In this blog Corrina, Service Manager at Amy Johnson House in Hull explains the many different aspects of her role:
“I started working for Northern Healthcare last October (2020) and it has been really rewarding watching the service filling up with residents and staff confidence continues to grow. The service has gone from strength to strength and the atmosphere is vibrant with both staff and residents working together to achieve so many goals.
When I first joined the service, I met with each staff member to look at strengths, weaknesses, and career goals; a supervision tree was put in place and staff receive monthly supervisions. We complete probation reviews and annual reviews, which give opportunities to look at career progression. Through these meetings we can also identify areas for development and put plans in place for improvement or progression. I have good relationships with the Human Resources department, who are always available to discuss resources, policies and procedures. I provide in-house training on a fortnightly basis which is tailored to the needs and interests of the staff, recent examples have been Trauma, ADHD and ASD workshops.
My personal supervision comes from Regional Management monthly, however there is very much an open door policy throughout the company, if I’m unsure or need advice, dependent or what area it is I can contact governance, business development or maintenance and I have always been met with a positive response.
The company’s ethos is very much about providing person centered care to our residents we understand the importance of meeting each residents’ individual needs, which is evident through the clinical pathway we adhere to. Each resident has occupational therapy input to identify functional levels which inform the support plans. Residents collaboratively produce weekly planners with their key workers which incorporates, interests, support needs and appointments. These sessions will inform support planning and potentially risk assessments. We have regular meetings and communicate with the residents care teams including our scheduled reviews which are explained in the clinical pathway.
Another aspect of my role is ensuring the compliance of the unit is in order, this will include ensuring staff are completing their mandatory training a weekly matrix is emailed to aid in keeping track. We ensure that monthly residents’ meetings and monthly staff meetings are completed. This allows us to highlight best practice and identify any issues that may arise and deal with these in a timely manner. We also complete a clinical pathway tracker which ensures that all residents risk assessments, support plans and care meetings are taking place and in date, so they receive the best possible care.
We work with the Business Development Managers receiving referrals looking at the needs of potential residents to see if we could meet them within the service. We than assess jointly, this is one of my favourite parts of the job meeting new residents and identifying what we could do as a service to help achieve their needs and goals. Through these processes we can build and create good relationships with external professionals and ultimately provide the best support for our residents.”
