Part Time 30 hours per week

An exciting new learning and development opportunity has arisen within the current Discharge Coordinator team. So if you would like to take on a new challenge and you consider yourself proactive, good at problem solving and work well within a multi-disciplinary team this may be of interest to you!

If you are an efficient worker with strong clinical knowledge, excellent communication skills and able to work under pressure whilst remaining focused on safe good quality care, seeking a new personal challenge we look forward to your application.

An Enhanced DBS with barred lists for both Adults & Children is required for this post.

Interviews to be held Tuesday 18th April 2023.
• The post holder will be closely assisted and supported by the Key Lead Professionals within the Multi-Disciplinary Team [MDT] and led by the MDT discussions, they will ensure the patient has an excellent hospital experience throughout their journey until discharge.
• They will be expected to communicate effectively and professionally with patients, carers, members of the MDT and external agencies.
• They will receive and provide complex and sensitive information, and due to the patient groups they are dealing with, multi stranded discussions due to patient co-morbidities. There may be barriers to communication in these discussions.
• They will assist in the promotion of effective communication with all ward staff and other departments in relation to their role.
• The post holder will have knowledge of the health and well-being of the patients in these settings and an awareness of the service. They will be educated to NVQ Level 3 plus training and experience in a Healthcare setting, Diploma level in a Healthcare setting or have the equivalent of this knowledge gained through training and experience.
• From the output of the MDT, the post holder will be expected to assess and analyse the complex needs of the patient and provide solutions to plan the safe discharge of patients reviewing the range of options available for each individual and promoting the safeguarding of vulnerable patients in line with national and local policy.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is the only acute Trust in Cheshire and Merseyside, and one of the few in the entire country, to achieve the title of OUTSTANDING, rated by the Care Quality Commission.

We provide a full range of acute adult services to our local population of circa 360,000 and provide tertiary services across a much wider area in the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man. We are a Major Trauma Unit and the Mersey Regional Burns Unit.

Our ‘5 Star Patient Care’ strategy is at the heart of all that we do; supporting our vision to provide world class services for all our patients by getting it right for every patient, every time.

Our latest achievements include:
• Acute Trust of the Year – HSJ Awards November 2019
• Trust rates Outstanding by the CQC – Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers and Health Service Journal)
• Best acute Trust in the North West for quality of care (NHS Staff Survey 2021)
• Best place to work in the North West (NHS Staff Survey 2021)

In the NHS Staff Survey 2021 the Trust scored the highest marks in the North West for the following areas;
• Standard of care
• Best place to work
• Care of patients being the Trust’s priority
• Staff engagement
• Staff morale
• Compassionate and inclusive
• Providing a safe environment for staff

KEY DUTIES
• The post holder will be closely assisted and supported by the Key Lead Professionals within the Multi-Disciplinary Team [MDT] and led by the MDT discussions, they will ensure the patient has an excellent hospital experience throughout their journey until discharge.
• They will be expected to communicate effectively and professionally with patients, carers, members of the MDT and external agencies.
• They will receive and provide complex and sensitive information, and due to the patient groups they are dealing with, multi stranded discussions due to patient co-morbidities. There may be barriers to communication in these discussions.
• They will liaise with wards and ensure the discharge list is up to date and ready for the following morning.
• They will assist in the promotion of effective communication with all ward staff and other departments in relation to their role.
• The post holder will have knowledge of the health and well-being of the patients in these settings and an awareness of the service. They will be educated to NVQ Level 3 plus training and experience in a Healthcare setting, Diploma level in a Healthcare setting or have the equivalent of this knowledge gained through training and experience.
• From the output of the MDT, the post holder will be expected to assess and analyse the complex needs of the patient and provide solutions to plan the safe discharge of patients reviewing the range of options available for each individual and promoting the safeguarding of vulnerable patients in line with national and local policy.
• Plans and liaises with MDT staff, relatives, carers and external agencies to plan, organise, implement and evaluate programmes of care including safe discharge planning for each individual patient based on their individual requirements.
• With careful planning, they will ensure the patient has an excellent hospital experience throughout their journey.
• Basic Keyboard skills will be required to ensure the safe and accurate recording of patient information.
• The post holder will provide basic clinical advice and information to patients from the MDT output in order to facilitate a safe discharge and how to access services once discharged. They will ensure that patients who have been discharged by medical staff have appointments and follow up arranged and that patients and their carer’s are informed of these arrangements
• Staff member will be expected to assist with basic patient care during the patient’s stay as designated by the ward manager / manager for that area.
• The post holder will follow all departmental policies and will provide comment specific to their area to contribute to the setting, maintaining and monitoring of standards of care within the ward.
• They will remain updated and fully comply with all Trust Infection control policies and other relevant Trust policies.
• Observes a personal duty of care and assists in ensuring that all equipment is in safe working order in conjunction with the department equipment controller, assist with stock control

CLINICAL & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• To participate in an annual performance review to identify the post holders personal development needs.
• To present an appearance which gives a positive image of the Trust, and a manner that is appropriate and inspires confidence
• To ensure that all patient information is confidential
• To ensure that privacy and dignity of patients is paramount and not compromised

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
• Complete patient documentation correctly
• Ensure patient records are kept up to date and accurate and recording is done in line with the Trust policies and procedures. They will process information for the co-ordination of safe discharge of patients.

TEACHING & TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES
• To participate in the teaching of students and the in-service training of qualified nurses and health care assistants within their own area and the allocation of duties to junior staff.

RESEARCH & AUDIT
• Post holder will undertake surveys, or audit information relevant to their own role to submit to MDT.
• They will participate in research/special projects under the direction of the ward manager
• The post holder will be expected to work autonomously within clearly defined procedures and policies for their area
• They will ensure medications are checked by a registered health professional prior to the patients being safely discharged from the Hospital.
• There will be a combination of sitting, standing walking associated with the role and the need for assisting patients in basic care duties e.g. taking patient in wheelchairs for discharge plus basic toiletry care on the ward
• Post holder will also use VDU to submit , assess and record accurate patient data
• There will be a need for frequent concentration as the post holder will be interrupted for queries, changing patient requirements and will require concentration for the accurate formulation of discharge plans for each individual.
• The post holder will encounter occasional distressing ward based situations and have to deal with distressed patients, relatives and carers in difficult discharge situations.
• Whilst working in the ward environment and assisting with basic clinical duties, post holder may be exposed to bodily fluids. There may also be verbal aggression from patients, carers and family members in discussions around discharge destinations.
• Post holder must deal with situations with the highest level of empathy and professionalism at all times.

This advert closes on Thursday 6 Apr 2023

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A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.