Job Description

Job Purpose:

Based at Care and Repair North East Wales that will be the employer, the post is responsible for providing a dedicated and specialist casework service for the Managing Better Service. The service is a partnership between Care & Repair, Action on Hearing Loss Cymru and RNIB Cymru, Alzheimer's Society and Stroke Association. Funded through Welsh Government grant funding stream (Sustainable Social Services, Third Sector Grant).

The purpose of the post is to work proactively with frail older people with sensory loss and/or cognitive impairments due to dementia and/or stroke in both hospital and community settings, to improve their ability to live as independently as possible, for as long as possible in their own homes. This will be achieved by working within the existing local processes and pathways for health and social care and identifying older people in priority need, providing individual clients with a coherent person-centred approach in which their specific needs are seamlessly considered, advocated for, recognised, and responded to.

The principal focus of the service is to provide bespoke home improvements that support independence and safety, assess for suitable new technology and access to appropriate services. Key to the approach is identifying with health and social care partners those in critical need, ensuring effective service access for beneficiaries and tailoring individual interventions, working with a wide range of health, housing and social care professionals and accessing various grants and financial support that will address individual client needs.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Proactively identify frail older people with age-related challenges, complex health issues and related sensory loss, dementia or post-stroke trauma, that threaten their independence at home. Provide a comprehensive Trusted Assessor Service that will ensure that minor adaptations are delivered in a timely and safe manner to avoid waiting times for the client. This will also include assessments for Telecare as appropriate. Provide a home visit assessment that is person-centred and needs-led, identifying housing, environmental and personal risks to independent living (including challenges related to sensory loss, dementia and stroke) and brokering solutions to the problems that clients face in maintaining independence and safety. Promote, provide awareness and develop referral protocols for potential clients with NHS, Social Care and Third Sector teams. Work closely with the Agency's Hospital to Healthy Home Service and with assessment and discharge planning processes within community or Primary Care settings to support people through the transition from hospital to home. This includes Eye Clinic Officers (ECLO's) at Stanley Eye Hospital in Abergele, ECLO's and Audiologists in local hospital settings. Assist in client identification in a structured way, embedding a housing-related community service into the patient pathway. Deliver targeted information, signposting and support to those individuals identified with sensory loss, dementia and stroke (and their families and friends), to ensure they are aware of the services, information, advice and support available to them to support them to live independently. Work directly with Action on Hearing Loss Cymru, RNIB Cymru, Alzheimer's Society and Stroke Association to access suitable resources and refer into wider national and community-based support. Undertake interventions with people at high risk of losing their independence; this may include problem-solving with individual clients, supporting them to resolve issues relating to their sensory loss, dementia and/or stroke, living circumstance and independence, particularly at times of transition such as hospital admission, diagnosis or discharge. Develop trusting, meaningful communication with people who use this service, enabling them to achieve their own goals for independent living, including BSL, audio, braille, e-mail, video and other user-friendly formats or technologies. Demonstrate assistive equipment to people which would enable them to live more independently and provide information and support services for clients that want to access new technology to support independent and safer living. Use Person Centred approaches to plan, implement, monitor and review the support you provide and ensure the delivery of a comprehensive casework service in accordance with Advice Quality Standards. Comply with effective monitoring of data and the progress of cases through the Care & Repair Information System Database (CID). Work in a fully integrated way with other members of the local health and social care teams, to ensure people receive seamless high-quality support, in which their living circumstance, dementia, stroke or sensory loss are considered as an integral part of their packages of care and support. Proactively seek grant funding through Disabled Facilities Grants, Comfort Safety and Security, charitable funding, RRAP, etc to fund identified works. This will also involve working closely with the relevant bodies throughout the specified application process to ensure funding is accessed on behalf of the client. Work closely with officers from within the Agency as appropriate to ensure a comprehensive housing led service to support the needs of people with sensory impairments, dementia and/or stroke (e.g. Technical Officers, in-house Architect, Occupational Therapist, etc). Integrate sensory loss, dementia and stroke awareness into the Care & Repair assessment of the client and their home environment, advocating for client needs and facilitating access to statutory services, providing a wider framework of rights-based benefits and outcomes. Support colleagues across the heath, social care and third sector to develop knowledge relating to sensory loss, dementia and stroke to build an ethos of care in which sensory needs are considered as a matter of course. This will include proactive engagement with colleagues who are ward-based and within discharge and admissions teams or targeted to our service by primary care partnerships to raise awareness and provide resources which embed a sustainable long-term process for supporting with patients' sensory loss, cognitive and reablement needs. Have knowledge and experience of supporting people with complex health and cognitive disorders, e.g. dementia and stroke (in a professional or personal capacity). Some understanding of how the home environment might be improved to maximise opportunities for well-being and independence and how sensory loss impacts on these cognitive disorders. Recognise and respond appropriately to the following as key risks to independence, home safety, home security, falls prevention, fuel poverty, maximised income, warm homes and technology/digital inclusion.

General Duties:

Attend regular staff meetings and conferences / events of Care & Repair Cymru, RNIB Cymru, Action on Hearing Loss Cymru, Alzheimer's Society and the Stroke Association. Contribute to data capture and evidence-based reports as required. Carry out the above tasks in accordance with the organisation's policies and procedures, particularly regarding the Equal Opportunities Policy and the Welsh Language Scheme. Ensure compliance with GDPR and the Agency's Safeguarding policies and procedures. Support colleagues with answering the office phones in a professional and empathetic manner. The post will be self-servicing. Undertake other reasonable duties commensurate with this post as required. Please note that this list is not exhaustive.
For more information or for an informal discussion about the post, please contact Care & Repair on 01352 758700 and ask for Wendy or Melissa.

To apply for this role:

Please send an up-to-date copy of your CV and a supporting statement of no more than 2 sides of A4 including:

Introduction

Why you are applying for the job role

Using the job specification, how you meet the criteria for the role.

NB: Please note if you do not provide a personal statement your application cannot be considered.

Applications should be addressed to Melissa Buckwell at melissa.buckwell@careandrepairnew.co.uk.

Closing date 1st May 2025 at 12 noon.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 28,912.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension On-site parking
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 01/05/2025