Bank Health Care Assistant - London Prisons3

Bank Health Care Assistant - London Prisons3

Band 3

Main area Offender Healthcare Grade Band 3 Contract Bank Hours Flexible working - 0 Hours per week Job ref 277-BankHCA-London Pris B3

Site London Prisons - HMP Wandsworth and HMP Isis Town London Salary £32,346 Per annum pro rata incl HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 18/11/2026 12:00

Job overview

Thank you for taking an interest in our Healthcare Assistant. We hope that you find this overview useful and look forward to receiving your application.

The overview of this post is to support qualified staff in all activities relating to the delivery of high-quality patient centred care. You will work and act as a key member of the team, supporting each patient in achievement of their planned outcomes.

Main duties of the job

Our Healthcare Assistants work collaboratively with our Registered Healthcare professionals to deliver high-quality nursing care to patients in prison.

As a HCA you will be providing physical care to patients according to their written care plans which will include taking observations, ECG’s and carrying out basic wound care.

Lone working is required, and you will also be involved in responding to emergency situations. You will also have the opportunity to undertake an extended role such as running patient focused health promotion activities and programmes.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas – About Us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Task and Responsibilities

• Responding to the needs of patients in an honest, non-judgemental, and open manner, which respects the rights of individuals and groups
• Actively engaging with patients in the provision of holistic, needs-led care
• Delivery of health promotion activities and programmes (including patient self-help programmes) in support of a registered healthcare professional
• Contributing appropriately to risk assessment and individualised care planning.

Clinical

• To work as directed by a registered nurse, providing physical care to patients according to a written care plan.
• Adhering to all organisational and prison policies, procedures, and guidelines
• Ensuring good working relationships with patients, carers, relatives, other professionals and prison and healthcare staff
• Developing an understanding of and demonstrating use of clinical supervision to reflect upon and modify practice

Custodial Responsibilities

• Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys
• Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

• Proof of right to work documentation
• Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographicID
• Proof of address documentation
• Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.
• Address History:
• 5 years address history will be needed.
• Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.
• Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited
• If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website ( http://www.fco.gov.uk/en ).

Person specification

Education Qualifications

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent experience

Experience

• Previous experience as a Healthcare Assistant in a clinical setting (hospital, secure, or GP practice)
• Experience and knowledge of providing care i.e., providing patient care, carrying out tests/observations.
• Experience of facilitating /planning /supporting groups in a healthcare setting i.e., health improvement/smoking cessation/ activities.
• Experience of being able to work within policy frameworks in a regulated patient care setting.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge

• Able to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing
• Ability to assess risk and care plan effectively, whilst understanding the needs and rights of people.
• Participate in any audits, research projects.
• To take responsibility for clinical equipment/resources with which you are allocated as well as patient property and valuables.
• Good communication and an ability to form positive relationships with patients, carers, and other professionals.
• Ability to relate to patients who may be experiencing high levels of distress and emotional disturbance.
• Strong interpersonal skills and able to work under pressure
• To act on own initiative when delivering patient care seeking support as required.
• Ability to identify poor practice and standards of care when you see it and ensure that your Manager /Modern matron is aware.
• Able to demonstrate a flexible approach to client intervention.

Effort and Environment

• Physical Effort - Day to day contact with offenders. Ability to manage complex & challenging behaviour. Manual handling Use approved breakaway techniques. Standard IT skills
• Emotional effort - Ability to manage complex & challenging behaviour. Ability to work in a challenging and changing environment. Occasional exposure to verbal aggression
• Mental effort - An understanding of the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Care Programme Approach, and other relevant legislation and guidance. The ability to support and safely manage patients who are presenting with challenging and physically aggressive behaviour. Demanding and pressurised working environment
• Working conditions - Ability to work in a challenging secure environment and adhere to all security requirements of the prison. May be required to navigate a large number of stairs and cover long distances in a single shift.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage: https://oxleas.nhs.uk/armed-forces-community/

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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