Overview
The primary role of the Maternity Care Assistant (MCA) is to assist, support and work in collaboration with the midwife and the wider multidisciplinary team; to provide a safe and holistic approach to women centred care.
The midwife is ultimately responsible for the care of the mother and the newborn(s), and the MCA assists under direct or indirect supervision with personal care following appropriate training. The post is rotational and includes training for the clinical settings in which they work: antenatal inpatient or outpatient care, intrapartum inpatient care and postnatal inpatient and outpatient care. The post holder is expected to undertake a set of defined competencies. This job description is directly linked to The Maternity Support Worker Competency, Education and Career Development Framework set out by Health Education England (HEE).
Key Duties
Develops and maintains positive relationships with women and their families, respecting their wishes with compassion and empathy. Deliver trustworthy, woman-centred care and promptly report concerns or errors. Understands team roles and contributes effectively to team working.
Responsibilities
Administrative Duties
* Keeps complete, clear, accurate and timely records.
* Provides administrative support to the maternity team.
Professional Attitudes and Responsibilities
* Conveys an approachable and professional manner to all mothers and their families.
* Challenges discriminatory attitudes; promotes equality and upholds legal and ethical responsibilities.
* Aware of legal and ethical responsibilities in relation to own role and works in ways agreed by the employer.
* Understands own role, contributes to inclusive, equitable care, and aligns with organisational aims, policies and values.
* Maintains personal health, wellbeing and resilience to ensure performance and judgement.
* Maintains knowledge of local safeguarding policy and follows safeguarding principles and local security procedures.
Training Responsibilities
* Attends statutory and mandatory training; develops skills and knowledge; participates in appraisals.
* Keeps evidence of personal development and participates in annual performance review.
* Mentors Trainee Maternity Care Assistants and Trainee Maternity Support workers in acquiring skills and knowledge.
Safe Environment
* Promotes a positive and safe environment; checks for hazards; ensures equipment is in working order; reports concerns or faults promptly.
* Responds flexibly to the needs of the working environment; follows infection prevention and control practices including PPE as required.
* Maintains cleanliness of equipment and birthing environment; ensures stock levels and escalates depletion timely.
* Reports incidents using local risk management systems and follows health and safety guidance.
Care of the Woman
* Escort women and families between clinical areas as required; assist with admission, orientation and discharge in line with local policy.
* Communicate respectfully and effectively with women and the MDT; obtain valid consent prior to action.
* Manage delegated tasks and ensure basic care needs for women and babies are met; report completion of tasks to an appropriate practitioner.
* Contribute to care planning and evaluation by sharing information with the MDT; understand continuity of carer benefits.
* Recognise signs of discomfort or anxiety and escalate appropriately; provide support during clinical procedures and act as chaperone if requested.
* Promote patient education and safety; support self-care for women and families; assist with nutrition and bladder care as needed.
Obstetric and Neonatal Emergencies
* Support and assist the midwife in preparation for transfer to theatre; recognise abnormal events or emergencies within own competence and escalate as needed; initiate first aid if a qualified practitioner is not present.
Health Promotion and Screening
* Direct queries regarding local and national services to a suitably qualified colleague.
* Support women who wish to change health behaviours; be aware of current mental health policy/frameworks; promote health promotion principles and encourage wellbeing with escalation to midwife as needed.
Infant Feeding
* Describe key practices to initiate and maintain breastfeeding; support lactation, including challenges and referrals where necessary.
* Support formula feeding safely and responsively; promote skin-to-skin and responsive feeding; understand attachment and positioning per BFI standards; explain expression and storage of breastmilk.
Care of the Newborn
* Observe newborn wellbeing; escalate concerns to the named Midwife or MDT in a timely manner.
* Provide practical support and facilitate transition to parenthood for new parents.
Qualifications, Experience and Skills
Knowledge and Skills (Essential)
* Awareness of Health and Safety issues; knowledge of data protection and confidentiality; approachable with strong interpersonal skills.
* Effective written and verbal communication; ability to prioritise workload; ability to work without direct supervision; ability to escalate issues/concerns; ability to work as part of a team; attention to detail; IT/computer skills; adaptable and flexible; positive attitude to training and development; ability to work 24-hour shift patterns, including weekends and bank holidays.
Knowledge and Skills (Desirable)
* Understanding of safeguarding issues; understanding of role and professional boundaries.
Qualifications (Essential)
* GCSE Maths and English (A-C or 4-9) or Functional Skills; 2 or equivalent; NVQ Level 2 in Health Care or equivalent; commitment to undertake in-house training.
Qualifications (Desirable)
* Care certificate
Experience (Desirable)
* Previous experience of working with members of the public; one year of formal maternity care experience in a hospital/birth centre; experience of using hospital patient record system; experience in an acute hospital setting; experience of providing high quality care.
Other
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and a DBS (Disclosure to be checked).
Employer details
Employer name: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Address: Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1DD
Employer's website: https://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/
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