Multiple Band 3 HCA

Avon And Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Nhs Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Bristol seeks a dedicated individual to provide support in various inpatient services, including acute wards and rehabilitation. The role involves direct patient care, facilitating recovery, and working within a multidisciplinary team. Ideal candidates will have experience in mental health settings and a strong commitment to patient well-being. Training will be provided, and opportunities for professional development are available.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience in acute, rehabilitation, and psychiatric intensive care settings.
• Experience working with individuals in crisis is desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct care and support: assisting with nutrition and personal care needs.
• Support recovery and independence by helping service users with practical issues.
• Facilitate therapeutic engagement through discussions and psychosocial interventions.
• Maintain a safe and therapeutic environment, contributing to cleanliness and organisation.
• Collaborate in care planning and maintain accurate clinical records.
• Engage in ongoing professional reflection to improve quality of care.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Teamwork ability

Job description

Overview

As a valued member of our workforce, you will play a vital role in supporting patients across a range of inpatient services, including:
• Acute wards – providing care during periods of crisis and intensive treatment.
• Rehabilitation – supporting recovery and independence in longer‑term care settings.
• Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) – delivering compassionate, safe, and structured care for individuals requiring higher levels of support.

What you’ll do

• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to deliver high‑quality, person‑centred care.
• Support patients with daily living, therapeutic activities, and recovery‑focused interventions.
• Contribute to maintaining a safe, supportive, and therapeutic environment.
• Build trusting relationships with patients, families, and colleagues.

Why join us?

• Opportunities to gain experience across diverse inpatient settings.
• Ongoing training and development to enhance your skills.
• A chance to make a real difference in people’s lives during their recovery journey.

Our main role will be to engage with service users and support them in meeting their needs during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. Experience of working with individuals in crisis is desirable, as you will be working across a variety of inpatient settings including acute wards, rehabilitation units, and psychiatric intensive care (PICU) although training will be given to the right candidates.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct care and support: assisting with nutrition, hydration, physical health, and personal care needs.
• Support recovery and independence: helping service users with practical issues such as accommodation or finances, and encouraging social inclusion through escorted leave and community activities.
• Facilitate therapeutic engagement: encouraging service users to share their experiences in one‑to‑one or group discussions, and delivering psychosocial interventions that promote emotional and cognitive wellbeing.
• Maintain a safe and therapeutic environment: contributing to ward cleanliness, organisation, and safety, and supporting environmental assessments to ensure high standards of care.
• Collaborate in care planning: actively participating in risk assessments, CPA processes, and recovery‑focused interventions, while keeping accurate clinical records.
• Develop specialist skills: taking on lead or link roles in initiatives such as Safe Wards, carer engagement, and Essence of Care, under the guidance of registered staff.
• Promote best practice: modelling dignity, respect, and candour in all interactions, and embedding AWP’s Code of Conduct for unregistered practitioners.
• Support colleagues: contributing to the induction and supervision of junior, temporary, and newly appointed HCAs, and fostering a positive learning culture.
• Engage in reflective practice: engaging in ongoing professional reflection to continually improve the quality of care delivered.
• Understand legislation: maintaining a working knowledge of the Mental Health Act (1983), Mental Capacity Act (2005), and other relevant frameworks through mandatory training.

Qualifications & Experience

• Relevant experience in acute, rehabilitation, and psychiatric intensive care settings.
• Experience working with individuals in crisis is desirable.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work within a multidisciplinary team.

Development & Training

You will receive relevant training, supervision, and ongoing professional development to support your role. There may be opportunities to rotate across different inpatient services in Bristol, broadening your experience and skills.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ+ communities, people with 'lived‑experience' of mental health conditions, and people living with disabilities. We are a ‘Disability Confident Employer’ offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria, including people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions such as autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities.

Flexible Working

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours; we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users.

Working for AWP

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community‑based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person‑centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care. At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.