Dermatology Support Practitioner

Merseywestlancs; St Helens; Remote; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Part time

Job summary

Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust is seeking a Dermatology Support Practitioner to join the team at St Helens Hospital. The role is part-time (22.5 hours per week) and graded NHS AfC Band 3, fixed-term for 12 months to cover maternity leave.

Salary is pro rata, £25,760–£27,476, with the possibility of evening and weekend patterns. The post involves working within a multi-disciplinary team, delivering high-quality dermatology care under supervision, and sometimes autonomously once competent.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, or equivalent experience.
• Previous experience as Health Care Assistant.
• Commitment to promoting health.
• Knowledge of child protection procedures.
• Experience in dermatology clinics and basic knowledge of eczema, psoriasis, skin cancer, phototherapy, patch testing.
• Experience taking history / conducting consultations.

Responsibilities

• Assist nurse specialists in phototherapy/hand and foot PUVA.
• Ensure smooth running of urticaria recovery area and monitor patient observations.
• Assist Consultant in patch test clinics and prepare patients for results readings.
• Support dermatology clinics and minor surgery pathways; assist surgeons in minor ops.
• Support the Skin cancer nurse specialist with helpline and documentation.
• Carry out screening investigations including phlebotomy; leg ulcer dressings and wound care.
• Provide patient education, health promotion and self-management support.
• Maintain dermatology admin packs and materials; support data entry into databases.

Skills

Positive attitude

Team player

Good interpersonal skills

Ability to work unsupervised

Patient care

Flexible, adaptable

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, or equivalent experience

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Main area Dermatology Support Practitioner Grade NHS AfC: Band 3 Contract 12 months (Fixed term to cover maternity leave) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week (may include evenings and weekends and across site ie: Newton hospital) Job ref 409-8383805

Site St Helens Hospital Town St Helens Salary £25,760 - £27,476 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 09/11/2026 23:59

Job overview

To work within a multi-disciplinary team and under the supervision of a registered nurse assist in delivering a high quality of specialist dermatology care, to a broad spectrum of patients. The post holder will undertake tasks and duties delegated by the clinical team or Dermatology Nurse Specialists, working both supervised and unsupervised/autonomously where appropriate.

The successful candidate will join the team of existing band 3 support practitioners working closely with our staff nurses, and nurse specialists, carrying out enhanced roles once deemed competent, and supporting consultants in the smooth running of their dermatology clinics.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.

Main duties of the job

To assist nurse specialists, staff and medical team with;

General clinics

• Minor surgery assistance
• Supporting the skin cancer service
• Carrying out screening investigations including phlebotomy
• Preparation of biologic clinics
• Application of topical creams and bandages
• To support the minor ops clerk to book appointments when needed.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To assist nurse specialists in phototherapy/hand and foot PUVA
• To ensure and be responsible for the smooth running of the urticaria recovery area, monitoring patient’s observations (blood pressure, sats etc) for signs of anaphylaxis alongside the nurse specialist urticarial clinic, and to alert trained nurses/doctors/MET team if appropriate
• To assist Consultant in patch test clinics, removing patch tests, correctly marking patch tests prior to removal and preparing the patient for their results readings
• To assist nurse specialists in minor surgery at St Helens and Newton Hospital, in particular for ad hoc urgent skin cancer patients/ patients on 2WW skin cancer pathways/ skin cancer “see and treat clinics”, and provide support for Dermatology Clinics held offsite. Competent in Aseptic Non-Touch technique, scrub in to assist surgeons in minor ops and applying basic dressings, educates patients in post-operative care
• To support the Skin cancer Nurse specialist in providing ongoing emotional support to patients diagnosed with skin cancer, to monitor the skin cancer helpline and deal with basic patient needs independently within realms of competence and refer on to specialist nurse specialist when appropriate. Support the skin cancer nurse specialist with documentation and recording of telephone consultations for both coding and patients’ clinical notes in line with Trust Policies and Procedures.
• To carry out screening investigations such as taking swabs, pregnancy testing, blood pressures, urinalysis, weight, INR coagucheck, nail clippings and fungal scrapings, phlebotomy
• Assist in application of leg ulcer dressings (non-compression)
• To assist in paediatric clinics, able to safely apply prescribed topical treatments and specialised dermatological bandaging.
• To be competent in removal of sutures and basic post op wound dressings, to work alone and unsupervised and the ability to work autonomously where appropriate e.g., removal of suture clinic.
• To support Skin cancer specialist nurse with health promotion /well-being events
• Assists in research and databases e.g., assisting Skin cancer nurse input data onto Somerset database, BADBIR.
• To undertake reviews of patients returning to clinic for specified follow up care and manage appropriately using guidelines and protocols.
• To provide education, health promotion support and encouragement to patients to self-manage their conditions appropriate to own knowledge/experience.
• Housekeeping and maintenance of Dermatology admin packs for Nurse Specialists eg Phototherapy packs, minor op paperwork, patient information leaflets, patch test leaflets and documents, BADBIR packs
• Recognise the workload of colleagues and provide support as necessary.

Our Values

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care, or equivalent experience

Experience

• Previous experience of working as a Health Care Assistant
• Previous experience in the provision of direct patient care
• Commitment to the promotion of health
• Knowledge of child protection procedures and who to contact with concerns
• Demonstrable experience working in specialised dermatology clinics and a basic knowledge of: Eczema Psoriasis Skin cancer Phototherapy Patch testing
• Previous experience of history taking / conducting consultations ie : when assessing wounds etc.

Skills

• Positive attitude, supportive, non-judgemental motivated
• Team player
• Flexible, adaptable and reliable, ability to work off site in dermatology clinics e.g. Newton Hospital
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to use own initiative
• Understanding of using resources efficiently, good house keeping
• The ability to work alone and unsupervised and the ability to work autonomously where appropriate

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision-making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.

Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise