Health Care Assistant - Bevan Court 1

The Methodist Church in Britain; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

The Health Care Assistant role sits in the Frailty Service at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The post focuses on personal care, recording patient information, and supporting registered staff with observations and specimens.

You will work with ambulatory and frailty ward teams, supervise learners, and contribute to patient care across community and hospital settings. NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or Care Certificate is required.

Qualifications

• NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent.
• Care Certificate (equivalent to level 1).
• Literacy and numeracy functional skills level 2 or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Provide safe, high-quality, compassionate, person-centred care alongside the multidisciplinary team.
• Undertake personal care and support daily living activities such as mouth care, personal hygiene and toileting.
• Observe, assess and respond to patient needs, escalating concerns to nursing staff and instigating emergency procedures per policy.
• Assist registered practitioners with clinical tasks within trained competence, such as venepuncture, ECG recording, blood glucose monitoring, observations and taking specimens.
• Support patients' feeding, diet and nutrition, recording food and fluid intake and output and reporting changes.
• Record patient information in line with local and Trust policies.
• Support, supervise and demonstrate duties to learners, new starters and junior staff.
• Safely deliver care, including manoeuvring patient equipment such as hoists and wheelchairs.
• Prioritise delegated clinical care duties and organise own workload.
• Gather information to help registered practitioners take a patient history.
• Manage patient property and monitor and order department supplies.
• Follow care plans, notice and report changes, and assist with risk assessments.

Skills

Compassionate patient care

Effective communication

Teamwork

Literacy & numeracy level 2

IT basics

Education

NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care

Care Certificate

Literacy & numeracy functional skills level 2

Job description

This Health Care Assistant post sits in the Frailty Service at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, mainly based on Bevan Court 1. Work centres on personal care and support for patients, plus recording patient information and helping registered staff with observations and specimens. The service covers an ambulatory unit, a 16-bed frailty assessment ward and community and virtual ward teams, and the role includes supervising learners and junior staff. Applicants need NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent and the Care Certificate.

What the job involves

• Provide safe, high-quality, compassionate, person-centred care alongside the multidisciplinary team
• Undertake personal care and support daily living activities such as mouth care, personal hygiene and toileting
• Observe, assess and respond to patient needs, escalating concerns to nursing staff and instigating emergency procedures per policy
• Assist registered practitioners with clinical tasks within trained competence, such as venepuncture, ECG recording, blood glucose monitoring, observations and taking specimens
• Support patients' feeding, diet and nutrition, recording food and fluid intake and output and reporting changes
• Record patient information in line with local and Trust policies
• Support, supervise and demonstrate duties to learners, new starters and junior staff
• Safely deliver care, including manoeuvring patient equipment such as hoists and wheelchairs
• Prioritise delegated clinical care duties and organise own workload
• Gather information to help registered practitioners take a patient history
• Manage patient property and monitor and order department supplies
• Follow care plans, notice and report changes, and assist with risk assessments

What’s required

Qualifications

• NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent
• Care Certificate (equivalent to level 1)
• Literacy and numeracy functional skills level 2 or equivalent

Experience

• Demonstrable experience in a patient care or health-related role
• Experience of working in a team
• Experience of supporting junior staff and learners

Skills & knowledge

• Knowledge of personal care and related procedures
• Knowledge of relevant healthcare legislation
• Clear verbal and written communication
• Good interpersonal skills
• Basic IT skills
• Prioritising own workload and managing time effectively

Other

• Flexible in working hours
• Able to cope with stressful and distressing situations
• Able to carry out direct clinical care on the ward or department
• Able to sustain frequent moderate physical effort, such as manual handling