Associate Assistant Practitioner

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; West of England; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust's AAC WEST team is recruiting an Associate Assistant Practitioner to support in preparing communication aids prescribed for active patients on the service caseload.

The role, based at the Bristol Enablement Service, is a development post supported by experienced AAC staff. It is non patient facing and requires a confident computer user who can manage their own workload.

Qualifications

• GCSEs including English and Maths.
• NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care.
• Basic knowledge of Augmentative Alternative Communication principles.
• Excellent communication skills with patients, families, carers and professionals.
• Confident computer user with MS Word/Access/Excel, email and internet.
• Demonstrable ability to learn new computer software.
• Experience in care or educational settings is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Communication Aids programming: prepare vocabularies using specialist software.
• Equipment preparation for assessments and training sessions.
• Provide telephone support to patients and their support teams in the region.
• Assist in the delivery of AAC training sessions.

Skills

Communication skills

Patient support

Team collaboration

Organisational skills

Computer literacy

Attention to detail

Training delivery

Education

GCSEs including English and Maths

NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

MS Access

Email

Internet

Social media

Job description

AAC WEST, based at the Bristol Centre for Enablement (BCE), is an NHS funded department that provides technological solutions for individuals that require alternative methods to communicate. The service is commissioned by NHS England to provide Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) assessments and equipment to people living in the South West region who meet nationally agreed referral criteria.

AAC WEST are looking to recruit an Associate Assistant Practitioner to join their busy clinical team to support in the preparation of communication aids that have been prescribed for active patients on the service case load.

This role will be based from the Bristol Enablement Service (BCE) and as a development post, will be fully supported by a team of experienced AAC assistants and registered clinicians. It is a non patient facing role. The successful candidate will be a confident computer user who enjoys managing their own workload.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the job are as follows:

• Communication Aid Programming- Preparing both high and low tech communication resources using specialist software to collate vocabularies which are provided by and on behalf of patients on the caseload
• Equipment Preparation - Preparing equipment for clinical team to take to assessments and training sessions
• To offer telephone support to patients and their support teams in the region on devices which have been loaned
• To assist in the delivery of training sessions

About us

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations,operatingfrom three main sites at Southmead, Bristol citycentreand Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that theSouth Westhas to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retaina workforce whichrepresentsthe rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your applicationin order toensurewe'remeeting our pledge.

Job responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification

Education and qualifications

• GCSEs including English and Maths
• NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Basic knowledge of Augmentative Alternative Communication principles
• Excellent communication skills in order to communicate factual information to patients, their families, carers, and professionals using persuasion, reassurance, tact and sensitivity
• To be able to overcome barriers to understanding when communicating with clients with communication impairments
• Ability to engage and negotiate with suppliers regarding technical issues and feed this information back to team members and service users in an accessible manner.
• Excellent written skills in order to write clear and concise clinical notes and compose letters and short reports as necessary.
• Confident computer user with a current and working knowledge of Microsoft Word/Access/Excel/ email/internet and social networking
• Demonstrable experience of learning new computer software skills
• Basic knowledge of speech and language and occupational therapy procedures

Experience

• Experience of working in a care or educational setting is desirable
• Technically able with experience of using technology
• Understanding of the difficulties encountered by people with severe communication and physical or other impairments
• Familiar with medical and electronic terms
• Knowledge of and adherence to the Trust and AAC WEST policies and procedures
• Effective team working
• Exceptional organisation skills