Job Description

Waking Nights Support Worker

Responsible to: Home Manager/Deputy Care Manager

Payscale: 12 - 18

Specific Responsibilities

1 Keep the needs of the deafblind people you are supporting at the centre of your attention at all times. This means:

1.1 Listening and responding to the deafblind person that you are supporting. To do this you will use the communication method that he or she prefers and which you will have been trained to use.

1.2 Supporting deafblind people with personal care tasks, such as washing, bathing, shaving, dressing and using the toilet. In all these intimate tasks you should ensure that peoples rights to privacy, dignity and cleanliness are respected.

1.3 Promoting the health and wellbeing of the deafblind person through encouraging a healthy diet, regular exercise and paying attention to medical needs. This includes the administration of any necessary medication and accompanying individuals to medical appointments.

1.4 Understanding and recognising that a deafblind person may communicate with us through his or her behaviours and that this is important to them. Sometimes this can be difficult or challenging. When it is you must ensure that you follow the guidance that is issued to enable us to respond appropriately.

1.5 Considering and showing respect for an individuals age, gender, ethnic origin, religious/cultural background and sexual/personal needs and ensuring you keep these in mind in all aspects of your work practice.

1.6 Understanding and recognising how having no, or very limited, sight and hearing, affects each individual differently. This means we have to constantly provide information about the environment around the person, provide safe, personal mobility support and adapt how we work with each person to enable them to make the best possible use of any vision or hearing they have and gain information through touch.

2 Enable deafblind people to influence the support and the services they receive, both now and in the future. This means:

2.1 Supporting deafblind people and working closely with their families and other professionals to review services provided and to agree plans for the future based on a person-centred approach.

2.2 Actively supporting a deafblind person in identifying and participating in a wide range of enjoyable, stimulating and purposeful activities that make for a good quality of life. This will include at least one holiday per year.

2.3 Ensuring that the domestic environment is maintained to a high standard producing a safe, comfortable and homely setting. This includes carrying out all normal household tasks and enabling deafblind people to be as fully involved as possible in the running of their own home.

2.4 Following Sense procedures developed to prevent any form of abuse. This includes procedures on adult protection, intimate personal care and finances.

2.5 Supporting the deafblind person to actively maintain contacts with his/her family and friends and in extending their range of social contacts.

3 Help Sense to provide a high quality service by:

3.1 Ensuring that all records of your work are completed as required and are up to date, neat and accurate.

3.2 Completing Sense’ induction and skills development programme, attending courses as arranged by your manager and attending supervision sessions. These are all designed to give you the knowledge and develop the skills needed to provide the best support to deafblind people.

3.3 Behaving at all times in a manner which is respectful towards deafblind people, their families, colleagues, neighbours and members of the public.

3.4 Maintaining an awareness of all organisation policies and practices and following these at all times.

3.5 To work in a way which ensures a safe, healthy and supportive environment for deafblind people, staff and any other people who come into contact with us in the course of our activities.

3.6 To undertake any other duties as requested by the home manager that are in line with the grade and responsibilities of this post.

Note to applicants

This position requires applicants to undertake an Enhanced AccessNI Disclosure, carried out in accordance with the AccessNI Code of Practice which can be found at http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/accessni/support/code-of-practice.htm

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR WAKING NIGHT STAFF

As a member of waking night staff, your first priority and responsibility is to provide direct care and assistance to the deafblind people you support. This may include:

·  Helping people with evening activities.

·  Helping people to get ready for bed, and to get up in the morning.

·  Meeting any personal care or health needs that arise during the night.

·  Supporting people who are awake for any reason.

·  Doing any regular checks that are required by your manager or by the deafblind peoples’ care plans.

Sometimes, providing this direct care and assistance may keep you busy throughout the night. At other times, it may not.

The kind of things that you may be asked to do when you are not busy directly with the deafblind people include:

·  Domestic tasks such as cleaning, laundry or ironing

·  Updating records

·  Your own development, such as work on the Induction Modules or NVQs

If the deafblind people do not need your direct support then, once you have completed any other tasks required of you, it is accepted that you may also spend time doing things like:

·  Watching television or listening to the radio

·  Reading

·  College work

However:

·  You must ensure that you are always attentive to the needs of the deafblind people, and ready to help them if needed.

·  You must never become so engrossed in an activity that you are distracted from the deafblind people.

·  You must never have the TV, radio or music on too loudly to be able to hear what is happening in the house.

It is your responsibility to remain awake throughout the night.

If you deliberately go to sleep, or fail to take reasonable steps to stay awake, you are likely to be dismissed.

By this we mean that you must:

·  Ensure that you have had adequate sleep before coming on duty

·  Never tuck yourself up on a sofa or armchair in the way that you would if you intended to sleep

·  Always maintain the level of lighting in the room that you are in at the same level as you would during the day.

If you feel that you are getting sleepy, you should take appropriate steps to make yourself more awake, for example by:

·  Moving around the house

·  Making yourself a drink or a snack.


Person Specification

Support Worker

Achievements and Experience
Essential Criteria / Desirable Criteria
Experience of managing difficult situations. / Experience of healthy living and an understanding of how to promote this in others.
Experience of working with in policies, procedures, organisational aim and objectives and contract of employment. / An NVQ in care/promoting independence or health and social care.
To follow direct guidelines, ensuring the home is kept clean, tidy and all relevant areas of Infection Control and Health and Safety are upheld. / Previous experience in a care setting.
The ability to work professionally as part of an established team. / BSL – Experience or qualification
Skills & Abilities
An ability and willingness to provide support to people who need it with dressing and personal care. / Full Drivers license
An ability to summarise and record information in a way that can be readily understood by others. / NISCC Registered
You will need to be able to communicate in a variety of methods.
An ability to work effectively as part of a team.
An ability to work on your own initiative.
An ability to carry out basic numerical tasks (e.g adding and subtracting figures).
An understanding of the needs of vulnerable people. (e.g children, adults, older people, people with learning disabilities or people who are deaf and blind).
An ability and willingness to participate and support in a range of social and leisure activities.
An understanding that people have health and welfare needs and a willingness to support individuals in meeting their needs in this area.
An understanding of rights, dignity and respect and a willingness to promote them.
An understanding of Equal Opportunities.
An ability to advocate on behalf of individuals
A willingness to participate in training.
An ability to assess risk and work within health and safety policies and legislation.
To demonstrate the personal attributes of respectfulness.
An ability to work flexibly

The person specification is used to help managers decide on who to appoint and ensure that all applicants are judged on the appropriate criteria.

Any questions, presentations and written exercises will be directly related to these criteria. The qualities detailed will be relevant to the post, stated as precisely as possible and should be demonstrable.

Applicants for the post are advised to use the information contained within the person specification to help then structure their application.

Short listing will take into account the meeting of the essential criteria and specifically those points sourced to the ‘application’ form.

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