Band 3 Palliative Support Worker

NHS; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare provider in Birmingham is seeking an enthusiastic Palliative Carer to join their Children's Palliative Care Team. The role focuses on delivering exceptional care to children with life-limiting conditions. Candidates should demonstrate compassion, effective communication, and flexibility. With responsibilities involving direct care and collaboration with families and healthcare professionals, this role also allows for the development of specialized skills. Full-time, part-time, and flexible hours are available. Join us to make a difference in children's lives.

Qualifications

• Commitment to providing exceptional care focusing on quality of life.
• Previous experience with children having complex healthcare needs.
• Ability to manage tasks such as medication administration and feeding.

Responsibilities

• Provide high quality, safe, and equitable service to children.
• Deliver nursing care in home, nursery, and community settings.
• Support children in their place of choice ensuring dignity and compassion.

Skills

Compassion

Effective communication

Teamwork

Knowledge of safeguarding

IT skills

Education

Minimum of NVQ 3 in Caring for Children and Young People

Job description

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic, compassionate and motivated Palliative Carer to join the Children's Palliative Care Team working with children and young people to work with life limiting/life threatening conditions that have Continuing Healthcare funding. All of the children/young people will have identified complex healthcare needs and/or learning disability and all will be being managed on a Palliative Care pathway.

We are looking for someone who is committed to offer an exceptional level of care with the focus being on quality of life and enabling children and young people to reach their full potential in their chosen place of care.

Flexibility and previous experience of working with children and young people with the commitment to further develop your own skills and knowledge in the area of complex healthcare needs is desired.

Band 3 Palliative Care Carer

We are looking for someone who will think outside the box and will want to go the extra mile for children and young people, demonstrating care, compassion, courage and commitment to fulfilling the role.

Full time/part time/flexible hours of working will be considered at interview.

Main duties of the job

To provide a high quality, safe, equitable and efficient service to children registered with the Children's Palliative Care Team.

Providing interventional support to children, young people and their families in the home environment, nursery, school (main stream and special school settings) and other community settings.

A high number of these children will be considered to be very fragile and in the end stages of their life, this will involve independent and team working, clinical competency, for example, administering enteral feeds and medications.

Maximising quality of life through using play and memory making. Liaison with all professionals known to the child and family including contributing where appropriate to Education and Health Care Plans and Safeguarding discussions and Continuing Healthcare assessment and review.

Successful candidate will be expected to take part in the auditing of this role with the potential to further develop this way of working across other services.

About us

Be Part of Our Team...

Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) has more than 5000 staff working across Birmingham and the West Midlands in a wide range of community nursing and specialist healthcare roles. BCHC delivers over 100 clinical services, in people's homes, health centres, clinics and inpatient facilities. We deliver a wide range of services for children, young people, parents and families as well as adults and community services, two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre and one of Europe's leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry. We deliver all of this with a commitment to integrated, personalised care that is rooted in local communities. We have an ambition to deliver outstanding, integrated care as one of the key NHS providers in the West Midlands.

If you want to 'Be Part of Our Team' and work with a Foundation Trust which is continuously striving for better care and healthier communities, we want to hear from you.

Job responsibilities

To work in partnership with children and young people and their families to deliver planned episodes of care through Continuing Healthcare Funding where it has been agreed the Children's Palliative Care team will provide this support.

To provide nursing care and intervention to children and young people inside or outside of the family home including agreed community settings and schools dependent on clinical needs identified and the appropriateness of this delegation.

To demonstrate competence in nominated clinical tasks following an appropriate programme of training. This will include seizure management, airway management using suction and oxygen, tracheostomy management, enteral feeding and management of feeding devices, administration of medications via oral, enteral, rectal and inhalation routes, intermittent catheterization including accessing of Mitrofanoff and end of life care.

To support a child/young person to die in their or their family’s place of choice, assisting with basic nursing care/delegated interventions ensuring dignity, care and compassion is of the highest priority.

Any intervention will be agreed with parents/nursing team and a signed clinical competency will be undertaken. Care will be evaluated by the named keyworker assigned to the child/young person on a regular basis. Any concerns around effectiveness of care/intervention/deterioration must be escalated to the named keyworker/team accordingly.

We would encourage anyone considering applying for this post to visit the team prior to application and interview and to discuss the role with Rebecca Carless, Team Leader for Children's Community Nursing, Palliative Care and Rapid Response.

07784 007 462

0121 245 5775 / 07784 007 462

Qualifications / training

• Minimum of NVQ 3 in Caring for Children and Young People, NNEB or equivalent

Experience

• Experience or an interest in supporting children/young people and their families with a life limiting/life threatening condition throughout their palliative care journey.
• Experience of play/interaction with children/young people with or without disability.
• Experience with caring for children/young people with complex healthcare needs.
• Experience of working in the community.
• Significant experience as Nursery nurse, Carer or Family Support Worker in health, social care, short breaks or education setting.

Skills/knowledge

• Knowledge and experience of managing children with physical and learning disabilities.
• Contact and communicate effectively to members of the multidisciplinary team
• To have the ability to be able to communicate effectively with children/young people and their families from diverse backgrounds with different stages of child development/learning ability.
• Able to report back in a factual and concise manner to multidisciplinary team.
• An understanding of personal/professional boundaries.
• Knowledge of safe-guarding children and vulnerable adults.
• Knowledge of record keeping.
• Good knowledge and understanding of Basic IT skills.
• Ability to act in accordance to emergency plans and procedures
• Motivated, enthusiastic and able to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Flexible attitude to meet the needs of the children and families we manage and support
• To be able to demonstrate care and compassion to support through the palliative care journey.
• Motivated and enthusiastic in maximising quality of life through memory making and supporting the child/young person to reach their full potential.

Other job requirements

• Good interpersonal skills in order to facilitate good relationships with children, young people, their families and other professionals
• Good basic level of written and verbal English language and numeracy skills and excellent communication skills
• Much of the work with children with complex health needs and learning disabilities can be physically demanding and will also involve regular fine motor skill activity therefore a good level of physical health and ability is recommended.
• Ability to remain calm and composed
• Ability to travel to a variety of community settings by specified times - car owner and regular user with clean/ low points driving license.

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.

Team Leader for Children’s Community Nursing