Senior Healthcare Worker | Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust; Dartford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider in Dartford is looking for a dedicated Senior Healthcare Worker to support women with severe mental health conditions. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team in a newly established Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. Roles are available on a full-time or part-time basis, with ongoing professional development and a High Cost Area allowance included in the salary package.

Benefits

High Cost Area Allowance

Ongoing professional development

Bespoke training and induction program

Qualifications

• Committed to providing compassionate care.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong communication skills for interacting with patients and colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a patient-focused service promoting independence.
• Provide support and advice to patients and their carers.
• Conduct physical health checks and document findings.

Skills

Compassion

Teamwork

Communication

Job description

Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Are you a dedicated, compassionate Senior Healthcare Worker committed to providing great care? Do you want the chance to help shape a new and genuinely innovative service for the women of Kent and Medway?

We're creating Kent and Medway’s first, and only, NHS Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for women, and are seeking talented Healthcare Workers to help us deliver this vital service. We have 20 roles available, these can be full time or part time (3 days per week/22.5 hrs per week minimum for part time roles).

The Senior Healthcare Worker is a key member of the multidisciplinary care team and will have continuing responsibility to deliver an effective and competent level of care under the guidance and supervision of the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) as determined by the patient’s care plan and be fully aware of the needs of patients over a 24-hour span of care.

The start date for these posts will be February 2026, to allow for sufficient time for onboarding, induction, and training before the anticipated arrival of the first patient in April 2026.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, come and join our diverse and compassionate team committed to delivering excellent care and support for service users and their loved ones.

All posts benefit from a High Cost Area allowance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Consistently delivering a patient-focused service, which promotes optimum independence.
• Providing and receiving routine information orally, in writing or electronically to inform work colleagues, patients, clients, carers, the public or other external contacts.
• Offering appropriate support and advice to patients and their carers.
• Awareness of different challenging situations where communication needs to be adapted to the needs of the individual.
• Enabling patients to maintain and improve their independence by promoting and facilitating therapeutic activity.
• Giving physical health checks and physical health care as required or instructed, documenting the physical health checks on the early warning scoring system (MEWS), chart and reporting changes to the nurse/healthcare professional in charge.
• Undertaking day-to-day tasks as allocated by Nurse/healthcare professional in Charge.
• Undertaking all relevant training as directed and participating in regular management/clinical supervision and appraisal.

Working in a PICU is very rewarding but we want to be honest and share that it is demanding too. It is likely to be needed by people with severe and complex mental health conditions (e.g. Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder and may be associated with Personality Disorder, Substance Misuse and PTSD).

While emotionally challenging, the opportunity to support critically unwell women back to their communities, ensuring 'right care, in the right place, at the right time', is immense, and your skilled, multidisciplinary, team will be there to support you.

You would be working as part of a team of mental health experts, dedicated to making sure the most unwell women in our communities have the same access to specialist care as men.

We are recruiting now to make sure our new female PICU team is in place with enough time to train, form team bonds and prepare. So you can all make a profound difference to patient outcomes from day one.

We also offer ongoing professional development to help you adapt and progress your career, including bespoke training and a comprehensive induction program.

All jobs based at our Dartford unit come with a High Cost Area Supplement: 5% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1303 per year and a maximum payment of £2198 per year (the agreed annual amount will be divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly). The salary listed is inclusive of the High-Cost Area Allowance.

High Cost Area Allowance:

The High-Cost Area (HCA) allowance, also referred to as London Weighting is a payment made to employees who work in London and the surrounding areas.

As this post is based in Dartford, Gravesham or Swanley, the successful applicant will receive an additional payment each month.

5% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1,303 per year and a maximum payment of £2,198 per year (the agreed annual amount will be divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly).

Note: This advert closes on Sunday 12 Oct 2025