Personal Care Workers

Position

Description

Very Special Kids believes that all children and young people have the right to a

quality of life, no matter how long or short their life may be.

Position Title: Personal Care Worker – Grade 2

Location: Malvern

Department Hospice

Reporting To: Hospice Manager

Main Purpose of

Position:

A Very Special Kids Personal Care Worker is responsible for the delivery

of individualised, safe, high quality holistic care to children and young

people and their families accessing Very Special Kids

Working effectively as part of a skilled, creative, professional, and

compassionate team.

Participate in the coordination of play, therapies and activities for the

children and young people accessing the Very Special Kids House Sister

Margaret Noone Hospice.

Assist and support the allied health team and external contractors in the

delivery of programmes.

With the support of nurses, care for children and young people at end of

life or after death and their families within the hospice and/or community

setting.

Number of

Direct Reports

0

Decision Making

Authority

As per Very Special Kids' Delegation of Authority

Key

Relationships

Internal:

• Hospice Manager

• Deputy Hospice Manager

• Senior Hospice Team

• Registered Nurses, Enrolled Nurses & Personal Care Workers

• Very Special Kids Staff and Volunteers

• Service Delivery Team

• Allied Heath Team

External:

• Very Special Kids children, young people and families

Key Selection

Criteria

Qualifications/ Education Training and Work Experience

• Minimum of 12 months' work experience in personal care in either

health, disability or aged care (desirable but not essential)

• Cert III in Disability or similar qualification required

• First Aid Certification highly desirable

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrated ability to work with children, families and volunteers

within a health/palliative care/hospice setting and commitment to the

provision of family centred care.

• Ability to prioritise workload and be flexible to changing demands

• Ability to work independently (in tasks trained and assessed as

competent to perform)

• High level planning and organisational skills

• Ability to effectively communicate and work in collaboration with the

wider Clinical Services team and external contractors

• Basic to intermediate Excel, Word and Microsoft Outlook skills

required.

Other Requirements

• Employees are required to undertake a National Criminal Record

Check and a Working with Children Check prior to commencing

employment.

• Employees are required to maintain a valid Working with Children's

Check and undertake a National Criminal Record Check every three

years throughout their employment.

• Employees are required to provide and maintain required

immunisations and serology results as part of their employment.

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrated ability to manage own time to meet daily roles and

responsibilities in accordance with the position.

• Demonstrated communication and interpersonal skills including

written and oral skills

• Commitment to the purpose, values and philosophy of Very Special

Kids

• Commitment to child-safe work practices and environment

• Commitment to quality improvement and ongoing evaluation

• Demonstrated commitment to ongoing development and self-care

• Positive attitude, adaptable, proactive, and creative

Key Areas of Responsibility

Clinical Care Key Performance Indicators

Implement delegated aspects of care under the

supervision and delegation of the registered nurse.

Care is provided in accordance with

Very Special Kids policies and

procedures, practicing within own

scope of practice

"All about me" and care plans are

read, understood, updated, and

implemented in collaboration with

the child, young person, parents or

caregiver and care team.

Assist the Registered Nurses in maintaining

administrative systems for children.

Clinical notes and all

documentation, both hard copy and

those stored electronically are

updated in accordance with policy

and procedure.

Ensure maintenance of confidential family records All records maintained in

accordance with the Very Special

Kids Privacy and Confidentiality

policies.

Teamwork Key Performance Indicators

Works together with medical, nursing, personal care,

allied health and family support team to provide best

quality care.

Quality of care provided in the

Hospice.

Assist in the implementation and execution of audit

schedule and incident reporting.

Participation in audits and reporting

of any risk or incident.

Communicates and collaborates to build positive and

harmonious working relationships across the

organisation.

Effective relationships built with

Fundraising, Corporate, Family

Support teams.

Work collaboratively with Family

Support Practitioners to provide

holistic clinical care for children and

support to their families.

Implements strategies for the

resolution of conflict in a timely

manner.

Actively participates in attending

and supporting organisational

meetings and committees as

required.

Professional Development Key Performance Indicators

Attend mandatory in house training when organised

and contribute to other staff development programs

where there is a topic that may be of interest.

Support volunteers.

100% attendance at all mandatory

training and completion of all online

training modules. Annual 1:1

competency face to face

assessment successfully completed.

Minimum of 75% of All Team

meetings attended annually.

Attendance at mandatory In House

Training Days and Group Clinical

Supervision (minimum attendance

75% of meetings).

Active participation in team and

organisational meetings and

activities.

As part of a service delivery team,

provide guidance to Volunteers as

required.

Participate in hospice programs

Participate in play and activity and allied health

programmes (Physiotherapy, occupational therapy,

and music therapy, child life therapy).

Support and help facilitate school

holiday programs and Allied Health

programmes.

Organisation Key Performance Indicators

Communicating effectively to build positive and

harmonious working relationships within the

organisation.

Open and positive relationships with

Clinical Services and wider Very

Special Kids staff.

Engages with other health providers and represents

Very Special Kids in a professional and appropriate

manner according to the values of the organisation.

Maintain and build the reputation of

the organisation.

Communicates and collaborates to build positive and

harmonious working relationships across the

organisation.

Actively participates in attending

and supporting organisational

meetings and committees as

required.

Effective, regular formal and

informal communication within the

Hospice Team and the Family

Support Team.

Implements strategies for the

resolution of conflict in a timely

manner.

Performance & Development Planning & Review Key Performance Indicators

Participation in the annual Performance &

Development Planning (PDP) and review process to

review goals and development for the year.

The setting of performance

objectives/goals and the ongoing

evaluation of performance and

achievement will be conducted

within three (3) months from

commencement and then bi-

annually based on the duties and

responsibilities outlined in the

position description.

Objectives will be developed

annually documented, discussed,

and agreed with the allocated PDP

Manager.

Quality, Safety, and Improvement

Very Special Kids Employees have a responsibility and accountability to contribute to the

organisation's commitment to Quality, Safety, and Improvement by:

• Acting in accordance and complying with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and

procedures

• Identifying risks, reporting, and being actively involved in risk mitigation strategies

• Participating in and actively contributing to quality improvement programs

• Complying with the requirements of the National Safety & Quality Health Service

Standards

• Complying with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards

• Complying with the principles of Patient and Family Centred Care that relate to this

position

• Understanding and upholding the Child Safety Standards and associated requirements

Conditions of Service

Hours Permanent Hours Available: FTE, hours as per rotating

roster (2-5 shifts per week) including PM, night and weekend

shifts.

Other

Salary Package As per Very Special Kids Nurses and Personal Care Workers

Enterprise Agreement

Tenure As per contract ie; Casual or Permanent part time following the

conclusion of a six month probationary period.

General

Employment with Very Special Kids will be subject to a satisfactory

Police Check and Working with Children Check.

Clinical Services staff are also required to provide evidence to

demonstrate vaccination against COVID-19 and seasonal flu

vaccinations.

Privacy Statement: Personal Information may be collected and stored for the purpose

of recruitment and selection. The information will only be used and disclosed for the

primary purpose of its collection. Some exceptions exist. These may be obtained from

the Privacy Officer

Approvals:

Owner: General Manager Clinical Services

Approved by: General Manager People and Culture

Date of Last update: 30/09/2024