Patient Support Worker

Overview
Post Title:
Patient Support Worker, Grade V
Post Status:
Permanent Contract
Department:
Surgical Directorate – Breast Service
Location:
Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9
Reports to:
The Patient Support Worker will report to the Directorate Support Manager / Business Manager, responsible for the cancer site surgical service, with clinical accountability to the cancer clinical lead and nursing team
.
The post holder will also collaborate and liaise with the NCCP on strategic goals including those set out in the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026, through working groups and other approaches to implementation.
Salary:
Appointment will be made on GRADE V – CLERICAL (€51,718 - €61,866 LSI) at a point in line with Government pay policy.
Hours of work:
Full-Time -35 hours per week
Closing Date:
12 Noon on 5/9/2025
Please note the hospital reserves the right to close the competition early should a substantial number of applications be received.
The Patient Support Worker will be a central point of contact for cancer patients whilst working alongside the clinical nurse specialist team to improve patient care and communication.
The Patient Support Worker will be patient facing pivotal in ensuring both personalised stratified follow up and supported self-management services are in place for the care of cancer patients, in conjunction with consultants, clinical nurse specialists and all other staff involved in the cancer care pathway.
The role will involve:
Acting as a single point of contact of access to patients who are on the supported self-managed follow-up pathway,
Supporting and coordinating remote surveillance for patients on the supported self-managed follow-up pathway, and
Supporting and coordinating the overall needs of patients on the supported self-managed follow-up pathway.
Act as central point of contact for patients triaging calls to the CNS team and escalating clinically urgent calls
The post holder will coordinate all aspects of the patient's aftercare including: surveillance investigations, organising health and wellbeing events, holistic needs assessments, providing personalised care and support planning, signposting patients to support services and resources, triaging patient phone calls, dealing with patients queries and following up on actions needed, implementing policies and procedures, and managing data.
The post holder will provide guidance and information to ultimately improve patient experience
The scope of the role will vary from setting to setting, depending on the local priorities as determined during setup.
There are a number of core elements and additional elements may be added according to local need and setting.
Responsibilities
The role will involve both patient engagement and administrative responsibilities.
Patient Engagement
Triage incoming calls and initiate an appropriate response in accordance with the relevant tools, protocols and pathways while liaising with the clinical team for guidance as needed.
Provide basic telephone advice and refer on to other sources of support.
Coordinate the diagnostic pathways to ensure patients are scheduled for their appointments appropriately in conjunction with the clinical team.
Demonstrate the ability to recognise and respond appropriately when faced with a sudden deterioration in a patient's condition or an emergency situation, alerting the team and enabling rapid response, as appropriate,
Support the dissemination of patient information regarding appointments, and the appropriate care pathways as guided by the clinical team.
Make pre-planned, outbound, telephone calls to monitor patient progress along the cancer care pathway.
Contribute to the holistic needs assessment and the development of an individual care plan.
Address the needs of service users, and help them navigate the health and social care systems.
This will include providing general information and support about cancer, and the services available to them.
Follow up on conversations with service users and complete the relevant actions required.
Act as a "patient facilitator" in order to resolve issues that may be perceived as barriers to care.
Contribute to the work of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), to help maintain an efficient system and streamline the patient pathway.
Coordinate the handover with other teams to facilitate safe and effective transition of care between services.
Advise patients and carers on how to make contact when they feel that their condition or needs have changed, including what to do out of hours.
Communicate effectively with relevant MDT and clinical teams to ensure that all new stratified follow-up patients are identified for coordinated support as assessed by the appropriate healthcare professional.
Administration
Ensure the efficient day-to-day administration of area of responsibility
Ensure that patient records are continually kept up to date documenting patient interactions and any information provided - these tasks should be undertaken under the guidance of the clinical team.
Ensure that archives and records are accurate, and readily available to the appropriate authority, whilst also maintaining confidentially.
Provide administrative support for meetings and attend as and when required.
Ensure deadlines are met and that service levels are maintained.
Ensure policies and procedures are well documented, understood and adhered to.
Ensure accurate attention to detail in own work and work of the team.
Support the planning and delivery of self-management workshops/events, in collaboration with the relevant clinical teams.
Map the provision and availability of self-management programmes in order to be able to signpost patients and carers to appropriate events and resources, to enable self-management.
Human Resources / Supervision of Staff
Create and maintain a positive working environment among staff members, which contributes to effective working relationships.
Promote co-operation and working in harmony with other teams and disciplines.
Trouble-shoot problems and ensure decisions are made in collaboration with the MDT and are in line with local and national agreements.
Pursue and promote continuous professional development, in order to develop management expertise and professional knowledge.
Support for service users
Promote and maintain a patient focused environment.
Effectively monitor service provision, communicating efficiencies gained, and notifying line managers of any deficiencies observed.
Ensure service users are treated with dignity and respect and are listened to at all times.
Actively seek feedback from service users via "patient satisfaction surveys" and implement the relevant changes, in agreement with line manager(s) approval.
Service delivery and improvement
Embrace change and adapt local work practices accordingly, to ensure all team members understand how to implement the changes required.
Encourage and support team members through change processes.
Monitor the efficiency of the service provided by the team.
Where inefficiencies arise within the administration of the service, identify and implement change, in agreement with the clinical team.
Standards, policies, procedures & legislation
Maintain own knowledge, and contribute to the development of relevant HSE policies, procedures, guidelines and practices to perform the role effectively and to ensure current working standards are met across the team.
Maintain a good understanding of internal and external factors that can affect service delivery, including an awareness of local and national issues that can directly impact their area.
Maintain own knowledge of relevant regulations and legislation e.g. Financial Regulations, Health & Safety Legislation, Employment Legislation, FOI Acts etc.
Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards and other standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards and Child Protection and safeguarding policies etc.
Effectively implement the aforementioned standards, in compliance with HSE protocols.
Support and promote energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.
The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties and provide cross cover as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.
Qualifications
Mandatory
In exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 22 of the Health Act 2004, I hereby approve thequalifications, as set out hereunder, for the appointment and continuing as Staff Officer, Grade V inthe HSE.
1. Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc
(a) Eligible applicants will be those who on the closing date for the competition:
(i) Have satisfactory experience as a Clerical Officer in the HSE, TUSLA, other statutoryhealth agencies, or a body which provides services on behalf of the HSE under Section38 of the Health Act 2004.
Or
(ii) Have obtained a pass (Grade D) in at least five subjects from the approved list of subjectsin the Department of Education Leaving Certificate Examination, includingMathematics and English or Irish1.
Candidates should have obtained at least Grade Con higher level papers in three subjects in that examination.
Or
(iii) Have completed a relevant examination at a comparable standard in any equivalentexamination in another jurisdiction.
Or
(iv) Hold a comparable and relevant third level qualification of at least level 6 on theNational Qualifications Framework maintained by Qualifications and Quality Ireland,(QQI).
Note1:
Candidates must achieve a pass in Ordinary or Higher level papers.
A pass in afoundation level paper is not acceptable.
Candidates must have achieved these grades on the Leaving Certificate Establishedprogramme or the Leaving Certificate Vocational programme.
The Leaving Certification Applied Programme does not fulfil the eligibility criteria.
and
(b) Candidates must possess the requisite knowledge and ability, including a high standard ofsuitability, for the proper discharge of the office.
2. Age
Age restriction shall only apply to a candidate where s/he is not classified as a new entrant (withinthe meaning of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004).
Acandidate who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age on the first day ofthe month in which the latest date for receiving completed application forms for the office occurs.
3. Health
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable ofundertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate areasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
4. Character
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character.
Desirable
Familiar with Beaumont Hospital Systems.
Excellent IT skills and in particular excellent knowledge of excel.
Previous experience in a healthcare administration role with excellent communication and organisational skills.
Previous experience dealing directly with patients.
Informal Enquiries ONLY to: (Please note NO APPLICATIONS will be accepted via the Informal Enquiries email address)
Name:
Carolyn Plummer
Title:
******
Email address:
Interim Business Manager
Telephone:
#J-18808-Ljbffr