About us
Hospiscare has been supporting people in Exeter, Mid and East Devon with terminal illnesses for over 40 years. Our services include support at home, a specialist palliative care ward, out‑patients clinics, and supportive therapies.
We support close to 2,200 local people each year, in some of the hardest times possible. As a local charity, we raise around £10 million each year to continue to provide our care. Our staff, volunteers and supporters help us to care for people when they’re most in need, no matter what their individual circumstances may be.
We’re proud to be rated as 'five star' by patients and families and as 'outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, to have been awarded a Mind Bronze Award for wellbeing at work and to be a Disability Confident employer.
Job responsibilities
Job Title: Call Handler (Health Care Assistant)
Band: 3
Location: Clinical Coordination Centre, Searle House EX2 5JJ
Responsible To: Community Cluster Team Leader (CCTL)
Accountable to: Head of Community and Supportive Care Services
Job Purpose: To provide holistic and person‑centred care and support by telephone for patients with complex life‑limiting illnesses, and to work within the multi‑disciplinary team and alongside registered nursing staff to contribute to the delivery of a high standard of evidence‑based specialist palliative care.
Main Responsibilities:
* Provide a first point of telephone contact for patients, carers and healthcare professionals to ensure a timely response whenever information or support is required.
* Liaise with Hospiscare’s Clinical Nurse Specialist teams to ensure a consistent approach to the triage process and that patients are prioritised appropriately.
* Assist in the identification of appropriate palliative and end‑of‑life care for patients in order to provide safe and effective treatment and support to patients and those close to them.
* Communicate in a sensitive and professional manner with patients, relatives, colleagues and others, considering potential barriers to understanding, to promote and maintain Hospiscare’s values and to ensure dignity and respect are observed.
* Adhere to Hospiscare’s clinical record‑keeping policy when providing and sharing verbal, digital or written information and instructions, to ensure patient confidentiality is observed at all times.
* Attend and contribute to multi‑disciplinary team meetings and case discussions to inform decisions which ensure patients receive the best possible care.
* Assist with the identification and assessment of complex bereavement to enable a seamless handover to Hospiscare’s Supportive Care team.
Infection Prevention and Control: Maintaining a safe environment for patients, visitors and employees is everyone’s responsibility. All staff are required to adhere to Hospiscare’s Infection Prevention and Control Policy and make every effort to maintain high standards of infection prevention and control at all times. This includes ensuring personal and team compliance with all relevant policies and procedures, and acting upon or reporting any identified risks.
Disclosure and Barring Service: This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced level check with Adults Barred List.
Key Contacts:
* Internal: Clinical Coordination Centre team, Community Cluster Team Leader, Community Clinical Nurse Specialist teams, Head of Community and Supportive Care Services, Medical team, Inpatient Unit team, Supportive Care Services, Clinical Administration.
* External: Patients and those close to them, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, NHS Community Services, General Practitioners, Social and Domiciliary Care Workers, Residential and Nursing Homes, Providers of out‑of‑hours services.
Health & Safety: Ensure that Health and Safety guidelines and fire regulations are strictly adhered to. Comply with safe working practices as defined by Hospiscare. Complete online training as and when required. Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others. Report any accidents, incidents or near misses as soon as reasonably practicable. Manage own work life balance and general wellbeing.
General: Be aware of and adhere to Hospiscare policies and procedures at all times. Take part in progress/performance reviews throughout the year. Cooperate with other Hospiscare departments. Attend training courses and complete online training modules as required to meet the requirements of the post. Take responsibility for own personal development, seeking out opportunities to learn new skills. Undertake any other duties as requested by management which are reasonably deemed to be within the scope of the role.
Other: Apply the Hospiscare values and behaviours to every aspect of the role at all times. Promote and maintain the brand standards of Hospiscare.
Person Specification
Knowledge
* Understanding of the complexities of working with individuals at times of distress and conflict
* Understanding of the importance of effective team working in a healthcare context
* Awareness of the principles of advance care planning
* Awareness of theoretical nursing models and understanding of their impact on delivery of care
* Awareness of key issues relating to End of Life care including policy developments
Skills
* Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills
* Developed skills in recognising and responding to the changing physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of palliative care patients and those close to them
Personal attributes
* Ability to work autonomously and act on own initiative, seeking advice/escalating issues when appropriate
* Flexible and adaptable with the ability to respond positively in a rapidly changing environment.
* Commitment to continuing professional development.
* Ability to act as a patient advocate
* Ability to evaluate own strengths and development needs
* Awareness of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all areas of work
Additional requirements
* Capable of fulfilling the physical demands of the role, including administering basic life support
* Able and willing to be flexible and work across Hospiscare clinical environments including in the Community and on the Inpatient Unit when required
* Able to participate in the 7 day/week rota
Experience
* Demonstrable clinical experience in adult specialist palliative care
* Demonstrable experience of working as part of a team within Health and Social Care
* Experience of assessing, planning and evaluating individualised care plans for patients at end of life
* Experience of working with volunteers
* Experience of working under appropriate supervision as part of a multi‑disciplinary team and of multi‑agency partnership working
* Experience of providing and receiving complex sensitive information
* Experience of working within the community setting
Qualifications
* Level 3 qualification in Health and Social Care or equivalent/similar
* Evidence of ongoing professional development
* Level 4 qualification or Foundation degree in Health and Social Care or equivalent
* Communication Skills training
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.
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