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Mealtime Support Volunteers - Whitehaven
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Mealtime Support Volunteers
We are looking for friendly and engaging people to support staff in ensuring that patients receive nutrition and hydration in a timely manner and comfortable way. You will support the ward team to distribute meals, interacting with patients as appropriate, and ensuring they have everything they need to be able to make the most of their mealtime experience
All duties will be overseen by nursing staff and will never include feeding patients or clinical tasks, such as personal care.
Times available
We would like you to try to commit to at least 1 x 3 hour shift per week
Days: Mondays to Sundays
Times: 11:00am - 2:00pm or 4:00pm - 7:00pm
You must be 18 years old or over to volunteer on a ward and live within the local area.
Main duties of the job
What tasks can this role include?
- Assist patients with direction from staff as needed
- Help patients order meals and collect completed menus
- Offering support to serve meals, refreshments and snacks
- Ensure patients receive correct meals based on speech and language therapist/dietician recommendations e.g. modified diets and thickened drinks
- Offering support or promoting patients to eat, helping to ensure food is cut up, packets opened and easily reached
- Keep patient water jugs filled and provide tea & coffee
- Offer refreshments to relatives of patients who are receiving end of life care on the ward
- Support with light post-meal routines, such as clearing trays away and setting out toothbrushes
- Make staff aware immediately if any patient has any clinical concerns
Tasks NOT to be undertaken
- Manual handling of patients
- Pushing patients or visitors in wheelchairs
- Personal Care
- Taking patient to the toilet
- Clinical duties
Location: Ward 3, 4 or 5 at West Cumberland Hospital
About Us
At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.
Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time':
- Being a clinically led organisation
- Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust
- A positive patient experience every time
- A great place to work
- Managing our money well
As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.
Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.
Details
Date posted: 12 October 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: Depending on experience
Voluntary: Voluntary
Contract: Voluntary
Working pattern: Flexible working
Reference number: 262-A-26-8358487
Job locations: West Cumberland Hospital, Homewood Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8JG, United Kingdom
Job Description
Job responsibilities
Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.
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Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment. Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.
If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.
Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.
The Trust will provide a preceptorship period for all newly registered healthcare professionals.
Healthcare Professionals returning to practice, moving into new roles or changing clinical environments, may access an agreed preceptorship period.
Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information. If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.
Important Information
Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.
For candidates applying using a Hotmail account or have strict firewall settings please ensure the following:
- Junk Mail is checked regularly
Disclosure And Barring Service:
On 28 November 2020, the new Disclosure and Barring Service filtering rules will come into effect.
The Changes Mean That:
- youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
- the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.
If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.
The Changes Mean That:
- youth cautions, reprimands and final warnings will no longer be subject to automatic disclosure
- the multiple conviction rule has been removed, meaning that if an individual has more than one conviction, regardless of offence type or time passed, each conviction will be considered against the remaining rules individually, rather than being automatically disclosed.
If you are unsure about whether you need to disclose certain criminal record information, free confidential advice may be sought from one of the charity bodies listed below. These bodies can advise you on what you are legally required to declare and may also be able to advise you on how you can disclose criminal record information to a prospective employer and your legal rights when doing so.
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Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Customer service experience
- Good communication and listening skills
- Understanding of the need for confidentiality
- Patience and understanding
- Good team working skills
Desirable
- Health and safety awareness
Skills and Attributes
Essential
- Aware of own limitations
- Flexible and adaptable
Essential
Other Requirements
- Can provide one morning or afternoon a week
- Commitment to undertake training as required
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address
West Cumberland Hospital
Homewood Road
Whitehaven
CA28 8JG
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer details
Employer name
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address
West Cumberland Hospital
Homewood Road
Whitehaven
CA28 8JG
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
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