies with health and safety’s polices and procedures and standards.
5. To undertake health and safety duties according to the shift plan duties
6. To perform such other duties as may be reasonably be required

Personal Development

1. To attend staff meetings and to contribute to service development.
2. To participate fully in ones own supervision sessions, training and development opportunities
3. To be committed to the agreed career path
4. To be committed to the annual review and any development plans

Person Specification – Essential Criteria for Support Worker
All applicants must be able to demonstrate how they meet/ possess the essential requirements for the post, by providing relevant work or life examples.

Work Related Experience:

1. Previous experience (a minimum of 6 months) of working with vulnerable people, adults with learning disability or mental health disorder in a residential or a community/day care setting or related field.
2. Experience of teaching independent living skills using a variety of different forms of communication.

Knowledge & Skills:

1. Ability to keep clear and accurate records.
2. Good communicator and excellent interpersonal skills and good organisational.
3. Ability to be an active team player and the ability to work on own initiative
4. Commitment to good practice and a team approach to work
5. Understanding of the principles of valuing people
6. Commitment to equal opportunity and challenging any anti discriminatory and anti – oppressive practices.
7. An understanding of the needs and issues facing disadvantage people.
8. Ability to promote clients involvement and participation in the service
9. To have achieved an NVQ level 2/3 or be committed to achieving this

Personal attributes:

1. A positive non-patronising approach to people with a Mental Health and or Substance Misuse condition
2. A willingness to update and adapt new skills as required by the demands of the job
3. Flexibility to respond to the changing needs of clients and the environment
4. To be self motivated and well organised

Desirable:

• Competent in the use of Microsoft office application
• Clean UK driving license- desirable but not necessary
• All staff are required to respect the confidentiality of all matters that they might learn in the course of their employment. All staff are expected to respect to the requirements under the Data Protection Act 1998. All staff must ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work, etc 1974

Due to the nature of the work the post holder will be required to work shifts including weekends evening work, bank holidays and sleep- ins. This job description aims to provide the applicant or employee with an accurate and concise summary of the job and its main duties and responsibilities; however it is not intended to be restrictive or absolute.