Health Care Support Worker - Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust; Bath; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust in Bath is seeking compassionate Healthcare Support Workers to join the Intensive Care Unit. You will assist with personal care, mobility, nutrition and monitoring under the supervision of registered nurses, contributing to high‑quality, patient‑centred care in a critical care environment.

The role offers training, opportunities to develop, and a supportive multidisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• QCF Level 3 in healthcare (NVQ/BTEC) or equivalent.
• Right to work in the UK or valid visa route.
• Ability to communicate in English, both verbal and written.
• Experience in public-facing roles preferred.
• Willingness to rotate shifts and support a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Assist registered nurses and the multidisciplinary team in delivering compassionate care to critically ill patients.
• Support patients with personal care, mobility, nutrition and hydration while maintaining dignity.
• Record and report patient observations and escalate changes in condition.
• Maintain a clean, safe clinical environment and ensure equipment is ready for use.

Skills

English communication

Teamwork

IT literacy

Patient empathy

Shift stamina

Education

QCF Level 3 in healthcare

Tools

Care Certificate

IT systems

Job description

Job Overview

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Royal United Hospitals Bath is looking for compassionate, motivated Healthcare Support Workers (HCSWs) to join our dedicated multidisciplinary team.

As a Healthcare Support Worker, you will play a vital role in supporting the delivery of high-quality, patient‑centred care to critically ill patients. Working alongside registered nurses and the wider healthcare team, you will provide both clinical and non‑clinical care, helping to meet patients' individual needs while promoting dignity, comfort, and wellbeing. This is a rewarding and varied role within a fast‑paced environment where no two days are the same. You will support patients with personal care, nutrition and hydration, mobility, observation recording, and other aspects of daily living, whilst contributing to the smooth running of the unit. Excellent communication skills, kindness, and a caring attitude are essential. You will work closely with patients, relatives, carers, and colleagues, helping to create a supportive and compassionate environment during what can often be a challenging time for patients and their families. The Education team will provide comprehensive support, training, and development opportunities, including completion of the Care Certificate if required. This is an excellent opportunity to develop your skills and make a meaningful difference to the lives of patients receiving critical care.

Main duties of the job

As a Healthcare Support Worker in the Intensive Care Unit, you will support registered nurses and the wider multidisciplinary team to deliver high‑quality, compassionate care to critically ill patients. You will assist patients with personal care, mobility, nutrition, hydration and comfort, helping to maintain their dignity, privacy and independence wherever possible. You will undertake a range of delegated clinical tasks, such as recording and reporting patient observations, recognising and escalating changes in a patient's condition, and supporting the delivery of individualised care plans. The role includes maintaining a safe, clean and organised clinical environment, ensuring equipment is ready for use, maintaining stock levels and adhering to infection prevention and control standards. You will provide reassurance and support to patients and their families, communicate effectively with colleagues across the healthcare team, and contribute to accurate documentation and record keeping. Working in a busy and rewarding critical care environment, you will need to be adaptable, caring and motivated, with a commitment to providing excellent patient‑centred care. You will also contribute to the induction and support of new colleagues, students and learners within the unit.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group – a formal partnership between the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17,600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion, the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people. We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners. By working together, we make a real difference for our patients, each other, and our community. Every role matters in delivering the exceptional, person‑centred care we’re proud of.

We’re committed to a compassionate, inclusive culture where kindness is championed, differences are valued, and diversity makes us stronger. We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential. We prioritise staff wellbeing – and yes, we even have a pool!

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Please find attached to the vacancy a detailed person specification and job description for further information about this role.

At the time of advertising, this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. For this reason, we are unable to sponsor anyone for a skilled worker visa for this role. We are happy to accept applications from candidates who can prove their right to work in the UK or via alternative visa routes. Such applications will be considered alongside all other applications.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• A Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) Level 3. This could be an NVQ, BTEC or equivalent international qualification in healthcare.

Desirable criteria

• You may also have previous experience in healthcare and have your Care Certificate if not, we will support you to achieve this qualification within the first three months of joining us.

Essential criteria

• Understand and communicate both verbally and in writing in English.
• Numerical and analytic skills to do patient observations.
• Experience working in a public-facing/customer care role or environment.
• Work in a team environment.
• You will need to be able to use IT systems and databases.
• Able to cope with physical demands of the role including manual handling.
• Able to deal with exposure to bereavement , conflict and difficult emotional situations.
• Able to work and cope with rotating shift patterns
• Able to demonstrate an empathetic and caring approach to patients and relatives and respect patient’s dignity at all times.

Desirable criteria

• Experience working in a health and social care role and NHS experience, understanding of NHS/social care systems.

Please note - Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered unless an alternative right to work solution can be provided. Candidates requiring sponsorship (or will need sponsorship at the end of a current visa e.g. those with graduate visa's) should review the eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying: Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.