Healthcare Assistant

Job Overview

Frimley Park Hospital is part of the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and we are currently seeking Health Care Assistants to join our dedicated Day Surgery 1 Theatre Team.

We welcome applications from motivated, enthusiastic applicants who is committed to providing excellent patient care. Good communication skills and the ability to work within a multidisciplinary team are essential. The ability to work in a fast paced busy environment is a requirement. Experience within an Operating Theatre or Hospital environment is desirable but not essential. Training, support and development is given by each of the Theatre teams.

Frimley Health NHS Trust is committed to the ongoing training and development of Healthcare assistants with opportunities to participate in further development. You should be able to demonstrate the trust values of committed to excellence, working together and facing the future.

Main duties of the job

Job Summary

• To assist the trained operating practitioners/ Nurses in delivering the highest standard of patient care by under taking non-clinical duties under supervision.
• To be responsible for ensuring the cleanliness of a specified area within the Operating department as well as the care and maintenance of equipment in compliance with the Health and Safety manufacturers standards.
• To be responsible for replenishing of stock/ consumables, maintaining clear theatre areas, corridors, store rooms, clinical waste area, sharps boxes and use of cleaning materials where required.
• Carries out duties in support and under supervision of a registered Nurse or ODP.
• To participate in holistic patient care as a member of the theatre team.
  
  

Working for our organisation

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

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Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES:

Clinical Role

The Post Holder Should Ensure That They

• Participate in providing optimum patient care under the direction and supervision of a registered nurse or ODP, and raise any issues of concern to a qualified nurse or ODP.
• Ensure that at all times in the operating theatre, the patient receives optimum patient care by being positioned and transported through the department as per minimal handling Trust policy.
• Assist the theatre team practitioners and the theatre orderlies in ensuring the theatre environment remains clean and tidy by following emergency and routine cleaning protocols.
• To ensure the theatre is fully prepped prior to and following all elective procedures, and identify and alert any failing/ deficit equipment or issues to the team leader/ senior Nurse/ Practitioner.
• Always maintain respect and confidentiality of the patient and that of their work colleagues.
• Maintain clear and accurate documentation under the supervision of a registered practitioner, raising issues of concern with a qualified practitioner where appropriate.
• Communicate and maintain documentation effectively and liaise with all health care staff as appropriate.
• Encourage and maintain a good working relationship with surgeons, anaesthetists and other healthcare professionals in order to provide the best care for patients.
• Participate in quality assurance initiatives, audits and research projects within the unit.
• Pro-actively respond to potential complaints, to prevent formal complaints from occurring.
• Report any accidents or incidents to the senior nurse in charge of that shift and complete the relevant paperwork.
• To assist the scrubbed practitioner in the replenishing/ preparation of the sterile trolley and maintain the sterile field at all times.
• To participate in swab, needle and instrument counts under the direction of the scrubbed practitioner and in accordance with departmental procedure guidelines.
• At all times ensure appropriate Personal Protection equipment (PPE) is utilised at all times.
  
  

Non-Clinical Duties

• Know where and how to access all Trust and departmental policies and procedures and adhere to them.
• Participate in maintaining appropriate levels of stock under the guidance of a registered practitioner.
• Participate in the induction of bank/agency Healthcare Assistants (HCA) and new staff to the unit
  
  

Personal Development

• Attend annual mandatory training, which includes basic life support and moving and handling.
• Undertake Trust HCA programme and competencies.
• Participate in the IPDR Trust policy where further professional development can be provided.
  
  

Please see Job Description and Person Specification for further information

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to GCSE level
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Completion of a care award NVQ
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working in a team, undertaking duties as requested
• PC Literate, working knowledge of Word/data input
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience in healthcare setting
  
  

Specific Competencies

Essential criteria

• Good communication skills, both written and verbal
• Able to work as part of a team
  
  

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT) has an outstanding reputation and a proud record of achievement. As a well performing, well led and ambitious Foundation Trust, we have exciting times ahead of us. We have an ongoing commitment to improving the health and care services for the 900,000 people we serve across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.

We are proud of the ambitions laid out in our strategy, Our Future FHFT, including our vision to be a leader in health & wellbeing, delivering excellence for our communities.

We continue to invest in our services and facilities, including a £10 million upgrade to the hospital maternity unit as well as £49m major new Emergency Assessment Centre on our Wexham Park site. The opening of a brand new £100m state of the art hospital which replaced the existing hospital facility at Heatherwood and are planning to invest further in diagnostics and inpatient capacity at Frimley Park.

We have also made significant investment in our quality improvement and digital programmes to support our vision and we will ensure that we achieve our aim of providing the highest quality healthcare to our patients. Our new EPR – Epic – went live in June and we are already beginning to reap the benefits of this ambitious investment.

Our three core values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other, Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.

Apply online now