Bhsct Health Play Specialist Band 4 Job Belfast area,Northern Ireland UK,Child Care/Nanny

Advertised role location

ROYAL BELFAST HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN

Official document

Band 4 Play Specialist JD Sept 26 RBHSC _1 (doc)

JOB DESCRIPTION POST

Play Specialist

LOCATION

Play Department RBHSC

GRADE

Band 4

HOURS REPORTS TO

Play Services Manager

RESPONSIBLE TO

Assistant Services Manager RBHSC

JOB SUMMARY / MAIN PURPOSE

The Play Specialist is a person with expert knowledge and experience of play with the well child and with the sick child/young person. She/he is a fully integrated member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team. The Play Specialist will work within the Play Service and ward/department team but also she/he will work independently using their own initiative, organization and time management.

The Play Specialist will provide developmental, therapeutic and specialized play techniques for all ages and diversities in an effort to fulfil the emotional, social and developmental needs and help alleviate emotional trauma within families.

Supporting the patient, the Play Specialist will help the child through certain procedures by play preparation techniques and liaise with the Multi-Disciplinary Team to provide therapeutic and distraction play.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To organize, initiate and supervise activities in groups and individually to cater for the child’s physical, social, emotional, cultural and creative needs.
Provide a safe, clean environment with a variety of activities for children from birth to adolescence, appropriate to their age and medical condition.
To participate in the assessment of the play, developmental and emotional needs of individual children and to plan and implement play programmes as part of total care.
Develop skills to be able to respond to referrals from the multidisciplinary team in order to support children through play preparations and play programmes.
To alleviate the effects of hospitalization by providing emotional support and continuity of care for individual children through play preparation and diversional therapy.
To form a supportive relationship with parents/carers and encourage parents and siblings to be involved in play.
To teach the value of play for the children in hospital to parents, students and health care professionals.
To liaise with other members of the health care team in the management of the child and his family in the hospital and the community.
To devise play programmes for children and young people in hospital, according to their individual needs and as part of their care plan.
To work flexibly and as part of a team to maintain an effective service for the child and families changing needs.
Maintain high levels of patient confidentiality at all times.

PLAY

To create an environment in which play occurs naturally at all times.
Encourage play to maintain the child's link with family and home and to help the child adjust to the hospital situation.
To provide appropriate play for normal growth (social, physical, cognitive and emotional) to continue during hospitalization.
To help familiarize the child with unfamiliar equipment and procedures to reduce stress and anxiety and to help the child understand his/her treatment and illness.
To observe the child's developmental and emotional level and report observations to the appropriate staff and help the child express and explore feeling.
To observe and assess the child's anxieties and communicate these to the appropriate staff.
To provide the appropriate remedial play to aid recovery.
To encourage parents and all members of staff to participate in play.
Create an attractive, child-orientated environment including the child's work.
To provide play facilities for siblings as required.
To oversee and take responsibility for the maintenance, provision, safety and cleanliness of the play equipment both in the…