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Location

Sutton In Ashfield, Nottinghamshire | United Kingdom

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Job description

The primary role of the Maternity Care Assistant (MCA) is to assist, support and work in collaboration with the midwife and the wider multidisciplinary team; in order to provide a safe and holistic approach to women-centred care.

The midwife is ultimately responsible for the care of the mother and her new-born(s), and it is under the direct or indirect supervision of the midwife that the MCA assists with and provides personal care following completion of any relevant or appropriate training. The post is rotational and the employee will be provided with appropriate training for the clinical setting in which they are working. These settings include antenatal inpatient or outpatient care, intrapartum inpatient care and postnatal inpatient and outpatient care.

The post holder is expected to undertake a set of defined competencies. Support will be given to employees to further develop their skills and explore pathways for progression where appropriate. This job description is directly linked to The Maternity Support worker Competency, Education and career Development Framework set out by Health Education England (HEE). This may be particularly relevant to employees who are looking to progress and prepare them for entry into further study.
• Develops and maintains positive relationships, respects the woman’s and her families’ wishes, with kindness, compassion and empathy.
• Should be trustworthy, provide woman centred care and support, and take ownership for mistakes by reporting concerns or errors to a registered practitioner in a timely manner.
• Recognises the Maternity Care Assistants scope of practice within national frameworks and demonstrating NHS Constitution values, asking for guidance when unsure. This will ensure they are working within their competency, demonstrate a professional manner and guarantee care planning is in line with national and local guidance to avoid harm.
• Understands main principles of team working and can define their own role and role of others

Thank you for your interest in this role.

Sherwood is nationally recognised as being an excellent place to work and deliver care. We are rightly proud of the 5,500 colleagues who work here, and we are the Health Service Journal’s Trust of the Year in 2020.

The Care Quality Commission rated King’s Mill Hospital Outstanding and Newark, and Mansfield Community Hospitals Good. Overall, we are rated Outstanding for care.

For the last three years, we have been ranked as the best NHS Trust to work for in the Midlands and in 2020 we were the third best Acute/Community NHS Trust in England.

Happy colleagues deliver better care. Our teams work in a supportive, inclusive environment, which nurtures wellbeing and has opportunities for development and progression. We do not just care for our patients; we also care for you.

Our culture of learning, compassion and taking a person-centred approach are at the roots of our organisation. We would love you to join us.

Administrative Duties
• Ensure and participate in tracking, obtaining, and filing clinical records as required in line with local information governance and in accordance with legal requirements to maintain confidentiality and data protection
• Keeps complete, clear, accurate and timely records, utilizing digital platforms where required
• Provide administrative support to the maternity team, both in the hospital and community settings.

Professional Attitudes and responsibilities
• Convey an approachable and professional manner to all mothers and their families
• Demonstrates an awareness of discriminatory attitudes and challenges this behavior, with particular reference to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation. This will ensure they promote equality.
• Is aware of legal and ethical responsibilities in relation to own role including the need to work in ways agreed by the employer
• Does not project own experiences and values onto other and demonstrates understanding of own role and contribution in creating inclusive, equitable care
• Is aware of organisational aims, objectives, policies and values that relate to the MCA role
• Recognizes the importance of maintaining own health, wellbeing and resilience to ensure that personal performance and judgement is not affected by ill-health
• Ensure that knowledge of local safeguarding policy and procedure is maintained.
• Understands and follows principles of safeguarding and protection and adheres to local security procedures.

Training Responsibilities
• Attend all statutory and mandatory training as and when required.
• Maintains and develops own skills and knowledge with training accessed where required. Keeps evidence of personal development, prepares for and participates in appraisal
• Participate in annual individual performance review process, whereby objectives will be agreed, performance monitored, and personal development needs discussed.
• Is always welcoming and takes an interest in the education and development of Trainee Maternity Care assistants and Trainee Maternity Support workers in acquiring skills and knowledge.

Safe Environment
• Ensure own actions promote a positive and safe environment. This includes checking the clinical area for hazards, ensuring the working order of equipment, reporting any concerns, faults or breakages to the appropriate person in a timely manner.
• Demonstrates the ability to respond flexibly to needs of the working environment
• Demonstrates safe and evidence based practice in all skills and procedures stated within job description
• Ensure that each woman feels safe and knows how to access support if required
• Uses a range of techniques for infection prevention and control. Using PPE as required.
• Act responsibly in respect of colleague’s health, safety and welfare following safety at work guidance and protocol.
• Ensure the cleanliness of equipment in all clinical and non-clinical areas and assist the midwife in appropriately preparing the birthing environment.
• Ensure adequate stock levels are maintained in all clinical settings, and equipment is available; escalate any depletion of stock or resources in a timely manner.
• Assist in stocking up and cleaning all home birth team equipment if required.
• Report any incidents using the local risk management reporting system and escalate such incidents appropriately and in a timely manner. To ensure they are following local health and safety guidance
• Understands the importance of following standard operating procedures, protocols, policies and guidelines to promote safety
• Understands the importance of courage and candour, recognising and reporting behaviours or errors that could result in poor outcomes for women and their families
• Supports audit and service improvement initiatives and keeps up to date with changes in policy and practice

Care of the Woman
• Escort women and their families between clinical areas as required
• Assist with the admission, orientation and discharge of women and their babies in accordance with local policy and guidance.
• Communicate respectfully, effectively and timely manner when speaking with women and the wider MDT, utilising verbal and non-verbal skills
• Understand and gains valid consent prior to action or providing care.
• Manages delegated tasks effectively and in a timely manner for which they have received training, ensuring basic care needs for women and babies are met. Reports completion of tasks and any finding to an appropriate practitioner
• Assists in effective care planning and evaluation by sharing relevant information in a timely manner with members of the MDT
• Understands the benefits of continuity of carer and how this applies within own role
• Recognizes and responds to signs of discomfort and anxiety or concerns raised by promptly reporting them to an appropriate practitioner
• Support women during clinical procedures and act as chaperone when requested to do so by the midwifery or obstetric team.
• Shares knowledge and teaches skills that empower women and their families to safely and effectively care for themselves
• Provide support with personal care to labouring women if asked to do so, and under the supervision of the midwife.
• Assist in the maintenance and understand the principles of good bladder care, such and hydration and to document accurately the fluid balance.
• Assist in the nutrition needs of women.
• Assist women with mobilisation following surgical procedures under direction of the midwife.
• Notices vulnerability, changing or additional needs and reports these to a suitably qualified colleague to take forward
• Acts sensitively, compassionately and respectfully in situations where the family unit is separated e.g if mother/baby are critically ill. Make sure the family members are updated with accurate information by the appropriate team member
• Ensures tasks that separate families are kept to a minimum and are carried out with kindness and empathy
• Acts sensitively, compassionately and respectfully during times of bereavement and loss and follows care plans within scope of their role

Obstetric and Neonatal Emergencies
• Assist /act as a runner in obstetric theatres and support and assist the midwife in the woman’s preparation for transfer to theatre
• Recognises and acts upon within own parameters of competence any abnormal events or emergencies, escalating to the multidisciplinary team through the appropriate means, in a timely manner. Where a registered practitioner is not present, they should initiate immediate first aid whilst awaiting arrival of appropriately qualified practitioner

Health Promotion and Screening
• Directs queries regarding local and national services to support women and their families to aa suitably qualified colleague to take forward
• Assists in the preparation of the woman and her family for screening activities and immunisations
• To seek support from a qualified practitioner when a women shows a desire to make changes to health behaviors
• To be aware of and understand the current policy and service frameworks for mental health (e.g. Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Mental Health Act).
• Understands the aims and principles of health promotion, protection and improvement. This will include; social and cultural influences, individual circumstances, capabilities, behaviours and lifestyle choices that impact health outcomes
• Appreciates the importance of recognising and supporting physical and emotional health and wellbeing and actively encourages women and their families to talk about health and wellbeing and escalate to midwife to enable appropriate care pathway

Infant Feeding
• Be able to describe the key practices that facilitate the initiation and have the knowledge and skills to support maintenance of breastfeeding
• Understand and have an overview of circumstances which can affect lactation and breastfeeding and be able to support mothers to overcome common challenges and make appropriate referrals when necessary (e.g midwife/health visitor/infant feeding lead)
• Be able to support parents who formula feed to do so responsively and as safely as possible including minimising the risks, to make up feeds as safely as possible, how to sterilise equipment, how to hold a baby and pace the feeds.
• Importance of skin-to-skin contact to support infant feeding and how to facilitate this within practice promoting responsive feeding to feeding cues
• Understanding principles and mechanisms of attachment and positioning for effective feeding in line with BFI standards
• Understands how to protect breastfeeding should supplementation be required
• Expression and storage of breastmilk to include hand and pump expression technique and the use of cup feeding

Care of the Newborn
• Observe the overall wellbeing of the newborn and escalate any concerns to named midwife or multi-professional team in a timely manner.
• Provide practical support and transition to parenthood for new parents when caring for their newborn, whilst promoting safety, bonding and teaching parenting skills.

This advert closes on Monday 11 Mar 2024

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