Job Description

Safeguarding Adult Practitioner

Band 6

Job overview

 

Are you looking for a new challenge or to develop your safeguarding skills but looking for part-time work? An exciting opportunity has arisen to work 21.5 hours a week as the Safeguarding Adult Practitioner at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.

This is a varied, rewarding role offering safeguarding advice and guidance, training and supervision. The role also involves inter-agency working with the Local Authority and the Police. The ideal candidate will have a basic sound knowledge of safeguarding and the Mental Capacity Act.

 

Main duties of the job

 

The Safeguarding Adult Practitioner will work as part of the Safeguarding Team in supporting all activities necessary to ensure that the Trust meets its responsibilities with regards safeguarding adults at risk.  This work will support Trust staff in performing their safeguarding duties and responsibilities through advice to operational services, escalation of concerns to / from other agencies and effective feedback and support from safeguarding meetings and forums.  In addition this work will be promoting best practice, implementing standards and monitoring the process in line with both national and local multi-agency legislation /guidelines in line with the Care Act (2014), the Mental Capacity Act (2005), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2007), Human Rights Legislation (1998) and the Prevent Duty (2015)

 

Working for our organisation

 

We are a small, busy team who are seeking to recruit someone who has a genuine commitment to safeguarding and possess good communication and interpersonal skills. You will be working under the direction of the Named Nurse for Safeguarding Adults to provide advice, support and training across the Trust. However as part of the general safeguarding team you will help to promote a seamless adult and children safeguarding service within an acute hospital setting.

 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

General Responsibilities

To ensure specialist advice is available on the day to day management of adults at risk where there are safeguarding issues or concerns.

Provide expert advice to staff members on consent, mental capacity assessments, Deprivations of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and restraint/restrictive practice.

Work with a range of key professionals and partner agencies in order to contribute to the on-going delivery of safeguarding systems and practice in order to protect and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Demonstrate reasoning and decision making for clinical risk issues relating to safeguarding adults.  This is achieved through adherence to current legislation and in line with local safeguarding adult policies, escalation of cases, guidance and professional standards for practice

Actively contribute to, working groups and other relevant corporate and service delivery groups and committees in order to achieve positive outcomes in relation to safeguarding adults at risk.

Demonstrate that adults at risk and their carer/relative where relevant are involved in both decisions affecting their care and wellbeing, and in service development (Making Safeguarding Personal).

Actively encourage and support frontline staff to adopt a ‘think family’ approach and consider the needs of dependants when providing care.

Demonstrate knowledge and skill in current evidenced based safeguarding practice and the ability to transfer this in to practice through the provision of advice and other duties.

Advise, inform and escalate safeguarding concerns to Named Professionals /Head of Safeguarding regarding all matters of safeguarding as appropriate.

Report verbally and in writing any accidents, complaints, untoward incidents and near misses as per policy.

Support and advise on safeguarding incidents, reporting and management process

Assist Named Professionals/Head of Safeguarding to gather evidence to provide internal and external assurance as required and assess organisational and service position in relation to safeguarding standards.

Ensure front-line practitioners   are appropriately advised   regarding   the   principles   and application of safe and legal information sharing within a safeguarding arena.

Be highly skilled in prioritising workload to deliver on deadlines to support the safeguarding service.

Communication

Provide advice and appropriate safeguarding supervision to all clinical and non-clinical community, inpatient, specialist and support staff at the point of need regarding safeguarding adults, working pro-actively and reactively to engage frontline staff.

To provide and receive complex information regarding safeguarding adults liaising with all key stakeholders and agencies to safeguard adults at risk.

Provide advice on consent, information sharing and mental capacity in relation to safeguarding.

Support staff with reporting at formal safeguarding processes both written and verbal (i.e. strategy discussions) and the co-ordination of multi-agency meetings that support safeguarding processes.

Effectively contribute to internal and external safeguarding meetings as required.

Support frontline staff to respectfully challenge decision making, utilising the escalation process as necessary.

To react to immediate safeguarding situations and attend ward locations at short notice as and when necessary.

To present and promote a positive image to patients, public, other health and social care providers, commissioners and relevant external agencies.

Analytical Skills

Assist with the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations made through processes, reviews and inspections for the safeguarding of adults through to completion to improve their outcome.

Advise on audit and monitoring of the quality, acceptability and effectiveness of safeguarding training.

Policies and Procedures

Ensure that staff are familiar with the Trust policy and Local Safeguarding Procedures and that these are being followed once actual or potential harm is identified.

Support the Named Nurses and Head of Safeguarding and the wider safeguarding community, in the implementation of safeguarding adult policies and procedures which are in line with national guidance and local guidance.

Training/Education

Keep up to date on safeguarding legislation, guidance and best practice changes and attend local, regional and national initiatives to help to ensure these inform the work of the Trust.

Access regular safeguarding supervision from the Named Nurse for Safeguarding Adults.

Contribute to the co-ordination, delivery and evaluation of the NGH safeguarding training programme which includes, safeguarding, MCA, DoLS and Prevent.

Delivery of safeguarding training programmes that are specific to needs of NGH services competency requirements, in line with local and national guidance.

Participate in the delivery of multi-agency training where appropriate.

Audit/Monitoring

Support the Named Professionals to arrange, develop and co-ordinate systems of audit to monitor the agreed local and national policies and procedures, audits and inspection in order to evaluate and improve the quality and effectiveness of safeguarding practice within the Trust.

Assist with the collection of data in serious case reviews, internal management reviews and untoward incident investigations including producing chronologies and interviewing staff.

Support the implementation of recommendations from internal and external safeguarding adult reviews.

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • legislation
  • Experience of supporting change
  • Experience of managing Multi-agency working relationships
  • Experience of delivering improvements in patient safety and quality

experience

Essential criteria
  • experience
  • Experience of working within multi agency safeguarding arrangements
  • Experience of teaching and/or developing and delivering educational programmes

teaching

Essential criteria
  • teaching
  • Ability to challenge views of any professional at any level if concerned about safeguarding practice
  • Ability to be self-motivating and also work as an effective member of the wider organisational team
  • Ability to prioritise tasks and deliver within tight timeframes

personal qualities

Essential criteria
  • Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
  • Committed to team working
  • Ability to respond professionally when exposed to challenge from other agencies, families and professionals
  • High level of emotional resilience

Educations, Training and Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • First level (or equivalent) Registered Practitioner – all disciplines
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
  • Evidence of relevant post registration professional development