Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication
•Deal with complex information including co-ordinating difficult discharges or transfers from the acute setting, ensure senior team members are aware and escalate any issues causing delays
•Effectively provide a wide range of information and advice about services available in the community to support a patient and their families following discharge
•To be able to effectively engage with patients and their carers whilst completing required assessments and planning discharge plans.
•To ensure records of discussions, actions and interventions are accurately and clearly recorded in the relevant places and on the relevant systems, both health and social, in line with good practice.
•To support effective improved patient flow and patient experience by providing clear communication
•Support and advise other staff on health and social care processes and resources available to them, to assist in timely discharges and appropriately challenge colleagues as required.
•Work effectively as a member of the team, supporting senior colleagues to implement agreed discharge plans.
•Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move forward.
•Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health conditions.
•Be able to deal with challenging conversations and situations with patients’ and their families and be able to signpost to relevant services.

Data Management
•To input and extract data from health and social care information systems to maintain accurate records and allow required activity with regards to patient records, face to face activity and support service provision regarding discharge arrangements.
•Proactively enhance own knowledge base regarding new services / resources, changes in local and national health and social care policy practice, which may impact on discharge planning for specific cohorts of patients.

Quality Initiatives
•Accept responsibility for ensuring the maintenance of a high quality of service to patients by continual development and adapting own work and takes on new tasks as agreed.
•Under the direction of ICS managers and others, contribute to improving services and ways of working, providing clear feedback on polices and strategies and their impact on services provided to patient cohort.
•Contribute to the development of robust discharge plans and associated documentation, the provision of clear information about support services available and care pathways available as appropriate.
•Post holders will act in a manner that upholds the values of the Trust and that of the profession ensuring the service delivered contributes to supporting the principles of clinical governance.
•Adhere to and maintain evidence of following trust and professional policies and procedures and other quality approaches as required. Encouraging others to do the same.
•Work within the limits of own competence and area of responsibility and accountability. Proactively seeks help and advice where needed.
•Act as a discharge expert in order to enhance personal, team and patient knowledge in relation to discharge planning and the various discharge pathways available.
•Prioritises own workload and manages own time effectively to ensure priorities are met and quality is not compromised.
•Proactively monitors the quality of work in own area and alerts others to quality issues, reporting any errors or issues to the appropriate person.
Service Development and Improvement
•Promote and maintain good customer care.
•Work within policies and procedures to achieve agreed team objectives and is given freedom to do this autonomously subject to timescales, budget or other constraints as appropriate.