Current Vacancies

We are recruiting Care Assistants in South Uist and North Uist

To apply, e-mail HR Manager Hanna on hanna@tagsa.co.uk for a job application.

Job Purpose

Tagsa Uibhist’s Care Assistants provide care and support to clients in their own homes, as well as providing respite for their carers. Our Care Assistants work with the elderly and with people who have additional support needs, meeting their personal needs and assisting with daily living needs, supporting clients to live independently, and meeting additional support as required, in accordance with Scottish National Care Standards. As well as assisting clients with day-to-day activities, our Care Assistants also contribute to their overall wellbeing by providing regular contact, company and emotional support.

The specific tasks Care Assistants undertake are based on the client’s needs, choices, and preferences, as assessed, and agreed by the client and Tagsa’s senior care staff in partnership with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Each client has an up-to-date Care Plan, which is regularly reviewed. Each Care Plan sets out the tasks to be carried out by the Care Assistant for each client. Care Assistants have the responsibility to follow the Care Plan and any other supporting documents and must report any changes in the client’s needs that are identified by the client, a family member/carer, a medical professional or by the local authority.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Care Assistants undertake a wide range of tasks, all of which should be done in a manner which supports independent living, appropriate to their abilities.

Assisting clients to get up in the morning including washing/bathing and dressing and maintaining personal appearance.
Assisting with undressing and getting to bed in the evening.
Assisting with preparation of meals, drinks, and snacks when necessary.
Help with toileting and changing clothes and/or bedding where necessary.
Ensure commodes are emptied and sanitised.
Help with other tasks of personal daily living that service users cannot manage.
Assist and encourage the management of medication or administer where necessary and appropriate, and monitoring health related conditions such as dietary & fluid intake.
Help service users with mobility difficulties, or other physical disabilities, including incontinence.
Help in the use of aids and other personal equipment.
Ensure clients retain individuality and personal dignity by promoting high standards of care and encouraging independence where appropriate.
Ensure that different cultural needs are catered for sensitively.
To respect the confidential nature of the work.
To provide direct care to clients as circumstances require according to the care plan.
To attend staff meetings and training courses as required.
Contribute to an effective system of communication within the team, by discussion and regular team meetings.
To ensure that the Health and Safety policies are implemented at all times.
To undertake any other relevant duties specified by Management.

General Duties and Responsibilities:

Demonstrate an active understanding of the principles of the job as described above, and with appropriate guidance from Tagsa Uibhist’s Care Manager and Care Coordinator.
Ensure that information about Tagsa Uibhist clients and concerning any other individuals Tagsa Uibhist works with, is treated with respect and confidentiality.
Contribute to the overall quality of Tagsa Uibhist’s service delivery, by working closely with other members of the staff team, helping promote good practice, communicating and by taking part in staff meetings, and contributing to meeting the objective of the service.
Take part in regular supervision meetings.
Take part in training as agreed to learn and to develop skills associated with the job.
Work in accordance with all Tagsa Uibhist policies and procedures.
Report immediately any incident of a serious nature such as abuse.
Report all accidents immediately to Tagsa Uibhist’s Care Manager, followed by a written statement.

Working Hours and Location:

Working hours are variable will be as stated on a rota provided by Care Coordinator/Care Manager. Work is undertaken in the homes of service users as agreed.
Tagsa Uibhist provides care at home to clients in South Uist, Benbecula, and North Uist (as well as smaller neighbouring islands). Every effort is made to achieve proximity when assigning Care Assistants to clients.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications:

Excellent communication skills, including the ability to listen to patients and clearly verbalise information.
Excellent interpersonal skills, enabling good mutual understanding with vulnerable individuals.
Previous experience working in the care setting is advantageous. However, we also welcome applications from applicants with no previous Care experience and a willingness to learn. Tagsa Uibhist provides and pays for the theoretical and practical training required.
Relevant SVQ/NVQ or similar qualifications. Those that have an SVQ2 in Social Services and Healthcare (or equivalent) qualify for the rate of £16.49/hour. However, we also welcome those without this qualification to apply and be paid the starting rate of £15.80/hour.
An understanding and/or willingness to learn about health issues.
All Care Assistants need to be registered with the SSSC and adhere to SSSC’s Codes of Practice. The fee for this will be refunded by Tagsa Uibhist.
All Care Assistants must submit their details for a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check through Disclosure Scotland. The fee for this will be refunded by Tagsa Uibhist.
Clean driving licence and access to a vehicle.
Ability to work well in a team, as the job often requires working closely together with other healthcare professionals.
Patience and the ability to remain calm and collected in a crisis.
Ability to relate to people from a variety of backgrounds.
Physical strength and endurance.

Tagsa Uibhist is loking for Domestic Assistants and Respite Assistants on variable hours basis.

The hourly rate for Domestic and Respite Assistants are £15.27 per hour and for candidates who hold an SVQ2 in Social Services and Healthcare (or equivalent) it is £15.93 per hour. If you are interested, please e-mail Hanna on hanna@tagsa.co.uk

Domestic Assistant

Job Purpose

Tagsa Uibhist’s Home Care Service supports individuals who choose to remain in the comfort and security of their own homes to help them live as independently as possible.

As part of this, the Domestic Assistant role supports service users by maintaining a clean, safe and hygienic home environment. This contributes to wellbeing, dignity and the ability to remain living independently at home.

The Domestic Assistant role is limited to domestic support only and does not include the provision of personal care, medication administration, moving and handling duties or assistance with getting service users in or out of bed.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The following list gives examples of the type of duties you may undertake. All duties should be carried out in a manner that promotes dignity, independence and respect.

Provide general domestic cleaning including vacuuming, dusting, mopping and cleaning kitchens and bathrooms.
Undertake household tasks such as laundry, ironing, changing bed linen and general tidying.
Maintain safe, clean and hygienic living environments in line with agreed service plans.
Use cleaning materials and equipment safely and appropriately.
Refer and adhere to the agreed support plan and any relevant risk assessment criteria.
Produce accurate and timely electronic feedback, timesheets and expense forms where required.
Report any issues, risks or concerns (for example health and safety hazards, safeguarding concerns or changes in circumstances) to the Care Manager and/or Care Coordinator.
Immediately report any serious incident to senior Care Management and follow organisational reporting procedures.
Ensure that information about Tagsa Uibhist’s service users and any other individuals Tagsa Uibhist works with is treated with respect and confidentiality.
Engage with regular supervision and appraisal sessions.
Attend staff meetings and training courses as required.
Contribute to the overall quality of Tagsa Uibhist’s service delivery by working closely with other members of the staff team and promoting good practice.
Work in accordance with all Tagsa Uibhist policies and procedures, including safeguarding, infection prevention and health and safety.

Person Specification:

Reliable, honest and trustworthy.
Respectful, professional and sensitive to the needs of service users.
Good communication skills.
Ability to work independently within service users’ homes.
Good organisational and time management skills.
Understanding of confidentiality and safeguarding responsibilities.
Willingness to undertake mandatory training including Safeguarding, Infection Prevention and Control, Dementia Awareness and Food Handling (training provided and compensated for with the usual rate of pay).
Experience in domestic cleaning or similar role (desirable but not essential).
Basic IT skills to complete electronic records and timesheets (desirable).
Willingness to apply for and maintain Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership.
SSSC registration as required.

Working Hours and Location:

Part-time and variable hours contracts available. Working hours are variable and will be as stated on a rota provided by the Care Coordinator/Care Manager. Domestic support visits are typically arranged during daytime hours, although flexibility may be required depending on service need.

Respite Care Assistant

Job Purpose

Tagsa Uibhist’s Home Care Service support individuals who choose to remain in the comfort and security of their own homes to help them live as independently as possible by supporting them in an enablement focused way.

As part of this, our Carer Respite Service enables unpaid carers in Uist to have a well-deserved regular break whilst having the reassurance that their loved ones are in safe hands. Respite care provides short-term relief for primary caregivers. Our respite visits range between two to four hours.

The Respite Care Worker role is varied dependent upon the older person’s specific care needs. Respite Care provision is mainly home based due to complex care needs and/or mobility restrictions. However, sometimes it could involve accompanying older people with dementia on activities to attend social groups, local walks, visit to local area of interest.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The following list gives examples of the type of duties you may undertake. All of these should be done in a manner which encourages service users towards the maximum degree of independence and activity appropriate to their abilities.

Accompany one of our service users, sometimes with confusion or dementia, in their home (sometimes on outings away from their home) to give their family member(s) respite.
Refer and adhere to the personalised client care plan and risk assessment criteria, ensuring confidentiality is maintained and records kept securely.
Assist with simple practical tasks e.g. preparing drinks and snacks; support with hobbies/activities.
Attend introduction visit with the service user, Carer and the Service Organiser.
Produce accurate and timely electronic feedback, timesheet and expense forms detailing any issues/risks/concerns for example: health and safety, safeguarding, changes in circumstances etc.
Engage with regular supervision and appraisal sessions.
Ensure that different cultural needs are catered for sensitively.
To attend staff meetings and training courses as required.
Ensure that information about Tagsa Uibhist’s service users and any other individuals Tagsa Uibhist works with, is treated with respect and confidentiality.
Contribute to the overall quality of Tagsa Uibhist’s service delivery, by working closely with other members of the staff team, helping promote good practice, communicating and by taking part in staff meetings and contributing to meeting the objectives of the service.
Work in accordance with all Tagsa Uibhist policies and procedures.
Immediately report any incident of a serious nature (such as abuse) to the Care Manager and/or Care Coordinator.
Report all accidents immediately to the Emergency services and senior Care management followed by a written statement.

Person Specification:

Patient, understanding and sensitive to the needs of our service users.
Honest and reliable.
Strong communication skills; ability to understand instructions provided by the service users and their primary caregivers.
Compassionate with the willingness to assist those who are unable to take care of themselves.
Ability to handle challenging or inappropriate behaviour
Ability to communicate with people at all levels.
Able to work and take their own initiative as needed.
Knowledge of Safe Food handling, Infection Prevention, Dementia Awareness and Safeguarding Adults (training provided and compensated for with the usual hourly rate of pay).
Qualifications in health and social care and/or willing to receive training.
Experience of using e-mail and basic Microsoft applications.
Full Driving license and access to own vehicle.
Willingness to apply for and maintain Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership.
SSSC registration as required.

Working Hours and Location:

Part-time with potential for additional hours. Most visits will be arranged between the times of 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday. Some opportunities for evening/weekend/overnight arrangements might arise. Working hours are variable and will be as stated on a rota provided by the Care Coordinator/Care Manager.

Term:

Variable hours contracts available. Tagsa Uibhist strives to recognise personal caring responsibilities with discretion and flexibility to support your preferred working pattern.