Community Care Worker

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose:

To provide quality information and advice to people and their carers on the best ways to meet their needs and achieve their stated outcomes and help them to live their lives as independently as possible.

To facilitate the development of support plans, personal budgets and direct payments to vulnerable adults and their families across the city.

To undertake assessments of need and to help people to develop outcome-based support plans.

To assist service users in the assessment and support planning process by helping them to assess risks and determine necessary support and contingency plans.

To help people and their carers to identify sustainable contingency plans to help them maintain independent living in emergency and crisis situations.

Decision-Making:

The job involves working within recognised procedures which leaves the ability for the post holder to use initiative when organising their workload and determining work priorities on a daily basis.

The work may involve responding independently to problems and unusual situations with access to an Advanced Practitioner for advice and guidance.

The post holder is expected to deal with any unexpected problems or situations through recognised procedures.

Independent decision making on handling particular situations and unexpected problems.

Resolution of problems or situations which may be complex and not covered by existing procedures.

Conflicting information can require the post holder to use judgement to assess a particular situation and decide the best way forward for resolution.

The post holder is expected to raise concerns with an Advanced Practitioner, i.e. in relation to Safeguarding, moving and handling, in relation to the above points.

Accountabilities:

To provide quality information and advice to people and their carers on the best ways to use their personal budget to create support plans to meet their stated outcomes and help them to live their lives as independently as possible.

To undertake reviews.

To undertake assessment of needs.

To undertake carers assessments.

To facilitate support planning by the collation of information from the care and support needs assessment detailed conversation and personal budget questionnaire to help people to develop outcome-based support plans.

To assist service users in the support planning process by helping them to assess risks and determine necessary support and contingency plans within their personal budget.

To help people and their carers to identify sustainable contingency plans to help them maintain independent living in emergency and crisis situations.

To comply with all relevant legislative requirements as well as LWSW policies and procedures.

To recognise statutory responsibilities in respect of providing Community Care services.

Responsibility for providing information, advice and guidance on established LWSW policy and external regulations and/or statutory requirements related to the well-being of service users through the provision of a duty service, as and when required.

Occasionally required to demonstrate duties and provide advice, guidance and support to other employees, students or trainees. Also to provide feedback to the Practice Learning Managers/ Student Supervisors.

Responsibility for accurately inputting information of work undertaken on electronic systems, i.e. Care first 6, and/or manual systems.

Responsibility to ensure that data inputted by others is accurate, e.g. that a review is due or overdue before a visit to a service user takes place.

Work in partnership with all other relevant agencies to ensure the needs of vulnerable adults are addressed, e.g. police, NHS.

Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of the post

Demands:

A basic level of physical effort is required, but on occasions lifting or carrying is required, e.g. carrying equipment for assessment in service users properties.

To ensure that the tasks and duties of the job are undertaken correctly within the normal demands of the job task, the postholders capacity can be mentally demanding on a daily basis due to the requirement to work to deadlines, e.g. Completion of support plans within departmental timeframes.

The post holder is regularly subjected to conflicting demands depending on the needs of the service users, e.g. service users arriving unannounced, emergency telephone calls. The demands can be a considerable work pressure.

Daily involvement and direct work on a regular basis, which can be significant, with service users who are vulnerable and experiencing difficulties, e.g. terminal illness.

Working with service users who demonstrate difficult/risky behaviour, due to their individual circumstances e.g. people with substantial mental health issues, learning and/or physical disabilities which can place significant emotional demands on the post holder.

Working Conditions:

Most of the work takes place indoors with occasional work outdoors.

There can be exposure to unpleasant and hazardous situations, e.g. dirty homes, aggressive pets, uncontained bodily fluids.

Serious verbal abuse, aggression and other anti-social behaviour from service users and/or members of the public can occur occasionally.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in a Mental Health and/or Social Care setting, including voluntary work or administrative role. Please specify 1 year minimum

Desirable

• Demonstrable experience of addressing a range of human needs, including personal crisis, disability, ill health.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to Vocational Level 3 (NVQ 3) in a relevant subject or equivalent level of qualifications or significant equivalent previous knowledge & experience.
• Good general education to GCSE level or equivalent.
• Enthusiasm and commitment to developing within a Mental Health and Learning Disabilities setting .
• Experience word processing, MS, Teams Office word and excel.
• Evidence of a consistent pattern of learning and development from education, training and experience.
• Awareness Livewell Southwest Code of Practice and the College of Occupational Therapy, to meet the standards of practice and conduct required in the role.

Desirable

• NVQ Level 3 and NVQ Level 4 in Health & Social Care
• Full Driving Licence

Skills

Essential

• Reasonable skills in using PC based applications including Microsoft applications such as Teams, Outlook (including calendar), word and excel, on a regular basis
• Analytical, problem solving or creative skills are required within support planning process for service users
• Ability to work in partnership with other agencies so that the best outcomes for the service user are achieved
• Ability to make a judgement on the risk factors to a person (including protection issues). Ability to prioritise those risks and act on the risk assessment.
• Planning and organisational skills
• Developed interpersonal skills to meet the needs of people and service requirements. For example, being open and supportive with people but able to seek support as and when required.
• Ability to resolve situations of conflict, e.g. family disputes.
• Non-judgemental attitude and abilities to build trust with vulnerable adults. Must have developed listening skills.
• Effectively communicate verbally with people, colleagues, managers and partners in different agencies in various settings.
• Developed communication skills to effectively communicate sometimes complex and/or sensitive information both verbally and in writing with people, as well as to provide feedback to professional colleagues.
• The ability to produce written reports and complete standard recording of service forms and documents, as well as communicating electronically, e.g. email.
• Ability to participate in learning & development by shadowing more experienced Community Care Workers and Social Workers.
• The ability to support, advise and give information to assist students on placement in their development, as well as less experienced basic entry band Community Care Workers, as appropriate.

Knowledge

Essential

• Understanding of Adult Social Care and The Care Act 2014.
• Knowledge of the relevant policies and procedures of Livewell and the Department.
• Awareness of relevant legislation:
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007), Children and Families Act 2014. Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010. Case law. Knowledge relating to Ordinary Residence, Continuing Healthcare. Equality Act, Carers Recognition & Services Act 1995, and Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (amended 1998).
• Resources in order to provide advice and information to enable vulnerable adults and carers to make informed choices, e.g. Allowances, access to support.
• Safeguarding for vulnerable adults and children and young people.
• Working knowledge and experience of working to address a range of human needs, including personal crisis, disability, ill health.
• Reasonable awareness of the potential effects of providing regular and substantial unpaid care to a relative, friend or neighbour.
• Practical and procedural knowledge for a range of tasks related to the service area.
• Of the policies or procedures relating to at least one other service, e.g. NHS Continuing Health Care; multi-disciplinary assessments.

Desirable

• Understanding of safeguarding principles and processes.
• Experience of risk management

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).