Community Health WorkerinTotnesinTotnesPUBLISHED WED 12 FEB 2025

Community Health Worker with Health Visiting team. Public Health Nursing, South Hams/Follaton.

Please ensure that you open the job description to view so that the full essential criteria required for the post can be sighted.

We do not sponsor Visas for this post. UK Right to Work is required.

Do you have an interest in making a difference to the health and wellbeing of children?

If you have a QCF or equivalent qualification or NVQ 3 Foundation degree (Childcare related) or equivalent and would like to join a progressive, forward thinking and innovative Public Health Nursing team; we would love to hear from you.

We currently have a vacancy in Totnes/Kingsbridge with 30 hours available.

The Community Health Worker supports families with children aged 0-8 years by working with them individually or as part of a group in both community and home settings. Support is also offered virtually and via our front door hub.

Community Health Workers support families with their childs development which includes carrying out the 1 and 2 1/2 year development review. Community Health Workers integrate with the Health Visitors, School Nurses and Staff Nurses to support with the whole family assessment; as well as supporting parents and carers with health promotion and development topics such as behaviour management, toilet training, sleep management and other targeted episodes of care as directed.

Youll have a passion for working with children, a comprehensive understanding of childrens safeguarding and a knowledge of the Healthy Child Programme and wider public health agenda.

The successful candidate will need to be able to demonstrate the qualities in the person specification and job description and be committed to their on-going professional development to ensure quality in the delivery of care is maintained.

Please note that an active drivers license and access to a car are required for this post.

About us

Children in Care Council, 2

We need workers who think about how they treat us. This means workers who treat us fairly and who show us they care. We dont want to be labelled and we should be treated like normal people; dont look down on us.

Workers need excellent communication skills, this includes listening skills. Our workers need to be able to listen to our views, ask how and what we are feeling and make sure they understand what we are saying by checking back with us. We expect our workers to demonstrate that they respect us and our experience in real ways by not taking phone calls during meetings, and by writing down what we say and talking in short simple language.

Finally, we expect our workers to work hard for us. This means doing what they say they will do, sticking to promises and not making excuses. We expect our workers to respond promptly to us and provide up to date contact details, especially for out of hours. It is important that workers build good relationships with us and are flexible and willing to change their view and always do what is best for us.

Job Purpose:

The Community Health Worker works as part of the public health nursing team in providing preventative and supportive health care to children young people and their families. The post holder works under the supervision of a Specialist Public Health Nurse or Team Leader with a defined population. As part of the public health nursing team the post holder collaborates with a wider multi-disciplinary team in offering public health services to the community. The work takes place in a variety of settings, including home, clinic, schools and community venues.

This role requires the ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence and fluency in English.

Main duties and responsibilities:

The principle responsibility of the post holder it to support the delivery of universal services and targeted interventions to address health inequalities. The service will be offered within the framework of national and local targets including the Healthy Child Programme.

Working in partnership to provide appropriate advice and support to families in accordance with evidence based practice under the supervision of Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN).

Signposting families to supportive services e.g. Childrens Centres and services provided by the local authority or the voluntary sector.

Maintain clear and accurate records as per standards and guidelines, ensuring clear analysis and outcomes for the child.

Support and promote breast-feeding, good infant feeding practices, good nutrition, dental care, and smoking cessation.

Communicates effectively with people who may themselves have communication difficulties, including willingness to seek out and use resources to help those whose first language is not English or those with sensory or learning difficulties.

Able to communicate effectively and helpfully with people who may be distressed or angry, for example, may be asked to support families where there is a child with special needs.

Communicates in such a way as to empower, motivate and/or support individuals, families and other members of staff, judging which approach is most likely to be effective in addressing the current health need or situation.

Able to recognise situations where service users require advice and help from the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, for example, need for family reassessment, complex evolving family health needs, or child protection, thus ensuring safe practice.

Able to use relevant equipment eg: electronic scales and measures of length and height, and interpret result. Refers measurements that are outside normal parameters.

Where appropriate, manages and maintains equipment, eg: ensuring servicing of scales at the required intervals. Has due regard to efficient and effective managements of resources, eg: accurate prediction and maintenance of supplies, informing line manager of any difficulties encountered.

Organises delegated workload to meet priorities of client care, making efficient use of time and travel.

Organises and supports service delivery within health and community settings. e.g. child health clinics, National Childhood Measurement Programme in schools, Healthy Child Programme.

Keeps a daily electronic diary containing accurate record of work content and travel. Initiate and participate in data collection, research, audit, surveys and service user feedback.

Participating in supervision and annual appraisals which will help you to reflect on your work, understand your objectives and monitor your progress towards achieving them Using continuing professional development to consolidate, update or improve clinical skills.

Please refer to the full Job Description & Person Specification on the right hand side when completing your application.