Community Health Worker: Home Base - Parow at Anova Health Institute

Anova is an NGO that empowers people and changes lives. Good health and quality of life is what motivates us to provide healthcare solutions and support for those who need it most.

We are looking for Community Health Workers who will offer an integrated health and wellness service package to the individuals in the households being visited. The package consists of interventions that focus on health and wellness (ranging from prevention, promotion, rehabilitation and palliation).

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Physical Care

• Assist the patient with personal hygiene.
• Wound care, how to dress a wound using appropriate material.
• Stoma therapy, catheter care, nail and foot care, tracheotomy care.
• Observations: temperature pulse and respiration.
• Be able to assess an emergency situation and provide basic life support and first aid in order to stabilize a patient.
• Assist patient with mobility, exercise limbs, take patient for walks, assist in and out of bed and to the toilet, have knowledge of motion exercises.
• Preparation of patient's snacks and meals if necessary.
• Distribution of food parcels where necessary and if patient's circumstances meet the required criteria.

 Care of Patient’s Environment

• Make patients bed, replacing with clean bed linen when necessary. 
• Tidy and clean the patients’ sleeping quarters, disposing of any soiled night clothes and bed linen and washing of these if necessary. 
• Infection control. 

 Health and Education

• Educate patient and relatives about caring for the patient at home and resources available.
• Specialized care of catheters etc.
• Universal blood precautions.
• Nutrition: Identify food groups and educate patient/family on planning suitable meals for their needs 

 Referral Criteria

• Refer patients to health facilities and service providers where necessary.
• Know the when, why and how of referrals.
• Reporting of deterioration of patient’s condition to supervisor

 Administration & General Duties

• Establish a set of records and ensure that they are up to date.
• Complete the appropriate record forms accurately and promptly ensuring that these are given to the supervisor timeously.
• Follow all policies and procedures as required by the organization and ensure that all work targets are met.
• Follow daily work schedule as worked out by the supervisor.
• Participate in meetings as required as well as attending training courses and workshops related to the nature of the work done.

 Medication

• Supervision/administration of medication.
• Collection of prescribed medication (repeat) from the CHC
• Ensure as far as possible that the patient completes their treatment in the prescribed time given.
• Report any patient that defaults on treatment immediately to the staff of the CHC.
• Report any reaction to any medication to the OTL.

 Any other tasks as agreed with line manager.
Minimum Qualifications, Experience and Skills Required 

• Grade 10-12
• Homebased carer qualification/certificate
• Experience working within communities
• 10-day HIV Counselling Certificate (advantageous)
• TB/HIV Adherence Counselling Certificate (advantageous)
• Must have a background knowledge of HAST & NCD