RMI / Support Worker / Personal Assistant

An experienced and flexible, part time PA required, to work 2-5hours per day on a mutually agreed flexible start and finish for Rachel, who is a 34-year-old, single parent of an 8-year-old daughter.
2. Client Overview
Rachel has undergone 4 years of Leukaemia treatments and whilst being in remission for over 2 years, the treatments and medications, she has received and continues to receive, has left her in a clinically vulnerable and fragile condition, unable to work. Particular issues Rachel suffers with include: -
-Susceptible to infections, due to her compromised immune system, requiring her to; avoid busy public places and maintain a high standard of personal and household hygiene.
-Suffers frequent, short notice, swings in stamina and health, often resulting in an inability to perform routine tasks.
-Can be forgetful, unable to deal with new, complicated matters and home management routines
-Struggles to walk far and is a registered Blue Badge holder.
-On average Rachel has 1-2 lengthy appointments/week at Guys and Royal Marsden which can leave her feeling exhausted
-Has to take a complicated, ever varying array of special medications and has to follow a strict gluten, dairy and fat free diet
-Suffers from chronic Gut GVHD and recurring bladder infections and has to wear incontinence pants occasionally.
-Suffers from PTSD, General Anxiety and Depression
-Stress aggravates Rachel's chronic GVHD and has been advised to avoid stressful situations.
Her husband left Rachel in the midst of her treatments, and she is now the primary carer of Amelia who also, not surprisingly, has been diagnosed with anxieties.
3. Overall Job Purpose and Objectives
To help, protect and support Rachel in her every day, variable and unpredictable care needs as her pensioner parents and prior carers take a step back.
4. Principal Duties and Responsibilities
-Assist with daily household cleaning and laundry tasks, ensuring the house is maintained at a high standard of hygiene and is infection free.
-Assist, on occasions, with meal preparation when Rachel is feeling too tired or unwell to do this herself.
-Assisting with medicine management, including; stock management, reorders, daily dispensing and helping to ensure the correct medications are taken on time.
-Assist booking the many, varied hospital and ambulance transport appointments and help with following up when appointments change or the transport fails.
-On occasions, drive Rachel to local hospital and GP appointments when she is unable to drive herself.
-Liaise by phone with hospital Consultants, along with Rachel, to help document and understand the verbal feedback following consultations.
-Act quickly in an emergency and assist liaising with Rachel's hospital Key Health workers on the rare occasions Rachel has significant health setbacks.
-Organise urgent, non-emergency GP appointments, at short notice and collect new prescriptions from the surgery, take them to local pharmacies.
-Helping with booking, twice weekly, online supermarket orders and fulfilling any urgent ad-hoc shopping needs plus other important errands.
-Assist with home management; diarising and booking household services (plumbing, electrical etc), monitor finances (benefit income, car servicing, utility bills, insurances etc).
-Assist with home Physical Therapy exercises when needed.
-Supporting Rachel during any future hospital admissions, ensuring that the hospital is provided with; an up to date medications list, sufficient, initial, key medicinal stocks from home, plus sufficient stocks of Rachel's special dietary products.
-Assisting with preparation for school runs when required (due to Rachel's unavailability due to hospital appointment overruns or a health set back) arranging friends to step in to assist at short notice, or personally performing the school run on Rachel's behalf.
-Provide emotional and psychological support and companionship.

Prior experience as a Personal Assistant fulfilling similar tasks and responsibilities.
-Able to multitask with good problem solving skills.
-Possess a valid driving licence and car with the appropriate insurances.
-Able to assist with housework, cleaning and meal preparation and ensuring that the house is maintained to high hygiene standards
-Be easily contactable with excellent communication and computer literacy skills and possessing a mobile phone and tablet/ laptop computer, as a number of the required PA tasks can often be performed remotely.
-Be friendly, compassionate, good communicator, patient, attentive, good with children, well organised, reliable, have good stamina and above all very flexible and willing to go the extra mile.
5. Working Hours
Rachel currently needs daily support averaging 2-5 hours per day (sometimes occasionally more) dependent upon; her physical health at the time, hospital and other appointments booked etc. The key word here is "flexibility", as Rachel's daily routine varies significantly from one day to the next.

Working hours: - 2-5 hours a day for 5-6 days a week depending on fluctuating health, hospital appointments, school runs etc.
Do you require your PA to drive? Yes
Clean Driving License: Yes
Please provide any additional information about where you need your support and/or driving requirements: Occasional in emergency situations
£16.00 per hour.
Employment status: Can be either employed or self-employed and terms negotiable depending on age and experience. Overtime rates paid.