Case study:

11 May 2010

New generic worker role in Dorothy House Hospice Care

Key points

Dorothy House Hospice Care has used the end of life care principles and competences, developed by Skills for Care and Skills for Health, to highlight the essential elements needed for a new generic worker role.

The hospice’s education and clinical team used the tools as a starting point to shape recruitment materials for the post, including a job description and person specification.

The team worked out which elements of the end of life care principles and competences would be needed for the new generic worker role. They then compared these to healthcare assistants’ current job descriptions and person specifications. Next they used the resources to help develop a job description and person specification for the new generic worker role.

The principles and competences can be used to help pinpoint the required qualities for any role. This time it was a generic worker role but it could have been a specialist nurse, a volunteer driver or anyone who has contact with people in the end stages of life.

Helen de Renzie-Brett, Head of Education at Dorothy House, says the competences helped her team think first about the person receiving care and then build from that to describe what skills and understanding a staff member needs to work alongside that person.

It is hoped these changes will lead to:

A more confident workforce

Career opportunities for healthcare support staff

Generic workers who feel capable of offering the right support

A role based on national standards so care is more consistent across all services.

The next step is to introduce the new role across Dorothy House. The competences will also help managers pinpoint the training and development needs of new recruits.