Healthcare Support Worker

Job overview

At CUH, our values of Together, Safe, Kind and Excellent are at the heart of everything we do. We are looking for caring, compassionate individuals who are committed to delivering outstanding patient care.

As a Healthcare Support Worker, you will support nurses, doctors and multidisciplinary teams to provide high-quality care, ensuring patients are treated with dignity, respect and compassion at all times. 

This role is offered at Band 3. Applicants must be able to work a variety of shift patterns, as fixed shifts (e.g. nights only) are not available.

If successful at interview, you must provide evidence of successfully completing an NHS-recognised National Care Certificate (NCC). This will be verified by our CUH Academy team . Please note that online Care Certificates are not accepted.  Practical assessment must meet all current NCC standards and include signed off competency assessments in practice

The following 16 standards must be evidenced:

Understanding your role 

Your professional development 

Duty of care 

Equality and diversity 

Working in a person-centred way 

Communication 

Privacy and dignity 

Fluids and nutrition 

Awareness of mental health and dementia 

Safeguarding adults 

Safeguarding children 

Basic life support 

health and safety 

Handling information 

Infection prevention and control 

Awareness of learning disability and autism

Applicants who have applied and been unsuccessful in the last 3 months, should not re-apply or submit further application.

Main duties of the job

About the Role:

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your healthcare career in a rewarding and supportive environment. You will have the opportunity to really make a difference to the experience of patients. Full time and part time posts will be considered, and shifts include long days, nights, weekends, and public holidays. Our HCSW's will need the flexibility to cover varied shift patterns.

As part of this role you will be required to:

Support to serve meals to patients

Provide personal care to patients

Take observations such as blood pressure measurements, pulse, urinalysis and temperature. 

Support patients with moving in their clinical area

All other clinical duties as required

Development Opportunities:

CUH is committed to supporting your learning and career progression. As a Healthcare Support Worker, you will have access to:

Ongoing skills development and training

Functional Skills support in English and Maths

Further information on development pathways will be provided during your induction.

Working for our organisation

Come Nurse with us…

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the country. It comprises Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Rosie Hospital. We provide accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge and regional and national specialist services. It’s a great place to nurse, work and live. 

You will work on a vibrant hospital campus with a friendly community feel; we have excellent facilities to practice your skills and abilities to support your career pathway and development. Our values of Together – Safe, Kind, Excellent support the delivery of outstanding care. We have a fully electronic patient record system that is improving health-care quality; this is transforming services, improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.

Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?

• Our values and reputation for outstanding care
• Opportunities to experience a range of specialities
• Career and development opportunities
• Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support team
• Research experience and opportunities
• Lovely location and quality of life

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:
-    applied for a Graduate visa
-    or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
-    or the Trust has agreed that they will Sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start date of employment

We are currently recruiting across a range of adult wards. Successful candidates will be allocated to a ward based on service needs and available vacancies across the Trust.

If successful, you will be placed in a central recruitment pool for up to six months while a suitable ward or clinic placement is identified. If an allocation cannot be secured within this period, your application may be withdrawn.

Interviews

All interviews for this role will be conducted face-to-face  and interview dates will be confirmed to candidates successful at shortlisting. Unfortunately, virtual interviews cannot be accommodated. If you are unable to attend your scheduled interview, please contact us as soon as possible so that alternative arrangements can be considered where feasible. Failure to notify us may result in your application being withdrawn.

As part of the interview process, you will be required to complete a Functional Skills Test. A pass is required before a conditional offer can be made. This does not apply to individuals currently employed by CUH as a Support Worker.

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Holds National Care Certificate or willingness to undertake within the first 3 months of appointment

Holds Functional Skills Level 1 Maths and English or GCSE equivalent or undertake and achieve a pass following completion of level 1 functional skills assessment

Demonstrates a commitment to further learning and development

Desirable criteria

Level 3 award in health care

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working in an environment under pressure

Experience of working within a team

Experience of communicating with individuals from a range of different backgrounds

Experience of attention to detail – eg for recording in patient records

Experience in the public sector

Desirable criteria

Experience of working within a health care environment.

Experience working in a healthcare, social care organisation/setting or service industry requiring people contact.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Understands the job role and specific knowledge in relation to tasks included in the job description or be prepared to undertake training to be able to gain appropriate knowledge.

Desirable criteria

Awareness of National and local priorities and initiatives

Skills

Essential criteria

Good communication skills (written and verbal).

Able to work as a team.

Able to carry out well defined routine tasks.

Able to work on own initiative, following direction/supervision by a Registered Healthcare Practitioner.

Able to relate well with patients/relatives/ visitors/colleagues/the multi-disciplinary team and wider Trust staff.

Committed to delivering high standards of patient care.

Friendly, open, empathetic and compassionate.

Professional outlook and positive attitude. Able to meet the flexible needs of the role and duty roster.

Desirable criteria

Prepared to undertake coaching role for other HCSW’s.

IT skills

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria

The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Safe, Kind, Excellent.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Recruitment Services Department

Job title

CUH Recruitment

Email address

View email address on careers.cuh.nhs.uk

Telephone number

View phone number on careers.cuh.nhs.uk

Additional information

Please contact the Nursing and HCSW Recruitment Team on View phone number on careers.cuh.nhs.uk for any questions about the role.