Activities Assistant inChigwell inChigwell PUBLISHED TUE 22 OCT 2024

This role as an Activities Assistant at Lakefields Neurological Centre in Chigwell provides the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals with complex long-term neurological conditions. You will be responsible for creating an engaging activity-based culture, using your technical and creative skills to develop, deliver, and coordinate programs focused on social, recreational, and leisure activities. By focusing on the individual needs and interests of the service users, you will help support their treatment plans and improve their quality of life.

As an Activities Assistant, you will be responsible for coordinating social and recreational activities for service users within the secure environment, obtaining information about their interests, and observing their behavior, ability, and response. You will work alongside the multidisciplinary team to develop links with community-based resources and ensure the health, safety, and security of service users, staff, and visitors. This role requires a solution-focused approach, strong organisational skills, and an awareness of mental health and gender-specific and cultural needs.

About us

Being an Activities Assistant is so much more than just organising programmes. It's providing care and support to some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Working 37.5 hours a week you will join the team at Lakefields Neurological Centre where you will create an activity-based culture, which will see you use technical and creative skills to assist in developing, delivering and coordinating programmes focused on social, recreational and leisure activities.

You will be responsible for creating 1-1 and group rapports with service users to help evolve and shape the activities to increase engagement. As you plan and implement activities around their interests, this should also have a strong emphasis on their individual needs to support the treatment plans.

Working alongside the multidisciplinary team, you will develop links with community-based resources to support service users to engage in local activities.

At Elysium, we want the best for you. That’s why you will have continuous access to a range of training courses to enable you to reach your career goals. After all, a better you means better care. That’s what delivering great healthcare should feel like.

As an Activities Assistant you will be:

• Co-ordinating social and recreational activities for service users within the secure environment who are unable to freely access public services. 
• Obtaining information from service users regarding their social and recreational interests.
• Observing general behaviour, ability, and response of service users and report back regularly using verbal and written communications to appropriate team members.
• Under supervision documenting observations and progress in the service user's clinical notes.
• Fulfilling the security requirements of the service and adhere to service policies, guidelines, and procedures.
• Basic risk assessment on a day to day basis to individuals and groups of service users
• Ensuring that health and safety, welfare and security standards for service users, staff and their visitors are adhered to.
• Effective skills of co-ordination and use of resources.

To be successful in this role, you'll need:

• Basic group work skills
• Minimum of 12 months experience within a mental health setting (Desirable)
• Ability to communicate effectively and work within a team-based framework.
• Initiative and motivation.
• Awareness of Mental Health and its impact on functioning.
• Solution-focused approach to problem-solving.
• Good organisational skills.
• Awareness of gender-specific needs. 
• Awareness of the cultural needs of service users.
• Full UK Drivers License

Where you will be working:

Location: Lambourne Road, Chigwell, IG7 6HH

Lakefields Neurological Centre will be a 22-bed service that delivers specialist 24-hour nursing and therapy services for people with complex long-term neurological conditions who require ongoing support and assistance to maximise their functional ability and improve their quality of life. The Centre specialises in neuro-rehabilitation, tracheostomy and ventilator care. Bedrooms are adapted to individual requirements, fitted with high dependency equipment including ceiling track hoists, wall mounted suction and oxygen equipment. There are also well-equipped therapy facilities, spacious lounge areas and wheelchair access to beautiful gardens. 

What you will get:

• Annual salary of £23,693
• The equivalent of 33 days annual leave – (inc Bank Holidays) plus your birthday off!
• Free meals and parking
• Wellbeing support and activities to help you maintain a great work-life balance.
• Career development and training to help you achieve your career goals.
• Pension contribution to secure your future.
• Life Assurance for added peace of mind.
• Enhanced Maternity Package so you can truly enjoy this special time.

There is also a range of other benefits including retail discounts, special offers and much more.

About your next employer:

You will be working for an established, stable and agile company with over 8,000 employees and a unique approach to the delivery of care. With a network of over 90 services across England and Wales covering Mental Health, Neurological, Learning Disabilities & Autism, Children & Education, there is opportunity for you to grow and move. 

Elysium Healthcare is part of Ramsay Health Care with a global network that extends across 10 countries and employs over 86,000 people globally. 

Elysium Healthcare follows safer recruitment of staff for all appointments and is a Disability Confident employer, committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment. It is a requirement that all staff understand it is each person’s individual responsibility to promote and safeguard the welfare of service users. All candidates will be subject to a DBS disclosure.