Community Care Assistant

Role Overview

Home Care in Gloucester

Shifts:

Full time

Days - 7am to 4pm

Evenings - 3pm to 9pm

Alternate weekend availability essential

Requirements:

Full driver's licence with no more than 6 points and Class 1 business insurance

Main purpose of the role:

To support our service users to enjoy the best quality of life that they can have in the comfort of their own home. Compassion, good communication, and organisational skills, together with a calm, caring manner, are essential for this role within our organisation, as you will mostly work alone with the service user in their own home.

Key responsibility:

To safely provide unrushed compassionate care and support that is based on the needs and wishes of the service user. To respect and promote the service user's choices and maintain dignity at all times. To report any changes or any causes for concern to your line manager promptly. You must be clear about when to seek help and advice in order to keep the service user safe and to always promote their wellbeing.

Duties:

Care and support:
Give non-discriminatory person-centred care and to support the service user in a holistic way, not merely by their care needs. When providing care, always listen and observe the service user to ensure that their choices are being followed and that their health and wellbeing are maintained. To allow the service user to stay as independent as they are able and assist them to make their own decisions where required.

Follow instructions to provide person-centred care as stipulated in the care support plan after obtaining consent from the service user. This may include:

All aspects of personal care:

• Showering and bathing
• Dressing and grooming
• Toileting and continence care
• Teeth and dentures

Taking medication:

• Encouraging, reminding, assisting, and giving medicines
• Ordering and collecting prescriptions
• Returning unwanted medications to the pharmacy for safe disposal

Eating and drinking:

• Help the service user to plan what to eat and drink
• Gentle encouragement and help to eat and drink well
• Shopping, preparing, and serving food and drinks
• Clearing the table, washing up, and keeping the kitchen area clean and tidy
• Agreeing with the service user on how to store food safely and dispose of out-of-date produce

Safely using aids and personal equipment in a manner that maintains the dignity of the service user, for example:

• Standing aids and walking frames
• Wheelchairs, manual and electric hoists
• Sliding sheets and moving boards
• Hearing aids and other physical aids

Domestic chores:

• Sweeping, washing floors, and vacuuming
• Laundry and ironing, making beds, and changing the linen
• Dusting and general tidying
• Social and physical activities or mental stimulation such as:
  Answering the door and greeting visitors
• Answering emergency bells and the telephone
• Writing cards, letters, or emails
• Taking a service user out shopping, to see their friends, or to other activities
• Hobbies and other activities such as reading, games, etc.

Supporting a service user through temporary and palliative illness, including:

• End of life care
• Hospital appointments
• Liaising with community health support and families
• Record and report all relevant service user information, including: the person-centred care and support you provide
• Assistance with medication
• Changes to a service user's condition or other concerns
• Faulty equipment or hazards in the home
• Response to emergencies, accidents, and incidents
• Safeguarding matters
• Contact with family members, caregivers, and other health and social care professionals
• Other matters as required by Sky Vigil Care Ltd
• Keep all information about service users and their families secure and confidential.

Work well as part of the team:

Follow company policies, procedures, and guidelines all the time. Take part in the monthly staff meetings and other meetings involving not only service users but outside agency representatives, for example, social services.

Attend training activities, appraisals, and developmental meetings.

This list is not exhaustive, and from time to time you may be required to undertake additional duties. We will provide full training in line with regulatory requirements.

We have detailed what skills, knowledge, and experience are required to carry out this role. Following is what essential criteria we are looking for to select suitable applicants for this post. You should be able to demonstrate, giving examples where possible, how you meet these criteria.