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Job summary

Are you a compassionate, caring and considerate person? Are you looking for a sense of achievement in your job? Are you motivated by helping others? If so, then we want to hear from you and others like you.

We can offer part and full time contracts across our four acute hospitals located at QE (B15), Good Hope (B76), Solihull (B91) and Heartlands (B9) and will work with you to accommodate your requirements. Our shift patterns afford us to offer long days, nights and weekends.

As a Trust we invest in our applicants by ensuring you have a full induction to the Trust, on-going training and development along with a mentorship programme that will allow you access to colleagues and our School of Nursing who will support and guide you in your career aspirations. The Healthcare Assistant (HCA) role is the first step on a career ladder that could progress you to future career opportunities in nursing such as our well established Trainee Nursing Associate programme to become a Registered Nursing Associate or Registered Nurse Training.

Main duties, tasks & skills required

As a HCA, your workload will be varied and with that challenging - however, being able to multitask in an efficient manner whilst maintaining a caring and helpful attitude underpins everything you do - to make a difference to your team and the patients that rely on us to care for them. You'll have excellent communication and organisational skills and be confident to make judgements unaided. You will be able to work proactively to problem solve and work on your own initiative.

With that, candidates will be required to have a good standard of Maths and English - this will be demonstrated by way of certification of GCSE or Functional skills Level 2 to be submitted prior to interview. Candidates who are unable to provide certificates will be required to pass an equivalent test for English and Maths at interview stage.

All Interviews for these opportunities will be on Saturday 30th September at Heartlands Hospital.

About us

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can;
Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity; removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

Job description

1.Communication:

• Build partnerships and therapeutic relationships through safe, effective and non-discriminatory communication taking account of differences, capability and needs of individuals.
• Communicate effectively with patients and carers, recognising there may be a need to utilise alternative methods of communication. Where there are barriers to understanding, as required arrange/ access to information, support and other services to aid effective communication.
• Use paper and electronic systems to retrieve and record patient information in line with Trust documentation standards and operational systems
• Apply the principles of information governance and patient confidentiality to all aspects of your role
• Obtain verbal consent from the patient before any clinical intervention is undertaken, where this is not given report this to a registered nurse prior to undertaking the intervention
• Answer the telephone / greet visitors promptly in a polite and professional manner and deal with enquiries as appropriate
• In instances when a patient/ visitor feels the need to raise concern or complain attempt to deal with this locally initially, but always inform a registered nurse.
• Observe and report to the registered nurse all changes in a patient's physical and psychological condition.
• Support families and carers following a patient bereavement or when bad news has been shared
• Accept constructive feedback
• Maintain professional boundaries and working relationships with patients and colleagues

2.Personal and people development:

• Take personal and collective responsibility to do the best you can, working towards your agreed individual and Trust-wide goals. You are expected to be held accountable and to challenge/ highlight to the line manager poor performance , attitude and behaviour
• Support and participate in induction, orientation of newly appointed staff and students to their area
• Recognise the limits of your competence and knowledge and reflect on these limits and seek advice on and refer to other health professionals were necessary.
• Recognise signs of stress in self and others and take appropriate action by informing Line Manager

3.Health, Safety and Security:

• Be aware of and comply with all Trust Policies and Procedures which govern Health and Safety and clinical practice.
• Actively promote the prevention of cross infection to and from all patients, visitors' staff and the environment, by encouraging and educating others in the use of standard precautions
• Handle, check and store patient's cash and valuables in accordance with Trust policy as required undertake equipment checks and update records and restock items as required
• In line with the Trust's Incident Reporting system, report any accidents, incidents, near misses and defects to a registered nurse. Remove any hazards which could potentially cause injury to staff, patients or visitors.
• Ensure that visitors to the department have authority to be there, carry out necessary checks on identity if needed
• Should a threatening situation occur, deal with the situation in accordance with the principles of conflict resolution. Take appropriate steps to protect the safety of self and others.
• Manage own time effectively, ensure good time keeping in relation to shift commencement and breaks
• Prepare bed spaces/ clinic and treatment rooms for new patients and orientate patients and their relatives and carers to the department and demonstrate bedside facilities

4.Innovation and Service Improvement:

• Liaise with Ward Housekeeper or stock controller and in their absence take steps necessary to maintain stock levels and clinical supplies in the area and take action to replenish when stocks/supplies are low.
• Be alert to any possible improvement to service and make suggestions as appropriate

5.Quality:

• Following direction and delegation from a registered nurse undertake aspects of care for a patient / group of patients
• Practice in accordance with agreed standards of care within your level of competence.
• Assist in audits and research as required

6.Respect, Equality and Diversity:

• Always recognise and respect people with regard to age, disability, gender, position, race, religion and sexual orientation through professionalism and courtesy, treating all patients, colleagues, visitors, carers, communities and others as they would wish to be treated.
• Chaperone and act as an advocate for patients during examination by clinical staff.
• Ensure privacy and dignity for all patients is maintained
• Always act in a non-discriminatory manner being mindful of the requirements of each individual patient.

7.Provision of Care to Meet Health and Wellbeing Needs:

• Recognise possible signs and symptoms of dementia and other cognitive issues of patients. Escalate any concerns to a registered Nurse.
• Demonstrate an understanding of your role and responsibilities relating to Safeguarding. Recognise the signs and symptoms that may be indicative of abuse and escalate any concerns to a registered Nurse.
• Respond swiftly to individuals, who require assistance, are in pain or distressed or using their call bell, where required report this to a registered nurse
• Recognise where a patient is becoming agitated, confused or is non-compliant with their care or treatment, support colleagues when dealing with such patients
• Obtain specimens ensuring accurate documentation and transportation to appropriate department. Undertake infection control screening as requested
• Following the completion of training undertake a range of physical / clinical observations appropriate to the area of practice. Achieve and maintain competence in using a range of equipment to undertake these, record the outcome and report and escalate exceptions to the registered nurse who delegated the tasks to you.
• Measuring and recording may include:

• Blood pressure, using electronic equipment
• Pulse rate and rhythm, manually and using electronic equipment
• Temperature
• Height and weight
• Fluid balance
• Stool charts
• Food diary
• Blood glucose monitoring
• Urine testing / Urinalysis
• Peak flow
• Respiratory rate
• Oxygen saturations

• Obtain prompt assistance during an emergency as requested or using the agreed practice, e.g., emergency call bell.
• Daily assist and support patients of all genders when mobilising, repositioning in bed or chair whilst promoting patient independence using aids as appropriate
• Recognise and understand the importance of adequate nutrition and hydration of the patients by serving food and drinks and assisting patients with feeding and drinking when necessary
• Recognise where a patient may display problems with swallowing and require further assessment and report this to a registered nurse.
• Demonstrate awareness of wound / skin changes associated with damage caused by incontinence and pressure / friction

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

Care Certificate or evidence or Training and Development associated with Health Care Support Worker role

Desirable

Functional skills Level 2 English Language and Maths Qualification or GCSE Grade C or above in Maths and English Language
Level 2/3 NVQ/ Diploma

Experience

Essential

Minimum of 6 months experience in a care environment in the last 12 months
Experience of working / participating as part of a team.
Evidence of ability to work using own initiative and under minimal supervision

Additional Criteria

Essential

Basic computer skills

Good communication skills - written and oral

Good time and organisational skills

Flexible approach to shift patterns and place of work, this may include working in different practice settings in different locations dependent upon service need

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.