Department: Community and older peoples services
Location: Trustwide
Contract and hours: Waiting list for the Western Trust area
Immediate vacancies available
- 5 x full-time vacancies in the Altnagelvin/Waterside Hospital Area
- 1x full-time vacancy in Omagh
Job summary
The Dementia Companion will offer the post holder an exciting opportunity to be involved in developing a new service aimed at improving the quality, safety and experience of patients with dementia admitted to hospital for assessment of treatment.
Hospital can be bewildering environments for people with dementia that can cause them to experience increased levels of distress, disorientation and anxiety as the disabilities associated with dementia can make it difficult for the person to understand and interact with their environment. Often the person will develop a delirium that may exacerbate these feelings.
The Dementia Companion will work as part of the nursing team providing care and support to patients with dementia to promote their feelings of safety, security and well-being and to reduce feelings of distress. They will offer enhanced support to the person with activities of daily living focused on promoting independence, the retention of skills and supporting the person to maintain an adequate fluid and nutritional intake.
The post holder will spend time building a relationship with the patient and gaining an understanding of how they are feeling. They will engage with the patient on a 1:1 basis to promote orientation to time, place and person, to enhance their understanding of their environment and to prepare them for and support them during any required procedures and interventions.
Through engagement with the patient and their family, they will gain an understanding of the person’s life history, likes and dislikes. They will use this information to provide reassurance, to engage the patient in activities that will enhance their sense of well-being, to implement diversional strategies and to support responding to the patient’s distressed behaviours in empathic and understanding manner.
Main responsibilities
The post holder will:
- Deal courteously with patients, relatives, visitors, & others with whom they come into contact in the course of their duties.
- Spend time getting to know the patient. Ensure key information about the patient is shared and available to all members of the MDT team.
- Provide family with information leaflets regarding services available that offers Deal courteously with patients, relatives, visitors, & others with whom they come into contact in the course of their duties.
- Communicate with patients using their preferred methods of communication and language.
- Communicate effectively with patients taking into account their altered physical health state, mental health state and cognitive functioning and how these could impact on their ability to understand.
- Be aware of and respond appropriately to the needs of patients / relatives / carers who have communication difficulties.
- Communicate successfully with patient/family/carers in obtaining person centred information to assist in developing and guiding the provision of person centred care while in hospital.
- To support and assist patients and families with the use of memory folders and other activities as guided by the Dementia Service Improvement Lead.
- Initiate conversations to strengthen relationships, play games to challenge dementia patients’ minds and provide meaningful camaraderie to deter the ill effects of social isolation.
- Ensure key information about the patient is shared and available to all members of the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
- Assist patients to maintain family life/contact with family/carers via appropriate platforms.
- To develop professional working relationships and communicate effectively with the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
- To assist the multi-disciplinary team in assessing the needs for people living with dementia.
- To assist the multi-disciplinary team to deliver on agreed care plans/management plans for people living with dementia.
- Provide family with information leaflets regarding services available that offers support and guidance.
- Observe & report any changes in patients’ conditions or behaviour, including appetite, to relevant nursing staff.
- Record & maintain all relevant documentation relating to allocated patients at ward level e.g. fluid balance chart, behavioural charts etc.
For complete details view the full job description in the Additional information section below.
