Health Care Assistant Apprenticeship

Bud Flanagan East Ward is a 16 bedded unit caring for patients with Leukaemia, Myeloma and Lymphoma throughout their treatment pathway. On the ward, we undertake a variety of bone marrow transplants including sibling, unrelated and cord donors. Our partner ward, Bud Flanagan West, cares mainly for patients undergoing autologous transplants and also manages our Ambulatory Inpatient Service.

The unit offers a pleasant environment for patients ensuring their comfort needs are met in a relaxed setting. We are committed to providing the highest quality care and maintain consistently high standards in a professional and friendly atmosphere.

In return for your commitment, we can provide flexible working patterns to help maintain your work/life balance. We are dedicated to supporting all staff and do so by providing individualised professional development opportunities and excellent staff support facilitation.

Please note that this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date due to a high volume of applications. Group interviews are planned to commence on 22 September 2026 but are subject to change.

Please note: Although the application form states that a personal statement is required, candidates will be shortlisted based on their responses to the application questions. Therefore, you may put NA for the personal statement section.

Main duties of the job

The Apprentice Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) will work under the supervision of registered nurses and the shift co-ordinator to deliver high-quality, compassionate care to patients, with a particular focus on those receiving cancer treatment. This role is designed to support learning and development, providing structured training through the Care Certificate and Level 2 Apprenticeship programme, while contributing to the safe and effective running of the clinical area.

As an integral member of the nursing team, the apprentice will:

• 1.1 Provide safe, respectful and efficient nursing care in line with agreed care plans.
• 1.2 Develop an understanding of the needs of patients with cancer and the various treatment pathways.
• 1.3 Contribute to maintaining an efficient, safe, clean and supportive environment for patients, carers and colleagues.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification:

• Work towards completion of the Care Certificate standards.
• Monitor and record patients’ vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation) under direct supervision and report abnormal results and concerns to nursing staff.
• Accurately measure and record height and weight.
• Undertake delegated clinical tasks relevant to the area (e.g., ECGs, urinalysis, MRSA screening, documentation in digital health records) once competency has been achieved and approved.
• Assist patients with nutrition, including menu completion and feedingsupport, in collaboration with ward hosts/hostesses.
• Apply infection prevention and control practices, attending all mandatory training and be willing to challenge others poor practice where necessary.
• Escort patients and their belongings between wards/departments.
• Collect medications from pharmacy and blood products from the laboratory (following training and assessment.

Meets all government criteria for apprenticeship funding, including appropriate visa status, required period of UK residency, and no prior learning or experience at a level that would prevent funding approval.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• Functional skills to level 2 or equivalent qualifications (GCSE’s Maths and English above grade c or 4)

Experience

• Evidence of effective interpersonal skills
• Evidence of good organisational skills
• Self-motivated to work under minimal supervision and use own initiative
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Good communication skills, written and verbaL

Other

• Flexibility to meet the needs of the service (e.g. shift work)

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination - What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

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.