Healthcare Assistant (Ward 1) | South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

Salary: £30,546 - £32,207 pro rata per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAs.

Ward 1 is a 13 bedded male PICU based at Springfield University Hospital providing 24-hour care for adults aged 18-75 years with severe and enduring mental health problems in accordance with the recovery model. You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team that is committed to the provision of highly quality service user centred care. Our teams are looking for a compassionate, extraordinary HCA who wants to make an impact.

It is important that you understand multidisciplinary team working, leadership and the challenges that face people with acute mental health problems. You will be passionate about mental health, believe in the recovery model and our Trust values, and work collaboratively with service users and their families. You will also demonstrate a commitment to learning and keeping yourself abreast with local and national services.

The Healthcare Assistant is the role for those who have experience and training in clinical practice, in a ward or other clinical setting. Healthcare Assistants provide personalised care to service users, undertaking clinical tasks with supportive supervision as required. Those in this role will spend significant amounts of time engaging with people who use our services. Healthcare Assistants may go on to progress to become a Nursing Associate or Assistant Practitioner, once they have completed the necessary training and demonstrated the necessary competences.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to ‘outstanding’. This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti-racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do. We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive. Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Clinical Skills

• Working under the guidance of a Registered Nurse/ AP/NA/B4, to implement the delivery of quality nursing care, contributing to the physical, psychological, social, recreational and spiritual care in a recovery-focused way through therapeutic engagement and activities, and taking steps to address any issues that arise.
• Leading on and undertaking activities to ensure that the fundamentals of care are met - nutrition, hydration, hygiene, comfort, emotional and social support.
• Supporting junior staff and leading on providing hands-on care to service users including:
• Undertaking 1-1 engagement with service users in an honest, open and non-judgmental way.
• Recognising and valuing service users as individuals, acknowledging the importance of maintaining the service user’s respect and dignity at all times and ensuring that the care provided respects equality and diversity.
• Escalating any concerns to a Registered Nurse.
• Monitoring and recording service user clinical observations, such as physical observations and vital signs and escalating as appropriate any signs or symptoms of deterioration or that do not fulfil the personal parameters to the relevant professional (Band 4 or Registered Nurse).
• Implementing the principles of ‘recovery’: encouraging and supporting service users to engage with healthy lifestyles, facilitating psychosocial activities and other activities of their interest.
• Escorting service users, as required, in line with Trust policies.
• Facilitating the admission and discharge of service users, ensuring needs of the patient are met including activities such as property checks, orientation to services, and ensuring that community support needs are met under direction of a senior clinician.
• Advocating for service users’ needs and rights within Trust policy.

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form. Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure. Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant’s individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role. Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

This advert closes on Monday 24 Aug 2026.