Healthcare Assistant

Job overview

Hours per week - Variety of hours available

Interview Location : Forest of Dean Community Hospital, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 3HY

Here at the Forest of Dean Community Hospital we deliver the highest standards of care to our patients.

We pride ourselves on being a dynamic close knit team that delivers rehabilitation and subacute care within a Community Hospital Setting. You will be an integral part of an experienced multidisciplinary team, supporting and facilitating the care needs for 24 inpatients in a purpose built hospital in the beautiful Forest of Dean countryside.

Join us in developing your skills in sub-acute medicine, rehabilitation and palliative care.

This post is open to candidates who are looking to start their career in a nursing environment with no previous experience or alternatively the more experienced carer looking for a change to further their clinical knowledge and skills.

This role is an ideal opportunity to develop a career within a multidisciplinary team in a hospital environment and can be used as a stepping stone to gain experience prior to commencing or alongside training in Nursing, Midwifery or Paramedic Science.

We welcome potential candidates to come for a look around and get a feel for what we do by prior arrangement.

Job description

As a Health Care Assistant/ Support Worker you will be responsible for participating and assisting in the delivery of care / services to patients.

You will be expected to provide safe and compassionate care of a high standard under supervision of registered nurses.

You will be expected to assist patients with activities of daily living including personal care and nutritional and dietary support.

You will be expected to take and record observations and undertake additional supportive tasks as directed by registered nurse eg venepuncture , catheter care , ECG recording etc.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Job responsibilities

As a Health Care Assistant you will be responsible for participating and assisting in the delivery of care and services to patients and service users as part of a Mental Health and Social Care Health Service. Health Care Assistant, employed by the Trust are required to follow the guidance set out in Code of Conduct for Health Care Assistants/ Health Care Support Workers to provide safe and compassionate care of a high standard, and to challenge others who are not.

Previous experience is desirable but not essential. If you are new to care and hold no experience in healthcare, then we offer a fantastic development opportunity with a structured development plan (including achieving the Care Certificate). You will progress from a pay band 2 to pay band 3 on achievement of the Care Certification.

You will receive direct supervision and partake in reflective practice and training on a regular basis and to support you meeting the Care Certificate standards. All successful applicants will also have the opportunity to discuss the prospect of undertaking a Level 3 Healthcare Support Worker Apprenticeship alongside their substantive post. This apprenticeship would include the Level 3 Diploma in Clinical Healthcare.

When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post. Please remember that skills and experience gained outside of work can be used as evidence in your application.

Gloucestershire Health and Care is committed to embedding and providing personalised care through all of its services as part of our high-quality care strategy. The purpose of personalised care is to empower people to lead the lives they want to live. Personalised care starts with a conversation with people about what matters to them. It builds on what people can do, as well as addressing their health needs. Including new ways of working and delivering care, emphasising that we need to make effective use of the full range of our peoples skills and experience to deliver the best possible patient care. So we want to know What Matters to You and that you will share our values and join us on this very important journey.

About the organisation

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.

• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Person specification

Experience

Essential

• Keen interest in role

Desirable

• Experience working in NHS

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• C and above in GCSE English and Maths or level 4 and above (or equivalent Adult Literacy and Numeracy).

Desirable

• Care Certificate

NATURE OF EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Some awareness of role and location

Desirable

• No previous experience is required although it would be desirable that the individual is able to demonstrate some prior experience and understanding of caring for others on a voluntary basis

Supporting documents

• JDPS.pdf (PDF, 673 KB)