Theatre Assistant

Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust; Wigan; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Senior Theatre Assistant to support high-quality patient care in the peri-operative environment. This role involves working closely with nursing and medical teams, performing clinical duties, and ensuring compliance with trust policies. Ideal candidates will have strong teamwork and communication skills, demonstrating commitment to patient-focused care, and must be willing to undertake specific clinical training as needed.

Benefits

Continuing Professional Development

Engagement in a supportive team environment

NHS employee benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in a clinical setting assisting with patient care.
• Ability to perform basic clinical observations.
• Good communication skills to engage with diverse patients.

Responsibilities

• Provide individualized patient-focused care in the operational environment.
• Support the movement and handling of patients.
• Assist in the preparation and use of technical equipment.

Skills

Patient care

Teamwork

Clinical observations

Communication

Education

N/A

Tools

Medical equipment

Job description

As Senior Theatre Assistant you will work alongside nursing and medical staff to competently provide agreed clinical skills and nursing care to deliver a timely and quality service to patients during their peri‑operative patient journey. Although this role is advertised as a Band 3 - Senior Theatre Assistant post, it could potentially be offered as a Band 2 - Band 3 training post. To accurately record, collate, monitor & provide feedback of patient information to nursing and medical staff, initiating actions as necessary. To independently perform agreed clinical duties and tasks following training, meeting competencies within the role as per trust policy and procedure.

Working for our organisation

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are the proud providers of acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, we value our staff believing that 'happy staff, makes for happy patients'. We have a recognised track record in staff engagement, and living our values 'the WWL Way'. WWL are committed to placing the patient at the heart of everything we do, and in the provision of safe, effective care that acknowledges and ensures dignity. With this in mind we are seeking to recruit people who share our values and beliefs. At WWL we value the benefits a rich and diverse workforce brings to our community and therefore welcome applications from all sections of society.

Key results from the job holder

• Work as part of a designated clinical team, providing individualized patient focused care whilst in the peri‑operative environment.
• Support moving and handling, correct patient positioning, assess pressure areas and skin integrity, documenting findings in a timely manner within the patient records.
• At the direction of the Registered / medical staff, participate fully in the delivery of planned care, applying and evaluating agreed clinical skills to ensure a seamless patient journey through the operating department.
• To act as a circulating member of the theatre team, following policies and procedures, for the counting, recording and checking of swabs, needles and instruments in conjunction with the registered practitioner.
• Support registered theatre practitioners in the preparation and use of technical equipment required prior and during operative procedures.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations.
• Participate in the transfer and escort of patients with a registered practitioner.
• Be aware of the patient's needs – emotional, social, physical, and cultural. Respect privacy, dignity, and beliefs. Act in a way that supports equality and diversity.
• To undertake clinical interventions, i.e. basic clinical observations in order to assess a patients NEWS status, 12‑lead ECG, bladder scanning, cannulation & phlebotomy, as directed by a registered practitioner, following successful completion of relevant training and competency based assessment. This is not a prescriptive list, rather an indication as to the level of clinical intervention that may be required.
• Maintain full compliance with allocated mandatory training.
• Maintain own level of competence and ongoing CPD.
• Undertake specific training for onward development of the role.

Planning and Organisational Duties

• Contribute to the development of services and ensure the effective and efficient use of resources.
• Demonstrate good understanding of principles of consent. Ensure valid consent is available and documented prior to undertaking of any clinical procedures.
• Participate in audit activities undertaken in area of practice.
• Postholders are expected to work independently regarding routine, delegated tasks, following established good practice and refer to non‑routine tasks appropriately.
• Assist with the preparation, identification, recording and dispatch of specimens from the theatre unit.
• Ensure that the pharmacy stock items including controlled drugs are received and stored in accordance with COSHH and Trust guidance; any in‑balance in stock is reported to the senior registered practitioner on duty as soon as it is identified.
• Assist in maintaining and monitoring cleaning standards within the clinical areas ensuring general fixtures/fitting and specialist equipment are cleaned in accordance with guidelines.
• To participate in the management of supplies ensuring the theatre unit has sufficient levels of all essential supplies to meet the service demands.
• Receive and dispatch sterile supplies ensuring relevant schedules are completed.
• Assist with the collection of blood and blood products.

Communications and Key Working Relationships

• Participate in the assessment of health care needs through the completion and interpretation of assessment tools and PARS documentation if allocated to the post anaesthetic care unit (PACU).
• Work collaboratively with others in the theatre environment and beyond, to ensure that patients' needs are met and contribute to effective lines of communication between medical, registrants, and administrative staff.
• The service users come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and the Senior Healthcare Assistant will be expected to communicate effectively with all patients and families effectively.
• Provide general non‑clinical advice, information and guidance to patients, relatives and visitors.
• Communicate effectively with dignity and respect to all patients, relatives and others considering potential barriers to understanding.
• Have knowledge and demonstrate appropriate use of communication tools (verbal and non‑verbal) to gain informed consent with patients where there may be barriers to effective communication (e.g. loss of hearing, altered perception, expressive and receptive dysphasia, pain, fear – this is not an exhaustive list).
• To participate in assessment of capacity, working alongside registered practitioners to gain valid consent, whilst working within a legal framework, particularly with patients who lack capacity to consent to treatment.
• To ensure that documentation is completed in accordance with Trust and departmental requirements.
• Assist in receiving and providing handover, demonstrating clear effective communication.
• Recognise and report any situations, behaviours or errors that could result in poor care outcomes.
• Contribute to a culture where all staff feel safe to raise their concerns and speaking up about what these are is a normal part of their routine.
• Communicate effectively with other departments within the Trust, as well as outside agencies, as required.
• Provide and receive sensitive information regarding the patients' medical condition.
• Develop own skills and knowledge and contribute to development of others.
• Assist in the orientation of new staff with regards to specific areas.
• Regularly attend workplace and staff engagement meetings and contribute positively to discussions about the improvement of care.
• Report any concern regarding patient care to the registrant in charge of patients care.
• Assist registered personnel in carrying out 'last offices', in compliance with the Trust policy.
• To participate in bone donation and retrieval process and ensure compliance with protocols and documentation.
• Collect correct prostheses /replacement implants from implant room, as directed by scrub practitioner.
• Act as bone link for theatre to allocate and collect bone matter and bone grafts, ligaments and tissue for procedures from the bone bank following the designated competency‑based training.

Responsibility for Finance

• Participate in ensuring effective use of all financial resources in providing and delivering an effective service.
• Exercise personal duty of care in the safe use and storage of equipment.
• Be environmentally aware and prudent in use of resources and energy.

Responsibility for Human Resources

Demonstrate compliance with the Trusts policies, procedures, values and standards of behaviour.

Responsibility for Health & Safety

Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 - the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all of their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.

Responsibility for Teaching

• The post holder will promote life‑long learning through the use of appropriate coaching, teaching and assessment in practice by:
• Contributing to the provision of a positive learning environment, sharing individual knowledge with other staff.
• Act as a role model and participate in the support during training of staff new to post.
• Accept responsibility for self‑updating and awareness of changes in unit‑based equipment particularly regarding the maintenance of specialist equipment and its decontamination/sterilisation processes.
• Participate in the appraisal process and have a personal development plan structured to both individual needs & that of the post.
• Demonstrate commitment to personal development through work‑based programmes to enhance personal knowledge and skill.
• Support those developments, which contribute to the achievement of departmental, team and individual goals.
• Attend annual mandatory training updates in compliance with Trust policy.
• Undertake link trainer role for theatre staff such as moving and handling, bone bank, buddy for T‑Level or work experience learners.

Recruitment Information for Applicants

• AI usage policy: If you choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist in writing your application, the Trust advises that you should personalise your supporting statement and not rely solely on AI.
• Advert may be closed earlier than the stated closing date if there is a high volume of applications.
• Applications are scored against the person specification; use the supporting information section of your application form to demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role, providing illustrative examples where possible.
• On‑call: Some roles may require participation in an on‑call rota if the role is predominantly operational.
• Continuous Service Commitment: WWL has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment and will recognise your continuous or 'unbroken' service in any Greater Manchester Local Authority or NHS organisation, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority; giving you access to our service‑related benefits.
• Eligibility for sponsorship: This role is not eligible for sponsorship for entry‑level candidates. To meet the minimum salary threshold required for sponsorship, applicants must have at least two years of experience working within the NHS as a Band 3 Theatre Assistant.