Job overview

There’s an opening for a full-time Band 3 Healthcare Assistant on Ward 39, a busy 26-bed mixed-sex Cardiology/Cardiothoracic ward.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE IS NO SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS VACANCY (it is not on the UK Government's skills shortage list).  Graduate Visa holders can apply (but the job would end once the Graduate Visa expires).

 We provide top-quality care for patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgery, including those stepping down from CITU, CCU, A&E, as well as elective. This is a shift-based role with ongoing internal rotation, and you’ll be expected to work weekends, bank holidays, and occasional late finishes.

Successful candidates will receive support from both our nursing and medical teams, along with all the essential training needed for the role.

You’ll need to communicate well with a variety of healthcare professionals and bring enthusiasm and passion for delivering top-quality care. As a healthcare assistant, you’ll help patients with daily tasks like maintaining good nutrition, supporting personal hygiene, and accompanying them to procedures, while also assisting the medical and nursing teams with treatments. Alongside providing essential nursing care, you’ll be expected to learn clinical skills such as taking observations and performing venepuncture (drawing blood samples). Full training for these skills will be provided the Trust.

Main duties of the job

Providing high-quality, timely care to all patients while working closely with MDT colleagues. Duties include theatre preparation, transporting patients for investigations, offering personal care, assisting with nutrition and hydration, ensuring a safe environment, and monitoring high-risk patients.

You need to have excellent communication skills, as our patients are often complex and require you to be patient and understanding.

You will be required to liaise with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure patient needs are identified and communicated effectively so that safe decisions are made around patient care.

You will be expected to maintain high standards of nursing care under the supervision of a Registered Nurse and be personally responsible for your actions following the Trust’s Policies and Procedures. You will be required to support the safe admission, transfer and discharges of patients and be pro-active in the timely support provided to patients at all times.

You will be expected to maintain accurate written and/or electronic records ensuring all legal requirements are met.

You’ll be encouraged and supported to develop new skills, take an active role in driving improvements, and champion a care area that interests you. You should also be committed to ongoing professional development and able to show evidence of your progress.

You will need to be prepared to work flexibly to the needs of the service.

Working for our organisation

Working for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will provide you with lots of opportunity to develop your skills and further your career. The Trust provides services to the 440,000 residents of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre and North Lancashire.

We are proud of the care we strive to provide, and we want to continue to build on this by the addition of passionate, kind and caring people   to our teams. Using the latest pathways, evidence-based care and, using all the community therapy support networks available to us to give every patient the best opportunity to remain independent, safe and supported. We are looking for people who strongly align with our Trust values and share common goals.

As a Trust we are committed to:

• Developing new roles and ways of working to ensure a flexible and innovative approach to staff.
• Real equality of opportunity.
• Continuous learning and development  for staff.
• Achieving a work life balance

We are committed to the effective recruitment, retention and development for our employees, which is why we offer a great working environment, an attractive range of benefits and excellent opportunities for training and development.

The Trust is accredited as a Disability Confident employer. That means we recognise our obligations to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equal opportunity to enter employment and progress if and where possible.