Senior Support Worker - Clinical Assessment Unit | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in London is seeking a Senior Support Worker for the Clinical Assessment Unit. This role involves supporting nurses in patient assessments, providing emotional support to individuals in need. The ideal candidate will be creative, resilient, and passionate about family-centered care, working in a dynamic Acute Hospital environment with flexible shift requirements.

Benefits

Generous pay and pensions

Flexible working options

Career development opportunities

NHS discounts

Counselling services

Qualifications

• Passion for people and family-centred care.
• Ability to work flexibly.
• Experience in a healthcare setting preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support nurses in conducting patient reviews.
• Provide person-centred support to patients.
• Document patient interactions and care plans.
• Educate patients on their condition and treatment.

Skills

Emotional support

Effective communication

Resilience

Creativity

Job description

About the location

The Croydon area has excellent schools both in the state and private sectors. Mental health care for patients who attend CUH is delivered by the Croydon Mental Health Liaison service provided by South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). We are an ageless service along with the Older Adult Liaison Psychiatry service.

About the team

The Croydon University Hospital Mental Health Assessment Unit is part of the Liaison Services and the Unit provides psychiatric assessments and treatment for people, aged 18 and above, to determine if they need mental health care and treatment. The service caters for people who live in the London Borough of Croydon and our aim is to ensure that people get the expertise they need to address their mental health problems. We provide a 24-hour service to Croydon University Hospital offering urgent assessment and intervention to patients, the team includes Nurses, Doctors, an Occupational Therapist and a Clinical Psychologist.

About this role

We have a maternity cover vacancy for Band 4, Senior Support Workers - Clinical Assessment Unit.

The post holders will support nurses in conducting reviews of patients and observing them to identify their needs, strengths, and challenges. Providing emotional support, guidance, and encouragement to patients during their stay in the assessment unit. Communicating effectively with patients, families, and healthcare professionals to ensure that everyone is aware of patient needs, progress, and concerns. Provide person-centred support in a planned and coordinated manner.

We are looking for a forward-thinking, creative, and responsive senior support worker who has a passion for people and family-centred care. You will be enthusiastic, creative, resilient, and able to respond to others in a flexible manner.

This varied role offers excellent opportunities to gain experience and skills in an Acute Hospital setting. Successful candidates will be expected to work a 24-hour shift, including weekends and Bank Holidays.

Benefits

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at SLaM. It’s important to us that you feel valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.

Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

• Generous pay, pensions and leave — a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package dependent on the role and length of service.
• Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as part-time working and job sharing.
• Career development — opportunities to progress your career and development through mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
• Car lease — staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars.
• Accommodation — staff benefits from keyworker housing available on selected sites.
• NHS discounts — discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands through Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

• Counselling services
• Wellbeing events
• Long service awards
• Cycle to work scheme
• Season ticket loan
• Childcare vouchers
• Staff restaurants

Main roles and responsibilities

• Carry out reviews on low-risk patients, while updating the team leader, nurses and MDT
• Accurately documenting patient interactions, observations, and care plans in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
• Educating patients about their condition, treatment options, and self-care strategies to promote recovery and independence
• Supporting patients' families and caregivers by providing information, resources, and emotional support during the assessment process
• Creating positive working relationships with local services and local activity providers across the four boroughs covered by the Trust, as well as creating and compiling resources within the service
• To attend and contribute to clinical team meetings and handovers across the Liaison and emergency department services
• You will support senior team members with welcoming, conducting baseline observations following referrals, documenting admission entries and discharge notes

This advert closes on Tuesday 11 Nov 2025