Family and Bereavement Support Worker

**Job Title**: Family and Bereavement Support Worker

**Tenure**: Permanent

**Base**: Home / Workington Community Hospital

**Responsible to**: Family and Bereavement Services Team Leader

**Responsible for**: N/A

**Hours**: 37.5 hours per week / part-time hours considered

**JOB SUMMARY**:
Hospice at Home West Cumbria provides an expert and comprehensive service to enhance the experience of patients requiring palliative and end of life care. The services provide quality care in the delivery of home nursing, complementary therapies, family and bereavement support, and Lymphoedema care for patients, and their family members whilst caring and when bereaved across West Cumbria.

The role of the Family and Bereavement Support Worker is to work autonomously to provide emotional support through active listening to patients, their family members whilst caring, and when bereaved. Support is delivered in a range of care settings.

**DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST**:
**Key responsibilities of the job**
- Works under the direction and supervision of the Team Leader / Senior Family and Bereavement Support Worker and contributes to service delivery development and project initiatives. This may include a participatory role in task and finish / operational groups to ensure delivery of the HHWC Strategy.
- Undertakes initial assessments of new referrals to identify complexity and most appropriate type of support. This may include signposting to other health and care professionals when a specialist level of intervention is required.
- Prioritises and coordinates own caseload, ensuring that communications with patients, families and carers is of a consistent and high standard. Caseload will be a mix of complexity requiring ongoing assessment in order to establish appropriate support outcomes.
- Provides one to one support for patients, carers and families coping with the effects of diagnosis, grief, loss and bereavement using a tailored approach from a range of best-practice interventions. Facilitates group support aiming for independence and self-care.
- Liaises with the wider MDT team about patients, carers and families ongoing care needs, including seeking additional advice and support from professionals in relation to direct care and management.
- Provides peer support to volunteers within the family and bereavement support team.
- Supports the development of relevant bereavement education programmes to meet the training needs of clinical staff, volunteers, students and external stakeholders.
- Supports audit, service reviews and contributes to policy and practice change, based on the resulting evidence as appropriate. This includes risk, complaints and incident management, complying with and contributing to CQC requirements.
- Maintains accurate records (both electronic and written) which comply with professional, legal and administrative requirements.

**Personal Development**:

- To be committed to personal and professional development and complete mandatory and statutory training as required.
- To set challenging goals through the appraisal process to ensure the effective delivery of personal objectives.
- To keep updated with current policies and procedures, as well as external trends and developments.

**General**
- To ensure that personal conduct, ways of working and work activities are always aligned to the Hospice’s purpose and values.
- In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations, to ensure the maintenance of confidentiality in respect of staff, volunteer and client records and all privileged information relating to the services of the Charity, its patients, staff and volunteers and particularly of the area for which directly responsible.
- To promote and foster the Hospice’s reputation and standing within the community and with private, statutory and voluntary sector agencies and organisations.
- To adhere to the Health and Safety policy and report all accidents, incidents or near misses promptly and when requested to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.
- To be aware of obligations and to abide by the spirit and nature of the Equal Opportunities policy to avoid direct and indirect discrimination.
- To undertake any other duties which may be reasonably required.

**Closing date: 10am Friday 16 May 2025**

**Interviews will be held on: Tuesday 3 June 2025**

Registered charity number 1086837

**Job Types**: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: £23,970.00 per year

Expected hours: 37.5 per week

**Benefits**:

- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Health & wellbeing programme

Schedule:

- Day shift
- Monday to Friday

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Workington CA14 2RW

Reference ID: FABS Support Worker