Job responsibilities
The post holder is required to discharge statutory social care functions on behalf of the organisation. They are required to undertake non-complex & proportionate assessments that are evidenced-based. The term non-complex is defined as predictable situations often where the person is motivated to engage & respond to information, guidance & advice. The person may present a low-level risk of risk to self or others & the risk can be managed safely. These situations often require short-term interventions, & the decisions require some analysis of different views & factors impacting on the persons life, this could include mental capacity assessments & care act assessments of people who have a variety of needs. The post holder is also required to arrange & review the delivery of social care support. There may be situations where the work is complex & on these occasions the post holder will seek support from social work colleague & their line manager.
Where applicable: To develop a wider range of skills & knowledge to be able to complete an initial assessment & look at other professional involvement required within your service area.
To complete holistic assessments under the Care Act 2014.
To have a knowledge of a wide range of services (including third sector) to support people to achieve their identified outcomes.
To take a strength-based approach to referral & assessment.
To undertake non-complex assessments of need & to help people to develop outcome-based support plans.
To recognise & take appropriate action when people are at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
To provide quality information & advice
Assist individuals and their carers in the assessment & support planning process by helping them to assess risks & determine necessary support & contingency plans/crisis situations.
To provide necessary information around the fairer charging policy, to help service users & families understand the potential financial implications of adult social care commissioned services.
SCOPE & RANGE
Social Care Practitioners primarily work with people with non-complex care & support needs & undertake assessments & review that are evidenced-based. The person may present a low-level risk of risk to self, or others & the risk can be managed safely. These situations often require short-term interventions, & the decisions require some analysis of different views & factors impacting on the persons life. Decisions require proportionality & analysis of many different views & factors, such as psychological, biological, legal, environmental, & economical. Social Care Practitioners analyse the person presenting situation, risks & protective factors, alongside physical & cognitive impairment & disabilities to undertake holistic assessment of their eligibility which will enable risk mitigation, planning & support planning.
Livewell Southwest (LWSW) is fully committed to an integrated health & social care workforce which operates a shared skills model (currently only within Adult Frailty Specialist Services), whilst adhering to the core principles of the social work profession.
MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibility for People Management
The post holder will not be responsible for people management but may have buddying roles to support new colleagues & students.
Support the delivery of induction training within the roles & responsibilities of CCW, SW & students for new staff within the service as & when required to ensure practice is safe & professional.
Responsibility for financial &/or physical resources
Responsibility for the occasional short-term security of a persons cash, legal documentation, or valuable items (e.g. house keys) until they can be securely deposited (this needs to be risk assessed & discussed with your line manager).
Duty to consider best value option when planning for peoples care & support.
Responsible storing of workplace equipment (e.g. mobile phone).
Responsibility for administration
Plan & organise day-to-day work using an online calendar, recording systems, & workload management tools (that are available on the intranet) in accordance with departmental guidelines.
Ensure records are timely, kept up-to-date, accurate & used in accordance with the GDPR & organisational guidelines.
Have a good understanding of the various computer programmes essential for the completion of daily work, such as Microsoft office.
Arrange & plan meetings with colleagues &/or people who use services & be willing to chair them if required.
Responsibility for people who use our services
The job involves working within recognised procedures & requires the post holder to use initiative when organising their workload & determining work priorities daily.
Respond independently to problems & unusual situations with input from an Advanced Practitioner &/or colleagues for advice, guidance, & support. Deal with any unexpected problems or situations through recognised procedures.
Undertake independent decision making on handling particular situations & unexpected problems.
With management input resolve problems or situations which may be complex and not covered by existing procedures.
Use judgement &/or seek guidance to assess a particular situation & decide the best way forward for resolution, when there is conflicting information.
Escalate to Advanced Practitioner areas of complexity; for example: Safeguarding concerns, moving & handling concerns & risk management.
Escalate to Advanced Practitioner areas of complexity; for example: Safeguarding concerns, moving & handling concerns & risk management.
To undertake detailed (non-complex) assessments of care & support needs & reablement goals, with the specific focus of taking a holistic view of the persons needs & considering the options of support available to them.
To undertake detailed (non-complex) assessments of care & support needs & reablement goals, with the specific focus of taking a holistic view of the persons needs & considering the options of support available to them.
To undertake reviews of formal support arrangements.
To undertake carers assessments.
To help people & their carers to identify sustainable contingency plans to help them maintain independent living in emergency & crisis situations.
To comply with all relevant legislative requirements as well as LWSW policies & procedures.
To recognise statutory responsibilities in respect of providing Community Care services.
Responsibility for providing information, advice & guidance, including LWSW, Statutory & regulatory policies.
Occasionally required to demonstrate duties & provide advice, guidance & 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. Eclipse and systm1 & also using a number of systems for checking information relevant to the persons needs.
Responsibility to ensure that data inputted onto the system is accurate. Work in partnership with all other relevant agencies to ensure the needs of vulnerable adults are addressed, e.g. Police, NHS.
To recognise the need for other professional involvement within the team & across LWSW services. Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of the post.
A basic level of physical effort is required. To ensure that the tasks & duties of the job are undertaken correctly within normal demands.
The role can be mentally demanding on a daily basis due to the requirement to work to deadlines, e.g. Completion of assessment within departmental & team timeframes.
The post holder is regularly subjected to conflicting demands depending on the needs of people (e.g. urgent phone calls).
Daily involvement & direct work on a regular basis, which can be significant, with service users who are vulnerable & experiencing difficulties, e.g. end of life.
Working with people who can be difficult to communicate with.
Most of the work within our team will require the post holder to assess service users within their own environment or a residential/nursing setting.
Serious verbal abuse, aggression & other anti-social behaviour from people &/or members of the public can occur occasionally. Where this takes place department, & organisational procedures should be followed.
Responsibility for implementation of policy &/or service developments
Contribute ideas (& advocate on behalf of the people who use our services) towards the development & implementation of policies &/or services.
Represent the team/organisation on planning or developmental groups as & when required.
A flexible & adaptable approach to organisational change.
Other Responsibilities
Correct use of computer hardware/software; security; processing & generating information; creating, updating & maintaining information databases.
Engagement with continuous professional development opportunities.
COMMUNICATIONS & RELATIONSHIPS
Maintain positive working relationships & communicate clearly with team colleagues, line manager, other professionals, people who use our service & their families/carers which may include highly sensitive issues.
Listen to & work in partnership with the people who use our services, families & carers.
There is a constant requirement to maintain professional conduct & communicate clearly when faced with competing demands & in situations that are potentially highly emotive, such as being challenged by families or other professionals
Present evidence-based decisions & judgements about potentially complex/ambiguous situations in a manner fit for the audience. This includes writing court reports, explaining legal requirements to people & their families & projecting health & social care values in a multi-disciplinary setting
Social Care Practitioners undertake assessment & reviews with individuals where there can be barriers to communication and the need to consider advocacy, interpret & communication aids & methods
Please see the attached Job Description for full details of the role
