Healthcare Assistant

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust; Gateshead; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust in Gateshead invites applications for a Support Worker role. You will work closely with individuals to enable daily living activities in hospital, home, or care settings, supported by a multi-disciplinary team.

The post emphasises compassionate care, observation recording, and participating in care plans. NHS ethos and patient dignity are central, with opportunities to develop clinically relevant skills.

Qualifications

• English qualification GCSE or equivalent.
• Maths qualification GCSE or equivalent.
• Vocational qualification in health and social care (e.g. care certificate; level 2/3 diploma).
• NHS experience relevant for the role.
• Experience working with people in healthcare with mental illness, learning disability and/or dementia.
• Effective communication and listening skills.

Responsibilities

• To abide by trust policies and procedures.
• Build and maintain safe and effective therapeutic relationships.
• Support individuals to contribute to collaborative care/recovery plans.
• Support the named nurse to develop collaborative care plans and implement them creatively.
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of people using various methods.
• Contribute to monitoring, observing and engaging with individuals and team outcomes.
• Understand a person's experiences related to mental health, learning disability and/or dementia.
• Follow de-escalation principles and report incidents promptly.
• Document relevant information in electronic records.
• Contribute to individual reviews and team meetings.

Skills

Effective communication

Active listening

Teamwork

Education

English GCSE or equivalent

Maths GCSE or equivalent

Health and social care qualification (level 2/3 diploma)

Job description

Job summary

As a support worker you will be working closely with individuals, providing care to enable them complete activities of daily living in Hospital / Home / Care setting with support from a Multi-Disciplinary team of nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and doctors.

1. Undertakes a range of delegated clinical care duties in hospital, community, or other settings

2. Records patient observations and changes to patient clinical conditions

3. Carries out limited clinical care duties

Main duties of the job

Each individual has different needs however the list below outlines just some of the practical duties that the post holder will undertake, support and enable people to/with:

• Using appropriate assessment tools under supervision to assist the registered practitioner in assessment of the patients' health and wellbeing needs. Initiate emergency action when required e.g cardiac arrest, fire
• Identify/contribute to their own goals to improve their quality of life
• Participate in clinical skills as trained in line with role e.g recording ECG's
• Contribute to their own care/support/recovery plans
• Support individuals to express their needs and wishes Promote their personal hygiene and physical health.
• Actively engage in health promotion
• Engage in meaningful and enjoyable activity
• To support individuals with external activities/appointments under indirect supervision
• May have responsibility for patient monies/valuables which need to be handled within GHFT guidelines
• Assist individuals with activities of daily living encouraging active participation and independence

About us

Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.

Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.

We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.

Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronym ICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.

We have a number of staff networks including the Global Ethnic Majority (GEM) network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our Armed Forces network is one of our emerging networks.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.

Job responsibilities

• To abide by trust policies and procedures
• Build and maintain safe and effective therapeutic relationships
• Support individuals to contribute to collaborative care/support/recovery plans
• Support the named nurse to develop collaborative individual, patient centred care plans and implement them creatively using initiative.
• Communicate effectively with a wide range of people using a range of preferred methods
• Contribute to monitoring, observing and engaging with individuals, communicating outcomes and conclusions with the rest of the team
• Gain an understanding of a persons experiences in relation to their mental health, learning disability and/or dementia.
• Understand a persons coping strategies and strengths and support people to use these at times of distress or difficulty
• Contribute to reflective practice and encourage compassion and understanding
• Be able to recognise increasing risk and alert significant others and the team to respond as needed
• Undertake a range of practical tasks and duties in support of the Team and individual needs.
• Follow principles of diffusion and de-escalation and where physical interventions or restraint are required, to approach in line with approved techniques considering the safety and dignity of the individual throughout.
• To feel confident to be able to report untoward incidents and areas of concern as soon as they arise
• To document any relevant information in an electronic record following relevant policy and legislation
• Contribute to individual reviews and team meetings

Qualifications

Essential

• English qualification GCSE or equivalent
• Maths qualification GCSE or equivalent
• Vocational qualification in health and social care (e.g. care certificate; level 2/3 diploma)

Experience

Essential

• NHS experience relevant for the role
• Experience of working with people in a healthcare setting with mental illness, learning disability and/or dementia
• Effective communication and listening skills

Desirable

• Venepuncture skills

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).