Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
Healthcare Support Worker

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Job Overview
Are you looking for a new career working with people and really making a difference? Could this be the role you've been looking for? No previous experience required!*
Healthcare Support Workers are required to support one of the UK’s largest NHS Hospital Trusts working alongside other practitioners on the front-line providing care directly to our patients. We have vacancies across our Medicine, Anaesthesia, Surgery, Critical Care and Renal and Neurological & Musculoskeletal Divisions.
Why Apply?
A Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) is a core member of the team delivering personal care to patients and supporting registered practitioners to deliver high quality, compassionate care. You will carry out a range of non-clinical healthcare tasks, under the direct supervision of the registered healthcare practitioner. Your role is to provide compassionate care, to agreed quality standards and in accordance with Trust values. There will be opportunities to develop your knowledge and skills, specific to your individual needs. Training will be provided to ensure you have the required core skills set specific to your area of work. You will also be supported to obtain your care certificate if you do not already have this qualification.
Please note, this role does not meet the UK Government requirements for sponsorship.
Main Duties of the Job
Working As a Healthcare Support Worker, You Will Be Involved With Direct Patient Care Whilst Maintaining The Privacy And Dignity Of Patients. You Will Be Working Alongside a Registered Nurse To Provide Essential Nursing Care And Helping Your Patients With Daily Living Tasks Such As
- helping patients feel comfortable and move around
- monitoring patients and performing basic health checks
- washing, dressing patients and helping them go to the toilet
- serving meals and helping to feed patients
Duties
Senior Healthcare Support Workers would also be expected to carry out a range of clinical duties with minimal / no supervision, including:
- blood pressure monitoring
- oxygen saturation levels
- body temperature
- pulse rate and respiration rate
- glucose monitoring
- wound swab
- collection and testing of urine, faecal and sputum samples
Whilst completing these tasks, the underlining aim is to deliver high-quality patient care at all times.
Working for Our Organisation
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.
With an annual turnover of 2.6 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom.
Chaired By Ingrid Barker And Led By Maria Kane As Chief Executive, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Aims To Transform The Way Healthcare Is Delivered Locally With a Clear Focus On Making a Difference For What We Call Our Four Ps
- Better outcomes for our Patients
- More opportunities for our People
- Fairer more consistent care for our Population
- Best Value for Public Purse
Our Vision For Five Years From Now
- Patients will wait less time to be diagnosed and treated, and they will have the same high-quality experience and outcomes, regardless of who they are or where they live.
- We will meet rising demand by maximising the use of our available resources.
- More care will be delivered nearer to patients, in their homes or the community.
- Digital technologies will have transformed the way we work and the way we deliver care.
- Our people will feel engaged, energised and empowered by their work.
- We will be known as a place where people enjoy working, training and building a career.
- Our volume of globally renowned research and innovation will have grown significantly.
- We will contribute to system financial balance
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Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
- Develop the skills to obtain consent prior to giving care in accordance with Trust policies.
- Under supervision follow individual patient care plans and report any changes immediately to the Registered Nurse/Assistant Practitioner.
- Participate in basic patient assessment whilst providing personal care and feeding back to the registered nurse to ensure high standards of care, in particular relating to skin integrity and the alertness of the patient.
- Practice safe standards of care to patients following Trust guidelines and policies and be able to concentrate for periods throughout the day with occasional interruptions.
- Ensure care is given in accordance with the infection prevention and health and safety policies and procedures.
- Ensure that the patients bed space is clean, tidy, and accessible and that the person has what they need within easy reach.
- Develop the skills to actively facilitate self-care and independence with patients.
- Promote health education specific to the clinical area and in line with national and local policies.
- Develop the skills to maintain effective record keeping and communication with patients, relatives, and members of the Multidisciplinary team regarding all aspects of care demonstrating a range of appropriate communication skills.
- Ensuring equipment and stores are well maintained, taking appropriate action if the equipment is faulty.
- Work effectively as part of a team.
Training
- Undertake the Trust’s corporate and local induction, and maintain your learning and compliance with training requirements for your role.
- Complete mandatory training. This will vary depending on area of work.
- Attend In-service training.
- Successful completion of the 15 Care certificate modules and practical competency assessment, within required timescales.
- Complete and return on time; all written work, reflective logs and assignments as required, if undertaking additional training eg: Maths/English GCSE.
Professional
- Demonstrate ability to access Trust policies and procedures and comply with those relevant to role.
- Act, at all times, in a manner which demonstrates respect for privacy, dignity and confidentiality.
- Embrace the Trust values and work in an inclusive way.
- Act within limits of competence, ensuring actions support care, protection, and wellbeing.
- Develop and maintain skills, knowledge, and competence for the role, with support from supervisor.
- Ensure all mandatory training is undertaken in line with Trust policy.
- Participate in team discussions / meetings as an integral member of the team.
Administration
- Develop competent in the use of IT systems within the workplace environment.
- Participate in the induction and orientation of newly appointed staff, learners, and other visitors to the department.
- Comply with Trust policy regarding information governance and the care of patient property.
Working Conditions
Dependent on work setting you may have frequent exposure to bodily fluids, distressed, or confused patients.
Person Specification
Qualifications/ Training
Essential criteria
- Level 2 NVQ/ QCF Diploma in Healthcare or willingness to undertake appropriate training & qualifications within given time frames.


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Desirable criteria
- Level 3 NVQ or BTEC National Diploma
- GCSE A*- D, or equivalent in English
- GCSE A* - D, or equivalent in Mathematics
Work Experience
Essential criteria
- Be able to work as a member of a team
- Experience of time management and prioritising work
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a health or social care setting
Skills And Abilities
Essential criteria
- Effective and appropriate communication skills both written and verbal
- IT skills, basic word, Email, keyboard skills
- Ability to work with minimum supervision to a high standard
We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.
As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
BFT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
By applying for this post, you are agreeing to Bristol NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.
Important
Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.
Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification
Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.
When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work-related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.
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