Healthcare support worker in Poole

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m. We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £500m transformation programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work. We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women’s Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group. As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are looking for applicants to join our forward thinking team. The successful candidate will work alongside the trained Nursing staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary team to provide safe and effective care to children and young people aged 0-16 years (up to 18 for Young people with long term health needs or complex needs). You will have experience of working with children and require excellent communication skills. You will be working as part of a team supporting the child and family alongside the multidisciplinary team.

The children’s unit currently includes a busy assessment unit, 2 inpatient wards, a HDU and a surgical/medical day unit. Shifts are 12 hours rotation days/nights/weekends. Future plans include a move to our new Children’s Unit at the Bournemouth site. The unit configuration will be one Inpatient area, High Dependency, Day Care and Children’s Assessment unit.

This post is being advertised as a Band 3, however applicants that do not meet the required care certificate competencies will initially be employed as a Band 2. Applicants who hold a care certificate accreditation will start in post at Band 3.

Base Location: Poole Hospital

Interview Date: 27th February 2026

Main duties of the job:

• You will need to be able to effectively communicate and have excellent documentation skills.
• The role includes taking observations, providing personal cares, supporting with nutrition requirements.
• You will have your care certificate or complete in role once started.

Working for our organisation:

UHD are investing, developing and transforming Trust services in line with the New Hospital Programme. As part of this, some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or permanently. Recruiting Managers will be happy to answer any service-specific questions at interview. This service has a planned move from Poole Hospital to Royal Bournemouth Hospital in July 2026. If a role or service relocates as part of a planned move, excess mileage will not be reimbursed. Travel from home to the new work base will be classed as a normal commute. Any other changes will be managed under Trust or national terms and conditions.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

Please see job description and personal specification for further information for this role. Or contact for further information.

Person specification:

• Experience working with children
• Experience of working with the public
• Working in a hospital
• Working in care environment

Qualifications:

• NVQ level 2 in care or willingness to undertake

Skills:

• Ability to work as part of a team
• Effective communication skills – both written and verbal / non verbal
• IT literate

Please note: Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands. This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received. COVID-19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.

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.