Job summary
We would like to invite you to join our friendly team in the glorious West Country. Situated on the beautiful South West coast, Plymouth boasts many local Heritage sites and areas of 'outstanding natural interest'. At Plymouth Hospitals, we recognise that work is only a part of your life - and the Trust is ideally located for walking, cycling, climbing, sailing and many other indoor and outdoor pursuits. Plymouth also has good transport links to the rest of the UK and Europe via road, rail and sea.

Plymouth Hospitals is a large acute trust in the Southwest of England, situated on the Devon and Cornwall border and provides perioperative care for elective and emergency patients across the region. The hospital is a designated Trauma Centre and tertiary referral centre for Neurological and Cardiac patients. The trust is a teaching hospital with close links to the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Plymouth.

The Trust is a 24 hour major trauma centre and successful applicants to the Team Leader post will be expected to participate in the on call and weekend rota. Scrub Practitioners will be expected to participate in the 7 day service, working the required shifts to meet the service demand.

Please note that applications from temporary workers who have been engaged with the Trust for a minimum of 3 months are welcome.

Secondment with a possibility of becoming permanent

Main duties of the job
Children's Theatres currently has 3 Theatres, day of surgery admissions, a recovery / discharge area, and preoperative assessment. We are situated on level 2 within Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. Specialities covered within Children's Theatres include Urology, ENT, Plastics, Maxillo-facial, Orthopaedics, General Surgery, community dental, Ophthalmology, etc. A mixture of day case, in-patient, elective and emergency work is undertaken within the unit.

We are looking for an enthusiastic person to join our fantastic theatre and recovery team. The successful applicant must show a commitment to high quality patient care and excellent team work along with a genuine interest in the care of patients undergoing invasive procedures. It will also be required to work in partnership with other teams within the Theatre Central cluster, supporting staff, students, patients and relatives. This will involve undertaking basic and extended skills with indirect supervision.

Competent support of registered staff to provide quality patient focused care using extended skills gained from achieving a relevant Level 3 Healthcare NVQ/HCA qualification.

Contribute to resource management. Must be able to multi task and be IT literate, as you will be using multiple Trust IT systems as part of your role.

In addition the post holder will be expected to achieve additional skills at NVQ/HCA Level 3 that are specific to the post.

About us
We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

Job responsibilities

• Obtain consent prior to giving care in accordance with Trust policies.
• Competently undertake delegated duties in line with patient care plans.
• Ability to use your knowledge and experience to undertake non-routine duties and an understanding to take decisions within your area of responsibility.
• To carry out a range of (limited) clinical duties with minimal / no supervision, including for example, blood pressure monitoring, oxygen saturation levels, body temperature, pulse rate and respiration rate, glucose monitoring, collection and testing of urine samples / faecal samples / sputum samples and wound swabs ensuring delivery of high-quality patient care at all times. NB: this list is not exhaustive and will vary depending on area of work.
• Participate in patient assessment providing high quality holistic patient care and escalating concerns about patients to other clinical staff.
• Practice safe standards of care to patients following Trust guidelines and policies and be able to concentrate for periods throughout the day with occasional interruptions.
• Provide clinical care in accordance with the infection prevention and health and safety policies and procedures.
• Maintain the work environment in line with Trust infection control and patient safety policies.
• Utilising skills to actively facilitate self-care and independence with patients.
• Promote health education specific to the clinical area and in line with national and local policies.

For further details please see the attached JD & PS

Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience (Essential)

• Demonstrable Experience of providing care in a healthcare or social setting
• Be able to work as a member of a team
• Demonstrable Experience of time management and prioritising work
• Understands and committed to a caring approach to patients & relatives

Qualifications (Essential)

• One of the following: Level 3 (SCQF - 6): City and Guilds 3, NVQ 3, BTEC National Diploma, or experience equivalent to the above qualifications
• Level 2 Functional skills in English and Maths, or equivalent
• Completion of Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support (that maps to the Apprenticeship Standard for Senior Health Care Support Worker)
• Equivalent demonstrable experience

Aptitude & Abilities (Essential)

• Effective and appropriate communication skills both written and verbal
• Able to complete appropriate documentation accurately
• Demonstrate an awareness of healthcare work and policies and procedures

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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. 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.

Employer contact details
Contact: Sandra Musser (SSR), sandra.musser@nhs.net, 01752439295
Closing date: 10 November 2026
Reference number: 216-EG-DA8312310
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Contract: Secondment
Pay scheme: Agenda for change, Band 3