Akeso Enrolled Nurse Auxiliary

We provide meaningful careers that connect people with purpose.

We are united by a common purpose of providing the best and safest care; and by our shared values of Care, Truth, Participation, Compassion and Dignity.

Netcare invites you to be part of our journey.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Enrolled Nurse Auxiliary (ENA) plays a pivotal role in ensuring that each patient is treated with dignity and respect at all times. The ENA ensures that the patient is in a safe environment, and that their individual needs are addressed, thereby delivering high-quality mental health and physical health care to patients within the Akeso Clinic. The ENA has knowledge, skills, attitude, and role models a high-standard practice at all times.
Position description is a broad indication of the work required from individual personnel holding a particular position. The personnel may be required to undertake certain duties which may not be indicated in this position description. No Job description is regarded as a precise specification of duties but should be regarded as a guide to main responsibilities.
The Enrolled Nurse Auxiliary will be responsible for direct and/or indirect nursing care of a patient or group of patients and will function under the direct and/or indirect supervision of the Registered Nurse. This includes caring for the patient, his possessions, documentation and the control and economical use of stock and equipment in the ward.

KEY WORK OUTPUT AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

Governance, quality, and risk management

• Maintain a therapeutic, clean, and safe environment that is free from medico-legal hazards.
• Adhere to Netcare medical waste management principles and all other waste management principles.
• Maintain a safe working environment in accordance with the Machinery and Occupational Safety Act.
• Report potential/actual risks identified.
• Ensure all stock is well controlled. Responsible for ensuring correct use, cleaning, and storage of equipment.
• Report equipment needing repair or replacement to sister-in-charge.
• Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.

Patient care

• Practise patient care according to his/her Scope of Practice and assume total responsibility for these activities.
• Monitor vital signs of patients.
• Execute all procedures according to hospital standards.
• Carry out all departmental-related duties as assigned by Supervisors.
• Practise the principles of infection prevention and all standard precautions.
• Promote and maintain good public relations with patients, relatives and visitors.
• Attend handover of report from the Shift leader. 
• Refer any queries to the sister-in-charge.
• Active participation in patient care with regard to:
• Personal hygiene
• Nutritional needs
• Physical safety of patient
• Elimination of medico-legal hazards
• Observation of behaviour, eating patterns, fluid intake, vital signs, sleep patterns, etc.
• Reporting and recording of observations
• Carrying out instructions from a senior in a willing and responsible manner
• Assisting patients to fill in diet sheet where necessary
• Indirect nursing duties:
• Collecting food and fluids from the kitchen.
• Reporting areas that have not been cleaned or where beds have not been made up.
• Ensuring that cleaning staff do not give patients access to harmful substances or materials.
• Answering the telephone in a professional manner, ensuring that staff telephone numbers are not given out to the public or patients.
• Ensuring that valuables are accounted for and dealt with appropriately.
• Personal hygiene:
• Ensure that the frail, elderly, psychotic, physically ill, manic, immobilised patients and others who cannot help themselves are assisted to wash, bath or shower on a daily basis.
• Ensure that underclothes are changed on a daily basis, and general clothing on a regular basis.
• Ensure that the patient has clean clothes.  If they do not, contact a family member and request them to bring clothes to the clinic.
• Ensure that fingernails and toenails are clean and where necessary, ask permission to cut long and ragged nails.
• Ensure that mouth care is good.  If a patient is unable to help themselves then their mouths must be cleaned for them after each meal and before retiring for the night.
• Ensure that the patient has toiletries.  If not, contact a family member and request them to bring toiletries to the clinic.
• Educate the patient regarding the importance of good personal hygiene.
• Nutritional needs and elimination:
• Ensure that patients go to the dining room for their meals. If unable to do so their meal must be served in their room.
• Ensure that meals are served according to the programme that the patient is on.
• If the patient is reluctant to eat, sit patiently with them and encourage them to take some food.
• If necessary, gently feed the patient, giving encouragement and positive feedback.
• Under no circumstances may food just be left with the patient and removed untouched.
• Ensure that the patient is taking adequate fluids; present them with fluids at regular intervals.
• Where appropriate, educate patients regarding their nutritional needs and requirements.
• Ensure that the patient is passing adequate amounts of urine, noting the colour, smell, density and deposits.
• Ensure that the patient is not constipated, particularly those mentioned under 'personal hygiene', encouraging fibre in the diet, adequate fluid and, where appropriate, exercise.
• Educate on a continual basis the importance of nutrition and fluid intake.
• Maintain fluid balance as indicated.
• Urine testing: how to collect a specimen, how to read a Multi-stix test or Multi-drug screen; how to discard the specimen.
• Sleep and rest:
• Ensure that the sleep pattern of a patient is reported accurately when on night duty, e.g. initial, middle or terminal insomnia.
• Conduct ward rounds as indicated in order to assess patients' sleeping patterns.
• Observe patients during the day and report excessive sleeping or lying in or on the bed.
• Encourage patients to have a short rest during the day, particularly your manic patient or those who are physically unwell.
• Educate the patients regarding sleep hygiene.
• Safety of patient:
• Identify patients who require frequent psychiatric observations.
• All patients identified to be at risk of harm to themselves to be observed at minimum hourly. Documentation of such observations to be well-written.
• All medico-legal hazards must be reported and eliminated as speedily as possible e.g. broken glass, boiling hot water coming out of taps, wet floors, etc.
• Ensure on admission that the patient is searched thoroughly, removing any medication, illicit drugs, alcohol, sharp objects or anything that could be used to harm the patient.
• When the patient leaves the clinic ensure that the correct procedure is followed.
• Learn to identify hazards.
• All communication, happenings and outcomes must be recorded in the cardex (progress notes).
• Follow orders from senior staff regarding any safety measures to be implemented.
•  Reporting and record-keeping:
• Be on time for daily handover on every shift.
• Required to have communication skills, verbal and non-verbal.
• Report and record any abnormal readings from vital signs.
• Report any suspicious activity occurring in the clinic.
• Report any obvious changes to the patient's mental state (e.g. patient shouting, talking to themselves, self-harm, confused, severe drowsiness, etc.)
• Record any special observation conducted on the patient, using the specific forms.

Ensure maintenance of stock, equipment and oxygen to facilitate a successful outcome of a medical emergency.

• Assist the Unit Manager in being prepared for a potential disaster or emergency situation.

Expectations of an Akeso Enrolled Nurse Auxiliary

• Interact with the patient in a polite and professional manner.
• Treat the patient with dignity and respect.
• Listen to the patient and be non-judgemental.
• Be an advocate for the patient.
• Establish and maintain a therapeutic relationship.
• Be an advocate for the clinic.
• Be a role model for peers and subordinates.
• Treat all clinic personnel with dignity and respect.
• Be non-judgemental towards your colleagues.
• Be helpful towards clinic personnel and the general public.

General

• Ensure all Health and Safety regulations are adhered to.
• Perform various tasks as assigned to you by management.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality.

TRANSFORMATION OF OUR SOCIETY

Teamwork

• Actively participate as a member of a team to achieve goals.

Personal and professional development

• Active involvement in own professional development to maintain a satisfactory level of skill and knowledge.
• Keep up to date with Akeso and Netcare’s evolving policies and procedures.
• Assume responsibility for maintaining competence in CPR / BLS.

Build and maintain stakeholder relationships

• Work effectively and co-operatively with others to establish and maintain good working relationships that are mutually beneficial.
• Develop collaborative relationships to help accomplish work goal.

SKILLS PROFILE

EDUCATION

Required

• A grade 12 or equivalent NQF level 4 qualification.
• Current registration with the South African Nursing Council as an Enrolled Nurse Auxiliary or equivalent NQF level 3 qualification.
• Compliance with the SANC code for an Enrolled Nursing Auxiliary and all applicable Health Care Legislation.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Required

• At least 2 years' experience in psychiatric nursing.

KNOWLEDGE

Required

• Full understanding of the Nursing Act No. 33 of 2005 and the Nursing Act No. 50 of 1978 and the Regulations.
• Full understanding of the Mental Health Care Act No. 17 of 2002 and the Regulations.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Excellent organisational and supervisory skills.
• Understanding of confidentiality issues and the use of discretion.
• Computer literacy.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• In the event of any physical or psychological limitation that may impair the employee’s ability to perform the required job function, the employee must consult the employer for reasonable accommodation.

SKILLS

Customer Focus and Service Delivery

• The capacity to identify and respond to the needs of *internal and external customers.

Personal Work Ethic

• Capacity to instil an ethic of quality and consistency in self and others.

Building Relationships

• Capacity to establish constructive and effective relationships.

Communication

• The capacity to clearly present information, either written or verbal.

Teamwork

• Capacity to cooperate with others to work towards a common goal.

Technical Knowledge

• The capacity to perform a technical function to required standards.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Professional flexibility in working hours while supporting daily business operations which may include weekends and night shifts where applicable.
• Will interact with internal and external customers through several different means.

NETCARE VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS

Netcare Values
At Netcare, our core value is care. We care about the dignity of our patients and all members of the Netcare family. We care about the participation of our people and our partners in everything we do. We care about truth in all our actions. We are passionate about quality care and professional excellence.

• At Netcare, our core value is care.
• We care about the dignity of our patients and all members of the Netcare family.
• We care about the participation of our people and our healthcare partners in everything that we do.
• We care about the truth in all our actions.
• We listen with empathy and respond with acts of compassion in all interactions with our patients and their families.

The Netcare Way

Netcare is committed to providing quality care. Our basic service standard holds us accountable for the below seven behaviours which you will be accountable to uphold:

• Respect - I always greet everyone to show my respect.
• Identity - I always wear my name badge to show my identity.
• Dignity - I always treat others with consideration and humility to uphold dignity
• Care - I always act in the best interest of Netcare and others to show I care
• Compassion - I always listen with empathy and respond with kind action to show my compassion
• Appreciation - I always say thank you to show my appreciation.
• Diversity- I always embrace diversity to strengthen inclusivity and belonging.

Join the team committed to providing the best and safest health and care.