Health Care Assistant - General Surgery

St. Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust is recruiting Healthcare Assistants to join Ward 4A and Ward 4C. You will provide personal care, assist with meals, and work with the team to meet patient needs in a busy surgical/general ward setting. Two posts: Ward 4A 37.5 hours and Ward 4C 34.5 hours per week.

Essential criteria include completion of the Trust Care Certificate within 4 months, basic literacy/numeracy, and good communication. Desirable NVQ2 Health & Social Care; Care Certificate.

Qualifications

• Completion of Trust Care Certificate within 4 months of appointment
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills

Responsibilities

• Provide personal care for patients on the ward
• Assist with dietary needs of the patients
• Work with the team to meet patients' needs

Skills

Communication

Teamwork

Time management

Flexibility

Coping under pressure

Punctuality

Reliability

Patient care

Basic IT skills

Education

Trust Care Certificate

Basic literacy & numeracy

NVQ level 2 Health & Social Care

Care Certificate (Level 1)

Job description

Job overview

Full Time and Part Post Available across both Ward 4A and 4C

Ward 4A - 37.5 hours

Ward 4C - 34.5 hours

An exciting opportunity as arisen to join the team on Ward 4A and Ward 4C as a healthcare assistant.

We are looking for committed individuals to work alongside the team in providing personal care for the patients.

Ward 4A is a surgical ward specialising in general surgery and urology.

Main duties of the job

To provide personal care for patients on the ward.

To assist with dietary needs of the patients.

To work alongside the team to ensure patients needs are met

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

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, freeing up space for more unwell patients. 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

Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.

Advertising date: 23rd September 2026

Closing date: 30th September 2026

Shortlisting date: 1st October 2026

Proposed Interview date: TBC

Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Completion of Trust Care Certificate within 4 months of appointment
• Basic literacy and numeracy skills

Desirable criteria

• NVQ level 2 Health and Social Care or equivalent
• Care Certificate (equivalent to level 1)

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of personal care and related procedures
• Experience of working in a team

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in a patient care/health related role

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats
• Good interpersonal skills
• Able to work within a team
• Able to accept direction and guidance
• Aware of own limitations
• Flexible in working hours
• Able to prioritise own workload and manage time effectively
• Flexible, adaptable and responsive to change
• Reliable and professional
• Ability to cope in stressful and challenging situations
• Inclusive and non-judgmental
• Punctual, motivated and committed
• Effective role model demonstrating Trust values
• Basic IT skills

Other

Essential criteria

• Frequent, moderate effort for several short periods during the shift such as manual handling patients to supporting patients personal care
• Occasional requirement for concentration, with few competing demands for attention.
• Aware that developing resilience to distressing situations is necessary without losing the ability to care compassionately.
• Aware of the process for accessing staff health and wellbeing support
• Occasional exposure to distressing situations which may care of chronic health conditions, patient end of life care/ care after death.
• Able to carry out direct personal care as required on ward or department.
• Frequent exposure to blood or body fluids
• Occasional exposure to patients with challenging behaviours

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.

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.