Job summary
An exciting permanent opportunity has come up for a Healthcare Assistant in the NGOC & Colposcopy Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

We are looking for a caring and compassionate individual who can prioritise delivering high quality and safe patient care, to join our team.

We are keen to hear from individuals who are hard working, reliable and passionate in making a difference to our patients.

The post is for 24 hours which will cover a period of Monday-Friday between the hours of 9-6. There are no set days so the days will vary from week to week.

Main duties of the job
People who use our services are from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of needs which may include long term conditions, mental health conditions, learning disabilities or dementia.

As a healthcare assistant you will be working closely with individuals, assisting the nursing staff and multi-disciplinary team to provide high quality care to patients.

• Undertakes a range of delegated clinical care duties in department
• Undertakes a range of service tasks within department
• Demonstrate effective communication with patients, relatives, staff and the wider MDT

About us
Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.

Job responsibilities
1.Key responsibilities

• To abide by trust policies and procedures.
• Build and maintain safe and effective therapeutic relationships.
• Support individuals to contribute to collaborative care/support/recovery plans.
• Support nurses and practitioners to develop collaborative individual, patient centred care .
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of people using a range of preferred methods.
• Contribute to monitoring, observing and engaging with individuals, communicating outcomes and conclusions with the rest of the team.
• Gain an understanding of a persons experiences in relation to their mental health, learning disability, dementia and/ or delirium.
• Understand a persons coping strategies and strengths and support people to use these at times of distress or difficulty.
• Be able to recognise increasing risk and alert significant others and the team to respond as needed.
• Undertake a range of practical tasks and duties in support of the team and individual needs.
• To feel confident to be able to report untoward incidents and areas of concern as soon as they arise.
• Contribute to individual reviews and team meetings.

2.Duties
Each individual has different needs however the list below outlines just some of the practical duties that the post holder will undertake, support and enable people to/with:

• Using appropriate assessment tools under supervision to assist the registered nurse in assessment of the patients health and well being needs.
• Initiate emergency action when required e.g cardiac arrest, fire
• Identify/contribute to their own goals to improve their quality of life
• Participate in clinical skills as trained in line with role e.g Venepunture.
• Support individuals to express their needs and wishes
• Actively engage in health promotion
• Chaperone/support practitioners

3.Training and Supervision
Undertake mandatory and appropriate training relevant to your role for example:

• Identify own training and developmental needs
• Identify areas of training need that are relevant to the team
• Assist in the delivery of training in areas of personal experience and interest.
• Participate in annual performance development reviews
• Participate in regular individual and group supervision
• Participate in the development of the service

4.Personal responsibilities

• Ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect
• Promote anti-discriminatory activities
• Work flexibly to meet service needs

5.Administrative responsibilities

• Keep clinical records up to date using trust systems in accordance with legislation as delegated by the nurse in charge
• Maintain records to a high standard and record activity data in a timely manner

6.Professional responsibilities

• Maintain confidentiality of all personal information and data in line with organisational policy.
• Be familiar and work in line with local and national policy and procedures.
• Raise concern in regard to disciplinary or performance issues to the management team using policies and procedures such as safeguarding and Freedom to speak up.

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive. The post holder, will therefore, be expected to adopt a flexible attitude towards these duties which may (after discussion) must be varied, subject to the needs of the department and in keeping with the general profile of the post.

Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential

• GCSE Maths and English qualification grade C/5 or equivalent
• Vocational qualification in health and social care (e.g. care certificate; level 2/3 diploma)
• Willingness to attend training and development opportunities

Skills and Knowledge
Essential

• Good Communication, Interpersonal and Organisational Skills
• Team Working
• Caring and Compassionate

Desirable

• Computer Literacy

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working with people in a healthcare setting/clinic

Desirable

• Experience in supporting unwell patients

Special Requirements
Essential

• Ability to work flexibly as service needs dictate
• Work Monday-Friday with no set shifts

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).