ICS Facilitator – Walsall Council
Join to apply for the ICS Facilitator role at Walsall Council. This role is responsible for assessing medically optimised patients referred to the Intermediate Care Service (ICS) and ensuring safe and timely discharges from the hospital setting.
Overview
The Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is an integrated Trust and the only provider of NHS acute care in Walsall, serving a population of 284,300. It provides inpatient and outpatient services at the Manor Hospital and a wide range of community services. The Trust boasts state‑of‑the‑art facilities, including a Critical Care Unit, Neonatal Unit, Obstetric Theatre and a new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre opened in March 2023.
Responsibilities
* To assess medically optimised patients referred to the Intermediate Care Service (ICS) who require support for discharge from the hospital setting.
* Liaise with members of the multidisciplinary team, patients and their relatives to ascertain patient needs and identify requirements to facilitate a safe and timely discharge, and to identify the appropriate discharge pathway in line with National guidance.
* Coordinate all assessments required before discharge and ensure all equipment is in place for discharge.
* Promote a home‑first ethos and the least restrictive option when identifying the discharge pathway for a patient.
* Ensure clear, concise communication with acute colleagues, external partners, patients and their families to support safe, timely discharges from the acute setting.
* Support the Intermediate Care Service to deliver same‑day assessments of medically optimised patients referred to the service, thereby supporting patient flow within the acute hospital setting.
* Resolve any issues that would cause a delay in a patient’s discharge and elevate them as required.
* Identify or report any safeguarding concerns that would affect a patient’s discharge plan and liaise with the appropriate colleagues to ensure these are addressed.
* Work as part of the Intermediate Care Service (ICS) contributing towards effective, safe, and timely discharges of patients who require care support for discharge.
* Manage a complex caseload of patients with responsibility for their discharge planning to ensure discharges are expedited in a timely and safe manner.
* Promote the ICD ethos of home‑first when discharge planning.
* Effectively manage discharge planning for medically optimised patients requiring support on discharge, taking action to ensure delays are promptly addressed by the relevant ward or department.
* Work closely with members of the multi‑disciplinary team (MDT) when discharge planning.
* Take appropriate action to ensure effective discharge planning is undertaken in line with national discharge pathways.
* Monitor delayed discharges and take immediate action, including escalation of issues to ISC managers as required.
* Liaise with external agencies and colleagues to progress timely, safe discharges.
PLEASE NOTE, WE MAY CLOSE THIS VACANCY EARLY IF WE RECEIVE HIGH NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS.
Communication
* Deal with complex information including coordinating difficult discharges or transfers from the acute setting, ensuring senior team members are aware and escalating any issues causing delays.
* Effectively provide a wide range of information and advice about services available in the community to support a patient and their families following discharge.
* Engage with patients and their carers while completing required assessments and planning discharge plans.
* Ensure records of discussions, actions and interventions are accurately and clearly recorded in the relevant places and on the relevant systems, both health and social, in line with good practice.
* Support effective improved patient flow and experience by providing clear communication.
* Support and advise other staff on health and social care processes and resources available to them, to assist in timely discharges and appropriately challenge colleagues as required.
* Work effectively as a member of the team, supporting senior colleagues to implement agreed discharge plans.
* Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward.
* Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication, and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions.
* Deal with challenging conversations and situations with patients and their families and be able to signpost to relevant services.
Data Management
* Input and extract data from health and social care information systems to maintain accurate records and allow required activity with regards to patient records, face‑to‑face activity and support service provision regarding discharge arrangements.
* Proactively enhance own knowledge base regarding new services/resources, changes in local and national health and social care policy practice that may impact discharge planning for specific cohorts of patients.
Quality Initiatives
* Accept responsibility for ensuring the maintenance of a high quality of service to patients by continual development, adapting own work and taking on new tasks as agreed.
* Under the direction of ISC managers and others, contribute to improving services and ways of working, providing clear feedback on policies and strategies and their impact on services provided to patient cohort.
* Contribute to the development of robust discharge plans and associated documentation, the provision of clear information about support services available and care pathways available as appropriate.
* Post holders will act in a manner that upholds the values of the Trust and that of the profession ensuring the service delivered contributes to supporting the principles of clinical governance.
* Adhere to and maintain evidence of following Trust and professional policies and procedures and other quality approaches as required, encouraging others to do the same.
* Work within the limits of own competence and area of responsibility and accountability, proactively seeking help and advice where needed.
* Act as a discharge expert to enhance personal, team and patient knowledge in relation to discharge planning and the various discharge pathways available.
* Prioritise own workload and manage own time effectively to ensure priorities are met and quality is not compromised.
* Proactively monitor the quality of work in own area and alert others to quality issues, reporting any errors or issues to the appropriate person.
Service Development and Improvement
* Promote and maintain good customer care.
* Work within policies and procedures to achieve agreed team objectives and be given freedom to do this autonomously, subject to timescales, budget or other constraints as appropriate.
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