Home Enteral Feeding Assistant

University Hospital Southampton NHS FT; Southampton; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Part time

Job summary

A large healthcare provider is seeking a dedicated practitioner to support patients managing feeding tubes in their homes. This role involves home visits, data management, and collaboration with healthcare teams to ensure smooth transitions for patients. Applicants should have experience in health or social care, excellent communication skills, and a passion for improving patient care. Flexible working hours are available, ideally 3 days per week.

Qualifications

• Experience managing and using feeding tubes and equipment.
• Ability to work independently without close supervision.
• Experience working within a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Visit patients at home to help manage feeding tubes.
• Update patients' data on the feeding company database.
• Liaise with dietitians for smooth patient transitions.

Skills

Team player

Communication skills

Time management

Great IT skills

Education

GCSE minimum grade C or 4 in English and Maths

Vocational qualification (NVQ Level 3 or equivalent)

Tools

Windows systems (Word, Excel)

Job description

Overview

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us. Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

Main duties of the job

Would you like you to help people keep well in their own home? Are you interested in supporting people who receive a tube feed? We are looking for an enthusiastic practitioner to support our patients as they are discharged to their home environment with a feeding tube and then helping support them once they are at home. This is an established, very rewarding role which would suit someone with previous experience in a health or social care setting who would like to gain more expertise in this field. You will be working across 2 community home enteral feeding teams. You will work for 2 days per week in the Southampton City Home Enteral Nutrition Service and one day per week in West Hampshire Enteral Nutrition service. This role is vital in supporting patients to manage their tube feeds in their own homes. Both teams work very closely together and have excellent links with dietitians and nutrition nurses in Southampton General Hospital.

Working for our organisation

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations. Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast. We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalizing your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information. At UHS we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients. At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

You will be a key member of both Home Enteral Nutrition teams and will play a vital role in supporting peoples smooth discharge home and enabling them to manage their feeding tube in their own home.

What You’ll Do

You will:

• Visit patients in their own home to help them manage their feeding tube and carry out basic tube care reviews (after a period of training). This will include weighing patients and supporting and training them to use the feeding tube and associated equipment.
• Manage patients data on home enteral feeding company database and ensure that it is kept up to date and patients have all of the equipment they require.
• Feedback any issues that you identify to dietitians and nutrition nurses
• Liaise with dietitians and Nutrition nurses in the hospital to ensure any patient admissions and discharges are as smooth as possible.

What We’re Looking For

• A good team player who is also happy to work independently and proactively
• An enthusiastic individual who has a great ability to create rapport with people
• An individual who has some previous knowledge and experience of managing and using feeding tubes and equipment
• Great time management and excellent organisational skills
• Good communication skills with experience of dealing with the public
• Great IT skills as the post holder is expected to maintain databases and use a variety of IT systems
• A person with a full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes as you will be carrying out home visits across Southampton City and the West Hampshire area.

This post is for 3 days per week ideally including a Friday. There is a possibility that it will increase to 4 days in due course.

Person specification

Trust Values

Essential criteria

• Patient First
• Always Improving
• Working Together

Qualifications, Knowledge And Experience

Essential criteria

• GCSE minimum grade C or 4 or equivalent in English and Maths
• Vocational qualification (NVQ Level 3 or equivalent) or experience deemed to be equivalent e.g. HCA trained, experience in another therapy assistant role, health trainer role or teaching assistant role
• Computer literate in Windows systems e.g. Word, Excel
• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team and able to demonstrate an understanding of specific clinical roles
• Ability to work independently without close supervision
• Demonstrates a practical approach and flexibility in working style
• Plan and prioritises own workload within agreed boundaries
• Able to cope with unpredictable events / varying work demands
• Ability to cope with occasional exposure to distressed patients and family members/ unpleasant smells or sights
• Ability to communicate confidently at a variety of levels, e.g. with patients (who may have a range of disabilities) families / carers and health professionals, using a variety of methods
• Ability to overcome barriers to communication, using alternative methods as appropriate
• Flexibility to meet competing priorities

Desirable criteria

• Experience of health service computer systems
• Infection control procedure training
• Awareness of standards of record keeping
• Recent experience of working within hospital or health service setting
• Experience of talking to groups
• Works well alone and as part of a team
• Full driving licence and use of vehicle