Health Play Specialist

University College London Hospitals; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Season ticket loan

Staff discounts

Flexible working

Job summary

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a qualified Health Play Specialist or second-year Apprentice/student to join the ENT/ED plays service. The role involves delivering specialised play and preparation to support children and families undergoing procedures in a busy hospital setting.

The post is part-time, autonomous within a large play services team, and requires flexible hours and registration/qualifications in paediatric healthcare play.

Qualifications

• Registered & qualified Health Play Specialist or equivalent
• Knowledge of safeguarding and professional practice
• Ability to teach and supervise staff and students

Responsibilities

• Plan, implement and evaluate therapeutic play interventions
• Provide age-appropriate, welcoming play environment
• Support family-centred care and MDT collaboration
• Work flexible hours to meet service needs

Skills

Health Play Specialist

Team collaboration

Communication

Education

Foundation Degree in Health Care Play Specialism

Tools

Word

Excel

Job description

Site Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals, UCLH Town London Salary £34,186 - £37,389 per annum inclusive of HCAS, pro-rata Salary period Yearly Closing 11/11/2026 23:59

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An exciting opportunity has arisen at UCLH for a qualified Health Play Specialist or second year Apprentice/student on the Health Play Specialist course, looking to gain more experience within our highly respected team.
This is a part-time post working at the Royal National ENT and Eastman DentalHospital (ENTED). We are looking for someone who is committed to the delivery of compassionate high-quality care and has the skills to implement specialised play and preparation to support children, young people and their families undergoing treatment in a busy hospital environment.
This person needs to be autonomous, and also able to work effectively within a large team of health play specialists and other members of the multi-disciplinary team. The ideal candidate will be passionate and committed to effectively meeting the needs of paediatric patients and their families, as well as promoting the play service work throughout ENTED.
The successful candidate will implement specialised play interventions across both inpatient and outpatient settings. You will need to be able to engage easily with children and young people, be able to work effectively with your multi-disciplinary team colleagues and use therapeutic play techniques creatively throughout the setting.

Main duties of the job

To plan, implement and evaluate interventions to achieve therapeutic
goals, in collaboration with the referrer, the child/young person and their
family, managing own caseload and demonstrating effective time
management.
Through play provisions, contribute to clinical judgements based on the
patient’s individual needs.

Assess, plan, implement and evaluate recreational and therapeutic play
interventions, including preparation, distraction therapy and post procedural techniques for invasive and non-invasive procedures.
Contribute to establishing and maintaining systems to provide patients with a smooth transition between hospital departments.
To work independently to meet the needs of children and young people as well as part of the MDT.

Provide and maintain a safe, welcoming and age appropriate environment where play and recreation can occur naturally.
To select and apply therapeutic techniques to help children, young people and young adults overcome difficulties with hospital admission/procedures.

To contribute to assessments and overall care planning using knowledge
of child and adolescent development and incorporating an understanding
of child/vulnerable adult protection issues.

Working for our organisation

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:

University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)

National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals

University College Hospital Grafton Way Building

Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine

University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases

University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women’s health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

Responsibilities will include supporting hospitalised children and young people leading alternative focus activities during procedures, therapeutic play preparation, creating an age-appropriate welcoming environment throughout the area and helping patients and families manage anxiety effectively.

You will need to have experience of working with children and young people in a healthcare setting and be able to deal sensitively with families under stress. You will work as part of a supportive team where play and recreation is valued and respected as an integrated part of young people’s treatment and your contribution to the patient’s pathway will be highly respected. The play service team consists of 35 experienced staff, lead by a play services manager who will actively support your professional development.

The post holder will need to be able to work flexible hours to meet the needs of the service. The FdA in Healthcare Play Specialism, Edex PDC/HND in Specialised play for the sick child or the previous HPSC/HPSEB, or international equivalent, is required for this post. We welcome applications from individuals who are currently completing the FDA Healthcare Play Specialism and are in their second year. If successful, the trainee will be paid in accordance with annex 21 of NHSTerms and Conditions (75% of maximum of Band 4) for the period leading up until they are qualified.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*

* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England – for the third year in a row.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff – To find out more, visit: Flexible working .

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

We welcome applications from individuals who are currently completing
the FDA Healthcare Play Specialism and are in their second year. If
successful, the trainee will be paid in accordance with annex 21 of NHS
Terms and Conditions (75% of maximum of Band 4) for the period leading
up until they are qualified.

Person specification

Knowledge & Qualifications

• Registered & qualified Health Play Specialist holding the Foundation Degree in Health Care Play Specialism or previous HPSC/HPSEB, Edexcel PDC/HND in Hospital Play Specialism or oversees equivalent, or working towards above qualification, and due to complete/receive registration pin in the next 12 months.
• Knowledge of and ability to analyse professional and ethical issues, including professional boundaries, clinical governance and safeguarding children policies and practice.
• Applied knowledge of recent health policy & guidance and NAHPS Guidelines for professional Practice.
• NNEB/ NVQ Level 3 or equivalent training involving normal child care and development.
• Bachelor’s Degree (or overseas equivalent) in a subject relevant to work with children and/or young people.

Experience

• Post qualifying and recent, comprehensive experience of working with children and/or young people in a health care setting, in a variety of clinical areas and/or vast experience in specialised field.
• Experience of providing family centred care and working with the extended family.
• Comprehensive experience of leading play/recreation activities for babies, children and/or young people.
• Previous experience of applying presentation skills through formal and/or informal teaching of students and staff.
• Experience of working with children and/or young people with special needs including those with challenging behaviours.
• Experience of supporting, teaching, training, assessing and supervising junior staff, students and/or volunteers.

Skills & Abilities

• Able to communicate effectively with patients, families and staff, in written, verbal and nonverbal forms.
• Ability to work independently, manage own workload and determine priorities under pressure.
• Ability to work as an individual as well as within a team, effectively and efficiently.
• Basic competency using Word and Excel.

Other Requirements

• Able to work flexible hours and weekends according to needs of clinical area.
• Up to date registration with HPSET.
• Documented evidence of Continuing Professional Development
• Membership of NAHPS Professional Body.

At UCLH, we have a real ‘One Team’ ethos, and our values – safety, kindness, teamwork and improving, are central to the way we work. This is supported by our staff, who voted us as the #1 NHS Acute Trust to work for in the whole of England.

At UCLH we take equality of opportunity seriously and are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, with a culture that creates a real sense of belonging and trust. It is our fundamental aim, to recruit, retain and promote a diverse mix of people who are representative of our local communities. Applications are encouraged from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to support our world class research, innovation and creativity.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff and has a dedicated policy which allows staff to apply for flexible working right from the beginning of employment. For more information please go to: https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/work-with-us/why-choose-uclh/flexible-working.

We offer our permanent staff an interest free season ticket loan for travel, all our staff have access to free independent and confidential support, large retail discounts, a staff discount platform, cycle to work scheme and on-site accommodation to name a few.

Additionally, UCLH Arts and Heritage’s staff wellbeing programme, Creative Comfort, offers a variety of ways to engage with the arts as a member of UCLH staff. You can try out the weekly choir, weekly art club and join the Culture Club for exclusive access to free and discounted tickets for opera, exhibitions, theatre and more.

We recognise, reward and thank colleagues by nominating them for our annual Celebrating Excellence Awards, which are funded by UCLH Charity.

We are also members of www.mytrustbenefits.co.uk/ which offers discounts on high street retail stores, offers on travel deals, and also to take advantage of cash back schemes.

You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here

This vacancy may close before the current listed closing date. You are advised not to delay submitting your completed application.

Please note that all correspondence regarding your application will be via email. The emails will be sent to you via TRAC.jobs and not via NHS Jobs, we encourage you to check your inbox regularly.

Please note that if you have not heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date of the advert to assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

Name Katie Tyler Job title Deputy Play and Youth Services Manager Email address [e-mail] Additional information

Irene O’Donnell - Trust Lead for Therapeutic Play and Youth Services

Irene.O’[e-mail]

Elizabeth Coombs – Deputy Play & Youth Services Manager

[e-mail]