Hospital Play Specialist

NHS; Ormskirk; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Part time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Ormskirk seeks a Hospital Play Specialist to enhance child-focused care within a hospital setting. Responsibilities include managing play environments, offering stimulating activities, and supervising staffing. The ideal candidate should possess strong leadership and communication skills with qualifications such as HPSEB and BTEC/NNEB. This part-time permanent position offers a salary of £27,485 to £30,162 annually.

Qualifications

• Evidence of experience in a hospital environment.
• Willingness to undertake internal training sessions and other relevant study days.

Responsibilities

• Manage and maintain a child focused environment where play occurs naturally.
• Provide stimulating play programmes and distraction activities.
• Supervise students and volunteers on placement within the Ward/A&E.

Skills

Good leadership qualities

Excellent communication skills

Artistic and creative

Willingness to share knowledge with others

Assertiveness skills

Good interpersonal skills

Professional appearance

Able to be flexible

Self-motivated and able to motivate others

Education

Hospital Play Specialist (HPSEB)

BTEC / NNEB

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity to welcome a Hospital Play Specialist to join our established play service on the Paediatric Unit at Ormskirk Hospital.

As a team we strive to provide an excellent service, putting children and their families at the forefront of our care. Our Play Specialists are integral to supporting individual patient journeys and promoting the voice of the child during their time within the department.

To support our services, we are looking for a friendly and approachable Play Specialist who is flexible, proactive, motivated, and able to demonstrate excellent communication skills. You will be expected to work collaboratively and support other members of the children's nursing and medical teams and other disciplines to facilitate a seamless and high-quality service for the child and family.

Within the trust you will have the opportunity to work alongside many specialties as an active member of the multi-disciplinary team. Including Outpatient's clinic, Paediatric day surgery, Children's Community Nursing team and Diabetes team.

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change

Main duties of the job

To manage and maintain a child focused environment where play occurs naturally and help to bridge the gap between hospital and home.

Provide interesting and stimulating play programmes and appropriate distraction activities in an effort to fulfil emotional, social and developmental needs and help alleviate emotional traumas for the child and family in any area of the hospital where children are seen or admitted.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Job Details

Date posted: 06 October 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 4

Salary: £27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Part-time

Reference number: 409-7475711

Job locations: ODGH, Wigan Road, Ormskirk, L39 2AZ

Job Responsibilities

To manage and maintain a child focused environment where play occurs naturally and help to bridge the gap between hospital and home. Provide interesting and stimulating play programmes and appropriate distraction activities in an effort to fulfil emotional, social and developmental needs and help alleviate emotional traumas for the child and family in any area of the hospital where children are seen or admitted. To supervise students and volunteers on placement within the Ward / A&E environment.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential:

• Hospital Play Specialist (HPSEB)
• BTEC / NNEB

Desirable:

• Willingness to undertake internal training sessions and other relevant study days

Knowledge and Experience

Essential:

• Evidence of experience in a hospital environment

Skills

Essential:

• Good leadership qualities
• Excellent communication skills
• Artistic and creative
• Willingness to share knowledge with others
• Assertiveness skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Professional appearance
• Able to be flexible
• Self-motivated and able to motivate others

Desirable:

• Awareness of IT systems
• Some outside interests

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.