Health Care Assistant - Central Access Point

Integrated Care System; Leicester; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A health care provider is seeking a Health Care Assistant for their Mental Health Central Access Point in Leicester. This challenging yet rewarding position requires individuals who are empathetic and can support callers in distress. Duties include triaging calls, completing referrals, and managing patient assessments. The role involves 24-hour shifts with extensive training and development opportunities for career progression.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Training and development opportunities

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• We are looking for empathetic and understanding individuals.
• Must be capable of supporting callers in distress.
• Ability to work in a busy environment is essential.

Responsibilities

• Take calls from service users and triage them accordingly.
• Complete referrals to teams such as CAMHS and MHSOP.
• Manage patient referrals and conduct safe and well checks.

Skills

Empathy

Excellent listening skills

Patient support

Job description

Health Care Assistant - Central Access Point

Come and join Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, where we offer a wide variety of challenging and rewarding roles within a supportive, innovative, and dynamic work environment!

We have an excellent opportunity for a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) to join our services at the Mental Health Central Access Point.

Mental Health Central Access Point (MHCAP) is a 24-hour telephone service based at Anstey Frith House in Glenfield, Leicester. This platform is for callers who have used the NHS 111 option and selected option 2 for Mental Health Support. As an HCA for MHCAP, you will be trained to take calls, complete questionnaires to identify callers' needs, and triage calls accordingly.

This is a challenging but very rewarding role as you will support callers in distress and work in a busy environment. You will be part of a supportive team, allocated both a Supervisor and a Line Manager. We are looking for empathetic, patient, understanding individuals with excellent listening skills.

The health and wellbeing of our team members is very important to us. We offer a robust induction period, including 4 weeks of shadowing and training, as well as regular supervision and support. You will have opportunities to progress your career with a structured learning journey that will enable you to achieve your long-term goals and work to your strengths.

Main duties of the job

**Please note, we do NOT offer sponsorship for this role**

This role involves working within a 24-hour shift pattern from 0800 to 2030 hours for long days and 2000 to 0800 hours for night shifts, as we are a 24-hour service. This includes completing the Care Certificate within the first 12 months of starting your role at MHCAP. As an HCA, you will be taking calls from service users, triaging them internally to Mental Health Practitioners or externally to other services. Additionally, you will contact emergency services when a patient is at risk, complete referrals to teams such as CAMHS and MHSOP, and liaise with GP surgeries regarding ongoing care. You will also be responsible for checking referrals sent to community teams to ensure ongoing patient care where required.

The role involves managing admin referrals sent to the Central Access Point inbox and via the admin line. You will manage patient referrals, follow up on missed telephone assessments, and conduct safe and well checks on patients awaiting clinical triage. There will be opportunities to shadow different teams within the Urgent Care Pathway.

About us

We may close the advert early if we receive sufficient applications, so please apply promptly.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) provides community health, mental health, and learning disability services across over 100 settings, serving over 1 million people in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland with a staff of 6,500. We are committed to developing a diverse workforce that reflects our community, with active equal opportunities policies. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, especially underrepresented groups. Details of our benefits and policies are available in the Information for Applicants document. We offer flexible working arrangements, and all substantive roles (excluding medical staff) are subject to a 6-month probation period. Applicants must have permission to work in the UK, and the cost of DBS checks will be deducted from salary. Priority will be given to NHS staff at risk who meet the criteria.

Job responsibilities

For detailed duties and responsibilities, please click “Apply for this job” to be redirected to our vacancies page, where the full job description and person specification are available.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• See the full criteria on the vacancies page accessible via the application link. You can specify how you meet these criteria in your application.

Experience

• See the full criteria on the vacancies page. Please describe how your experience aligns with the role in your application.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This role is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975. A DBS check will be required to verify any criminal convictions.