Healthcare Support Worker Person Specification

Our organisation is expanding and we’re looking for people with the right values, skills and/or potential to join us. We need people with energy, expertise, enthusiasm to help us provide the very best possible specialist NHS mental health and learning disability care. This involves helping us achieve our strategy to improve the quality of life for the communities we serve through People, Prevention and Partnerships.

So what can we offer you in return?

We’re an organisation which puts people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We’ll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we’ll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you’ll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don’t forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team., We are very excited to be advertising this Band 3 Healthcare Support Worker post working with people with dementia. You will be working alongside nursing staff and consultant to aid with the overall day to day activities ensuring the care and safety of patients at our brand-new acute in-patient ward in Worthing. This is a particularly exciting time to be joining our team, as we have recently reorganised our West Sussex in-patient dementia services which are now all housed within our specialist unit; The Forget Me Not Unit in Worthing.

This is a challenging but hugely rewarding role with lots of progression available to the right person.

The post-holder will work as part of the dedicated MDT supporting men with dementia in our 10 bedded dementia ward. The successful candidate will join a friendly, highly-skilled, enthusiastic and supportive multi-disciplinary team. We will be taking a keen interest in helping you to develop the wide range of skills important to this role so experience is desirable but not essential. You will receive regular managerial and clinical supervision., As a Healthcare Support Worker, your main responsibilities will be to work with the multi-disciplinary team to establish and deliver a therapeutic programme of care for service users.

You will be required to communicate with patients, relatives and carers and assisting with clinical duties, including personal care and ensuring infection prevention and control standards are maintained.

You will also undertake personal care duties for service users in hospital, report patient’s conditions to qualified staff and document care delivery in patients notes.

You will need to use your strong communication skills, attention to detail and motivation to provide quality care for service users.

To protect the health and safety of our staff/workers, patients, and those attending our sites, we encourage our workforce to get fully vaccinated against COVID

• Have a recognised qualification in an area related to the workplace or equivalent technical/life skills (transferable skills)

• Be fit to undertake any duties related to the role including physical interventions for the management of violence and aggression

• Have experience working as part of a team

• Have excellent communication skills

• Have evidence of a commitment to lifelong learning

• Have a professional and friendly demeanour

It would also be advantageous if you:

• Have experience working within a mental health setting

• NVQ Level 2 in care, + Experience of working as part of a team

• Good communication skills

The Forget Me Not Unit aims to reduce distress caused to people with dementia or those at risk of dementia who need to be treated in and acute hospital bed. The unit provides a calm, dementia friendly environment with patients being cared for by staff who are competent to meet their needs.

• NHS staff discounts to so many shops, restaurant and gyms

• Support in career development

• Care certificate completion

We’d love you to join our Trust, rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree, in our recent staff survey 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.

Other key survey results:

• 70% highlighting flexible working as a key point for satisfaction at work

• 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work in their team

• 77% identifying opportunities to show initiative in their roles