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Job summary

Main area
Offender Healthcare
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (shift work)
Job ref
277-7306999-ELM
Employer
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
HMP Elmley
Town
Eastchurch, Sheerness
Salary
£26,625 - £27,674 pa inc
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
10/07/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust logo

Healthcare Assistant

Band 3

Job overview

We are looking for a dedicated healthcare assistants to work in our Substance Misuse Team.

As a Healthcare Assistant you will assist in the delivery of high quality nursing care to patients in HMP Elmley with the support of a registered nurses. 

You will be providing physical care to patients according to a written care plan. This will include actively engaging with patients in the provision of holistic, needs-led care which will take into account physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the individual. You will be promoting health and well-being through the delivery of health promotion activities and programmes, responding to patients needs and assisting patients to attain optimal physical health. 

This role will require you to be an effective communicator and you must be able to respond to patient needs in an honest, non judgemental and open manner. 

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

As a Healthcare Assistant you will assist in the delivery of high quality nursing care to patients in prison with the support of a registered nurse.

You will be providing physical care to patients according to a written care plan. This will include taking blood pressures, ECG’s, other observations and wound care. 

You will be actively engaging with patients in the provision of holistic, needs-led care which will consider the physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the individual.

You will be promoting health and well-being through the delivery of health promotion activities and programmes, responding to patients needs and assisting patients to attain optimal physical health.

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’re Kind
  • We’re Fair
  • We Listen
  • We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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 photographic ID

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.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

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).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see JD and PS for full details

  • 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 which considers the physical, psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of individuals and groups
  • Delivery of health promotion activities and programmes (including patient self-help programmes) in support of a registered healthcare professional
  • Assisting patients to attain optimal physical health and assisting with physical procedures in alongside 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. Typical duties include:

-        Carrying out ECG’s

-        Phlebotomy

-        Basic wound care

-        NEWS2

-        Assess patients using NEWS2

-        Blood glucose monitoring

-        Taking patients weight and other measurements

  • Assisting in emergency call outs and instigating emergency procedures when appropriate
  • Being second checker on medication rounds
  • Ordering and maintaining stock
  • Ensuring treatment rooms are clean, tidy and well stocked
  • Appropriate escalation to registered healthcare professionals
  • Using appropriate templates in SystmOne to document contemporaneously and accurately 
  • Maintaining patient confidentiality and security
  • 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.
  • Comply with all security requirements.
  • Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate.
  • Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol.
  • Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • NVQ Level 3 or equivalent experience

Experience

Desirable criteria
  • 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

Essential criteria
  • 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.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Veteran AwareNo smoking policyAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldImproving working livesArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Step into healthPride In Veterans

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Clare Denny
Job title
Recruitment & Retention Resourcing Officer
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07504877653