Job responsibilities
Please See Supporting Information For Full Job Description.
JOB SUMMARY
The band 2 Maternity care assistant (MCA) works as part of the wider multidisciplinary team carrying out a range of tasks that focus on housekeeping, administration and the personal care of mothers and babies. They will work in a range of maternity settings under the direct supervision of a midwife. They will support a friendly, nurturing and welcoming environment for service users, and their families. Within all areas they will contribute to the provision of woman centred, personalised care. This will include promoting continuity of care.
The MCA, under the supervision of the registered midwife, will support the mother and her family in making informed choices around their care, including infant feeding of their baby
Leadership:
The post holder will take responsibility for improvements in own performance within familiar work contexts and will support changes and improvements within maternity services. They take responsibility for the completion of tasks that are delegated to them.
Contextual knowledge:
The post holder is able to recall, comprehend and make use of basic facts, processes and core ideas. They have an underlying awareness of contemporary public health and health promotion initiatives, policy and legislation, and of ethical and legal issues relevant to their scope of role.
Process knowledge:
The post holder can solve routine problems and make straightforward judgements within familiar areas of practice. They can solve limited problems using simple rules and tools, escalating concerns when necessary. They can perform basic care, technical, administrative or scientific tasks in a narrow and defined area. They will be required to record information in appropriate documentation, including where support has been sought from suitably qualified practitioners or where concerns have been escalated. They will hold responsibility for the care of equipment and resources used by the team in which they work. They are able to perform simple audits or surveys relevant to their work area
Personal and professional values and behaviours:
The post holder will demonstrate self-directed development to ensure they are able to practise in accordance with established protocols and standard operating procedures under close, but not continuous, supervision. They recognise the importance of positioning women and families at the centre of care. Within the scope of their role, they recognise their limitations and present themselves in a credible and competent manner.
PRINCIPAL CORE RESPONSIBLITIES/ COMPETENCIES
The MCA will:
Assist in the assessment of health care needs, undertaking roles and responsibilities that have been delegated by the registered midwife.
Under the supervision of the Registered Midwife or Nurse participate fully in the delivery of planned care, including:
Provide information to enable the effectiveness of care to be evaluated and records maintained
Involve women and carers/relatives in the delivery of care
Provide reassurance support to women and carers/family
Work collaboratively with others in the ward to ensure that needs of the woman and baby are met
Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations
Housekeeping:
The MCA will:
- Maintain a clean and tidy environment, to support a healthy, safe environment and promote effective infection control as per Trust IPC guidelines, including;
o monitoring and disposal of sharps bins
o management of blood spillages
o undertake general cleaning of all furniture, fittings and medical equipment in all clinical areas, including; cleaning and making beds and sterilising infant feeding equipment
- Ensure any deficits in stock levels or equipment are reported and addressed via the agreed communication lines to the shift leader, ward housekeeper or line manager.
- Re-stock and order equipment and stationary and ensure there are adequate levels of stationery and any appropriate patient information/leaflets within the clinical area, escalating any deficits or issue to the shift leader/line manager
- The MCA will support maintenance of ward equipment by undertaking routine equipment checks, including;
o Complete fridge temperature checks
o Check condition of O2 and suction equipment, both wall and cylinder
Ensuring that broken equipment/ furniture or structural issues are reported to the shift leader/Ward Manager, as appropriate and use Trust reporting systems to get the issue resolved, including;
Support the distribution and collection of meals as required.
Assist transfer of clinically well, non-labouring women between clinical areas
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Care of the woman
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Support the women with personal hygiene, including
o Oral hygiene
o Vulval toilet
o Post operatively
o Catheter care
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Undertake maternal vital signs, and record on the MEOWs charts, report concerns or deviations from normal range.
- Recognise generic signs of signs of ill health in mothers and report these to the midwife
- Obtain urine samples and undertake urinalysis
- Accurately record mothers oral fluid intake and output along with urine output on fluid balance chart
- Accurately calculate mothers body mass index and records this in the appropriate areas within maternal records and electronic systems.
- Using the appropriate technique measure and apply thromboembolic deterrent stockings (TEDS)
- Using appropriate aseptic none touch technique and in line with local infection control guidance independently undertake:
- removal of indwelling urethral catheter
- removal of intravenous cannula
Care of baby
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Support mothers and their partners in the care of their new babies, including:
- Washing baby or supporting mothers and partners to bathe baby
- Changing the babys nappy or supporting the mothers and partners to do so
- Provide reassurance to new mothers, their families and birthing partners
- Support thermoregulation of baby (dress/wrap in blankets/adjust room temp)
Infant feeding
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Promote skin-to-skin with healthy babies and their mothers or partners
- Inform parents about the benefits of breastfeeding
- Support positioning and comfort of the woman whilst she is breastfeeding
- Support effective positioning and attachment of the baby whilst breastfeeding
- Support parents to formula feed including:
o demonstrating how to make up formula and the risks associated with this
o explaining storage and maintenance of formula feeds
o explaining the principles of demand bottle feeding
Generic specialist roles
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Assist doctors with performing abdominal ultrasound scans
- Assist doctors with performing transvaginal scans
- Perform phlebotomy and other skills such as ECG recording and bladder scanning.
Labour and delivery areas
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Provide reassurance and support to; labouring women, new mothers and birthing partners
- Clean, fill, and maintain birthing pool to correct temperature, in line with local guidelines and infection control procedures
Theatre
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Support women and birthing partners during procedure
- Set up non-sterile equipment
Administration and record keeping
Following training and competency assessment the MCA will:
- Access and print pathology results. However, the responsibility to interpret and act upon the result remains with the midwife or nurse.
- Input booking/discharge/labour data into electronic maternity systems and/or E-Care
- Retrieve booking /discharge/ labour data into electronic maternity systems
- After completion of clinical care ensure that these actions are recorded accurately and complete all records at the time or as soon as possible after an event.
- Participate in the organisation of appointments for both mother and baby.
- Participate in the admission and discharge of women and babies from the clinical areas ensuring all appropriate documentation is completed.
- Undertake discussion of routine discharge information
- Participate in collection of data for local audits
Managerial/Leadership
The MCA will:
- Develop own practice and offer suggestions for improving services
- Ensure the effective and efficient use of resources
- Maintain health, safety and security and report any concern
Quality/Clinical Governance
The MCA will:
Ensure compliance with legislation, policies and procedures
Report any concern regarding the care of women or babies
Participate in service user and public involvement activities
Support peoples equality, diversity and rights
