Healthcare Assistant -Discharge Lounge

NHS; Basildon; On-site; GBP 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A local healthcare provider in Basildon is seeking compassionate individuals for the role of Healthcare Support Worker. No prior experience is required as comprehensive training will be provided. You will assist patients with daily tasks and support Nursing teams to enhance patient care. This full-time role promises flexible working arrangements and an opportunity to grow within the NHS, alongside benefits such as a competitive salary and a supportive team environment. Join us to make a difference in people's lives.

Benefits

27 days holiday plus bank holidays

NHS salary structure and pension

Wide range of LGBTI+ initiatives

Health and wellbeing support

Qualifications

• Experience of working with the public.
• Must be keen to learn new skills and flexible in the workplace.

Responsibilities

• Support Nursing and Midwifery teams by providing patient care.
• Assist with the personal needs of patients including washing and toileting.

Skills

Caring and kind

Cheerful and friendly

Good listening and communication skills

Education

Healthcare Certificate

Job description

Job Summary

Do you want to make a difference to people's lives?

We are looking for individuals with or without experience to work in healthcare, to join the NHS family helping people from your local community. Healthcare Support Worker opportunities are available in our Discharge Lounge.

No experience? No problem. We will teach you everything you need to know. To us, it is more important that you are a caring and kind person with a genuine desire to help and support patients and their families. If this sounds like you, then you already have the skills that make a great Health Care Support Worker.

Right from the time you join us, you will have access to learning, development and training opportunities. As you progress in your NHS career you will acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence you need to provide safe and compassionate patient care.

Mid and South Essex is a great place to work, offering a working environment with an inclusive culture that looks after and values our people and creates a sense of belonging. We encourage applications from people who embrace our values and who will enable us to expand our diverse workforce.

The Healthcare Support Worker role can also lead to a range of career opportunities. With the right support, those who want to can undertake the necessary training to become our future nurses, nursing associates and midwives.

Main duties of the job

As a Health Care Support Worker you will be a hugely valuable support to our Nursing and Midwifery teams, providing care to our patients. Every day will be different and you will work alongside the rest of the team carrying out a wide range of tasks and assisting with the care to support the needs of the patients and their families.

• Washing and dressing patients
• Serving meals and feeding patients
• Helping patients to move around
• Making beds
• Talking to patients and their families
• Monitoring patient condition

Skills and personal attributes needed

• Caring and kind
• Cheerful and friendly
• Keen to support patients with their personal needs including washing and toileting
• Able to follow direct instructions
• Happy to work in a team but also able to use own initiative
• Have good listening and communication skills
• Be well organised

Working arrangements

Full‑time positions are available, and we are open to discuss flexible working arrangements. This opportunity is available for candidates who have the right to work in the UK.

Applications from under‑represented groups including LGBT+, ethnic minority or disabled people are particularly welcome.

About Us

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and wellbeing of our patients, and to provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together key health, care, community, and voluntary sector organisations from across our area. Our aim is to work together in partnership to join up health and care services, improving our population's health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. One such example of this collaborative work is the launch of our HCA Academy, an IC S initiative between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) to support the incoming Health Care assistant (HCA) workforce. The academy models a ‘one workforce’ cross‑system approach to the onboarding, induction, education and experience of Healthcare Assistants.

Successful candidates to this role will be able to access the additional support provided by the HCA Academy following their induction with MSEFT. This includes development opportunities, pastoral support, staff rewards and access to HCA exclusive resources such as HCA App.

Job details

Reference number: 390-DoM-BA-1270

Date posted: 17 December 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 2

Salary: £24,465 a year (Pro rata for part time)

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full‑time

Job locations: Basildon, Nethermayne, Basildon SS165NL

What we offer

• Range of opportunities for flexible working
• Strong team ethos
• NHS salary structure and pension
• 27 days holiday plus days off for bank holidays worked
• Enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Childcare vouchers
• Wide range of LGBTI+ initiatives
• Health service discounts and online benefits
• Health and wellbeing support
• Discounts on public transport
• Disability Confident reasonable adjustment

Person specification

Essential

• Good literacy demonstrated through minimal spelling and grammatical errors throughout application
• Experience of working with the public
• Must be keen to learn new skills and flexible in the workplace

Desirable

• Previous experience of working in a healthcare setting or caring experience
• Healthcare Certificate
• Working within a team and experience of working in an environment with changing demands and priorities
• Understanding of care role
• Knowledge of care

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Employer details

Employer name: Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address: Basildon, Nethermayne, Basildon SS165NL

Website: https://www.mse.nhs.uk