East Suffolks Generic Worker Programme

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East Suffolks Generic Worker Programme

• Jane Benten MSc, BA Hons, Dip COT
• Coordinator/Trainer Generic Worker Suffolk PCT
• Skills for Care New Types of Working
• Eastern Region Conference New Hall Cambridge
• Monday 29th October 2007

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Generic Worker Definition

• In East Suffolk a Generic Worker is someone
  who works across both traditional health and
  social care boundaries and across seven
  professional boundaries to provide support to
  meet the individual needs of service users.

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Context of Development of Role

• The deployment of generic assistants to cover
  more than one discipline helps by providing a
  much more flexible and efficient workforce that
  fits well with the multi-disciplinary focus of
  rehabilitation and the complex needs of patients
  and carers
• Audit Commission Report The
  Way to go Home 2000

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Rationale for a Generic Worker

• Recognition that the needs of an individual
  encompass a broad spectrum that cross the
  traditional health and social boundaries.
  These needs are not currently met by a single
  profession

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The Modernisation Agencys Changing Workforce
Programme

• To promote the development of new and extended
  roles Better for patients and better for staff
• Accelerated Development Programmes specifically
  set up to develop support worker roles in
  rehabilitation and intermediate care

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Context of Development of Role

• Pilot work CWP led to Accelerated Development
• Programmes (ADPs)
• To enhance the workforce responsible
• for reducing avoidable admissions
• Minimise premature or avoidable dependence on
  long term care
• Reduce the number of different staff
• seen by the same service user by
• professional staff handing off appropriate
  tasks
• to Generic Workers

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East Suffolk

• East Suffolk chosen as one of 50 teams (from 105)
  to develop ADP for Generic Workers
• Pilot set up
• 27 Generic Workers recruited
• ADP further developed to current programme

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ADPs Final Report Impact and Improvement

• How unidisciplinary assistant role has been
• amended to become integrated health and
• social care worker across country
• Social Care and Nursing 19
• Social Care and Therapy 11
• Social Care Nursing and Therapy 59
• Skills requirement mapping underway 11
• (Doncaster Health and Social Care Economy
  includes OT, PT, SLT, Dietetics, Nursing, Home
  Care no others found combining Home Care with 7
  areas !)

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What does the role of a Generic Worker involve in
East Suffolk?

• To provide person-centred care to meet the
  specific needs of the service user
• Including personal care with an enabling emphasis
  and support to professionals in seven areas
• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Nursing
• Mental Health
• Pharmacy
• Podiatry
• Dietetics

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What support do Generic Workers receive in this
role?

• Coordinator/trainer for Generic Workers
• NVQ 3
• Training to develop knowledge and skills
• Teaching sessions Occupational Therapy,
  Physiotherapy, Wound Care,
• Nutrition, Podiatry, Medicines Management,
  Mental Health, Falls Placements
• Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Nursing,
  Mental Health, Podiatry
• Support from a range of health and social care
  professionals
• Guideline Folder

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Occupational Therapy

• Rehabilitation Process information gathering
• assessment, treatment planning, treatment,
  evaluation
• Enabling Personal Care Activities
• Enabling Domestic and Daily Living
• Activities
• Advice on safe environment
• Provision of basic assistive equipment

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Physiotherapy

• Assisting in exercise programmes
• Measure/Provide/Adjust simple walking aids
• Understanding of wheelchairs
• Support re-education of gait and stair technique
• Provide advice to prevent falls

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Mental Health

• Understanding of Depression
• Understanding of Dementia
• Understanding the importance of the prevention of
  social isolation

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Podiatry

• Awareness of the anatomy of the leg and foot
• Simple nail cuts
• Advice
• on footwear
• on future management
• on equipment
• to family/carers
• When to refer to the Podiatrist

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Nutrition

• Promoting nutrition
• Understanding of a balanced diet
• MUST (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool)
• Food record charts
• Different forms of nutritional support and
  recipes for nourishing drinks
• When to refer to Dietitian

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Nursing

• Observations (temp/pulse/BP/respiration)
• Investigations (urinalysis/blood glucose)
• Simple wound dressings
• Catheter management
• Pressure care

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Pharmacy

• Legislation regulating administration of
  medicines
• Promoting self medication
• To know difference between prompt/assist/administe
  r
• To know how to prompt/assist/administer oral
  medicines, inhaled medicines, eye and nasal
  preparations and ear drops and topical
  preparations
• To document on new Medicines Record Form

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Health and Social Care Professionals

• Carry out holistic assessments, complete
  intervention plans and hand off (pass on)
  appropriate tasks to Generic Workers with the
  overall aim that
• the individual has continuity of support
• the individuals needs are attended to in a
  timely manner
• that the number of different staff seen by the
  same individual are reduced

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Model

• Emphasis on service user self management
• Generic workers acquire knowledge and skills in
  order to promote the independence and health of
  service users
• This can often involve their family members
• E.g. Podiatry
• Provide advice on footwear
• Nail cuts with discussion on further management
• Provide information on where to purchase
  equipment
• Advice/Demonstration to family/carers
• Knowledge of when to refer to a Podiatrist

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Outcomes

• Training Evaluation Feedback
• Placement Evaluation Feedback Facilitators/Learner
  s
• Three Further Evaluations
• Number of hand offs as recorded by Generic
  Workers
• Number of hand offs as recorded by
  Professionally Qualified Staff
• User satisfaction survey

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Progress

• To date 101 people have been involved in training
  for Generic Worker Posts across East Suffolk
• Possibility of extending role to West Suffolk

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Learning Points

• Period of restructuring within Health and Social
  Care
• Choice
• Attitudes
• Pay differentials Health/Social Care
• Medicines Management training
• Dependency levels/GW role
• Twilight/Night staff

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What has worked well

• Joint working between Trusts and professions
• Inclusion of mental health
• Generic Worker post supporting A E team and
  fracture clinic
• Community Teams 7/7
• First cohort skills escalator 5
• Opening up of aspects of training and developing
  others to all members of team
• Medicines Management paperwork

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Continued/.

• Feedback from Service Quality Questionnaire
• Recent feedback
• It was so good to hear what someone could do,
  rather than what they could not do. The Generic
  worker was tremendously helpful and helped to
  restore my confidence in doing things for myself
  again