Maternity Support Worker - INTERNAL ONLY

The post holder will provide support to the intrapartum team, mothers and their families. Working across the intrapartum areas, They, with the appropriate training, will support the midwife to provide labour and early postnatal care. They will carry out assigned tasks involving direct care including information giving; guidance and reassurance; assistance and support to women and their families The post holder will be expected to supervise and guide less experienced staff. The range of duties that the post holder will be expected to undertake will be varied and will depend upon the priorities within the Maternity Unit at the start of each working shift. The post holder will be assigned duties by the intrapartum lead for the shift.

• Role can be fulltime or part time (part time minimum 23 hrs per week)
• Working 12 hr shifts, days, nights, weekends and Bank Holidays
• Working on both Iffley and Marsh ward, Works as an effective team member. Understands the importance of team working in the delivery of high quality care
• Actively promotes diversity, including race diversity, and to maintaining an environment where there is equal opportunity and commitment to anti-discriminatory, anti-racist and anti-stereotyping practices
• Works with team to maintain high standards of cleanliness in the clinical area
• Supports the Midwives, Intrapartum leads and Matron to ensure the service practices within Data Protection/ Confidentiality/ Caldicott principles.
• Assists in the monitoring and maintenance of the health, safety and security of self and others in work area. The post holder must ensure that he/ she works within risk management/ occupational health legislation and Trust's procedures for safe working practices
• Demonstrates the Trust's values at all times and is aware of national and local objectives for maternity care., Understands the importance of the woman as the centre of her care. Demonstrates that he/ she consult and involves women in decisions about their care and wellbeing. Demonstrates understanding of fundamental legal practices related to consent and the prevention of abuse.
• Is able to implement holistic; culturally sensitive; respectful; non-judgemental care from a pre-determined care plan for women with a wide range of care needs.
• Undertakes other care practices as directed by the Midwife/Nurse but is able to carry out routine care duties at own discretion.
• Practices in accordance with the Trust's protocols and guidelines.
• Demonstrates understanding of the boundaries of the Maternity Support Worker role. Confident and competent in all intrapartum related band 3 competencies.
• Works flexibly across the intrapartum areas to provide excellence in labour care during the latent phase of labour, and support the woman, family and midwife during active labour if appropriate/required. For example, precipitate delivery, woman labouring alone.
• Is able to assist the midwife in emergencies such as neonatal resuscitation, precipitate birth/haemorrhage. Recognises and respond to emergencies appropriately such as adult and neonatal basic life support. Is able to initiate fundamental care during an emergency to ensure safety.
• Acts as 2^nd person at birth to support the midwife in essential tasks at the time of birth supporting maintaining a safe birth environment.
• Is able to undertake after training, clinical skills such as venepuncture, removal of urinary catheters, cannulas, maternal and neonatal observations
• Is able to support the midwife in the immediate postnatal period with suturing (including gaining competence in swab counts and related records), maternal well-being assessments and can support initiating safe skin to skin.
• Is able to support women with initiating first infant feed, responsive infant feeding, helping women to gain skills and confidence with attachment and positioning and immediate care of newborn babies.
• Displays skills, within own sphere of practice, related to promoting women's comfort, mobility, support needs. Uses initiative when responding to changes in the woman or baby's condition.
• Assists the midwives and bereavement team in caring for and supporting women and their families who are experiencing the loss of a baby. Supports with memory making for families. Helps maintain the bereavement rooms and annex to expected standards.
• Displays excellent two-way communication with women, families and colleagues. Is able to overcome barriers to understanding when the woman's first language is not English or has a learning or hearing difficulty.
• Demonstrates appropriate assertiveness and ability to challenge others when the rights of women and others may be infringed. Demonstrates an awareness of equity in healthcare and the impact that inequity can have on women and their families accessing the service.
• Is able to maintain contemporaneous records relating to the woman/baby's condition on the electronic patient record (EPR
• Undertakes specific skills such as checking; cleaning and ensuring the equipment is ready for use when required. This is following completion of appropriate training and on instruction from Registered Midwife/Nurse, Clinical Engineering or the Manufacturer of the product.
• Understands the principles of human and environmental factors when working in teams and applies this to ensure safe team working. Awareness of escalation policies and how to escalate concerns when required.
• Able to assist the midwife with labour admissions. Greeting the mother and her family, supporting women and their family in early labour teaching them coping skills and strategies.
• Demonstrates an awareness of child protection and domestic abuse care pathways and policies with an awareness of factors that might alert him/her to the possibility of a child protection or domestic abuse issue and able to cite appropriate response to these concerns.
  
  Experience with NHS IT systems
• Experience in healthcare
• Understanding of CARE values, Adaptability, compassionate and patient
• Interest in Maternity Care
• Care certificate
Desirable criteria
• Experience working in a healthcare setting
  
  Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated 'Good' with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust's overall rating has also improved to 'good'. This is a great opportunity to join our clinical or non-clinical teams to create a positive and motivating environment within our trust. Come and join our team in this exciting time of change as we pride ourselves, our staff and our services on excellence.
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is "Working together to provide outstanding care for our community." We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don't you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical. Diversity is what makes us interesting… Inclusion is what will make us outstanding. Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community., We are one of the largest District General Hospitals in the country. The hospital achieved Foundation Trust status on 1^st June 2006 and was the first Foundation Trust in the South Central Strategic Health Authority. The Trust is Reading's biggest employer and may form the central hospital for one of the country's new medical schools. The Trust is beginning a major modernisation of its services and its buildings. Our dual objective is to develop and deliver outstanding NHS services that are fit for the future, and to play a greater part in the growth and development of our local economy. This long-term, modernisation programme will see the investment of hundreds of millions of pounds over the course of the next ten years and will involve every one of our public and private sector partners. Our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen., By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Appointment to any position is conditional on the satisfactory completion of the core NHS Employment Checks Standards. Information disclosed in your application will be checked and any offer of appointment may be withdrawn if you knowingly withhold information or provide false or misleading information. All new appointments to the Trust, with the exception of executive positions, are subject to a 6 month probationary period. The Trust may close any vacancy prior to the advertised closing date due to the high level of responses we receive for some of our vacancies. Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving the health of its staff, patients and the wider community by providing a smoke free environment. A smoke free policy is in operation and smoking is not permitted on any of the Trust's sites.

Staff Benefits
• Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work, life balance
• Annual leave - 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff
• NHS pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Money Advice Service
• Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff
• On-site nursery (based at RBH)
• Full educational library services
• Cycle to work scheme, lockable storage for cycles
• Bus to work scheme
• Excellent rail and bus links
• A huge range of Health Service Discounts at hundreds of big brands from holidays to gadgets and restaurants to retail.