Healthcare Assistant

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Job description

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Band 3 Health Care Assistant- Reading

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work with the Community Nursing Teams in Reading. You will be working in the role of Community Healthcare Assistant, an important part of the ever evolving Community Nursing service. The core hours of the service are 08.30-19.00 Monday- Sunday however the hours are negotiable. You will be responsible for providing nursing care to housebound patients. The role of the Healthcare Assistant is a vital role to support the ongoing work of the Community Nurses and Community Nursing Sister/District Nurse. The staff work closely with members of wider multi-disciplinary teams including the local Palliative Care team, Community Matrons, Social Care Coordinators and Specialist Nurses. Clinical skills required for this post would include venepuncture, basic wound management, and continence assessment skills. Full training is available within the Trust for the successful applicant and there is the opportunity to attend training to extend the role to the administration of certain injectable medication.

About the Job

Working closely with the nursing staff to provide a high standard in individual patient care.
Responsible for implementing and evaluating patient care, ensuring high standards of research-based care to patients, and care is delivered holistically and report back to the band 6 and band 5 community nurses.
Responsible for maintaining detailed, accurate and confidential patient records, adhering to Trust policies.
Able to prioritise work using time appropriately, referring patients to other agencies as necessary.
Part of an effective supportive team, working together to provide clinical advice and support to other staff and patients.
Maintaining positive communication links between Primary Care, Secondary Care, Social Services and Voluntary Agencies.
If you've never worked in a community setting before, we'll ensure it's a smooth switch - if you have, we'll help you make the very most of your experience.
As a community healthcare assistant, you'll work one-to-one with adult patients in their own homes and in local neighborhoods - where people prefer to be treated for many conditions and diseases.
You will have the opportunity to build ongoing relationships that benefit patients, families and the different professionals involved in cases.
You can make a greater contribution to outcomes for individual patients because you will be working directly with them over a length of time. Also, as you'll be liaising with GPs, specialist workers and families too, you can take a genuinely joined up approach.
The focus is nursing - you'll be taking care of health and medical issues, not personal care. Our dynamic nursing team is committed to innovating and setting high standards in community health.
We're a Trust that puts a big emphasis on support, training, and career development - your career development is a priority for us.
You may be the kind of person who enjoys the independence of travelling around the community outside of a clinical setting. The working hours suit many people too. You will occasionally work bank holidays and weekends. All rosters are published at least 8 weeks in advance.
We're keen to promote a genuine work-life balance - offering mobile working and providing crèche facilities as one of many family friendly benefits.

Some of the benefits of joining our team:

AfC Salary ranging from £20,330 to £21,777 per annum
Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work, life balance
Annual leave - 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff
Excellent learning and development opportunities
Salary sacrifice scheme for a new car
Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff
Advanced IT enablement and support
Confidential telephone care service providing independent support and advice for staff.
And so much more

The 3 "must haves" for you to be considered for this role:

People skills to work effectively with colleagues and patients - with excellent listening and communication skills.
A driving license and access to a car
Calm approach and ability to prioritise and work within a busy team.

The successful applicant will work in care homes as part of this role, and given the mandated requirement that will become effective from 11th November 2021, please note that all applicants should be able to evidence that they have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccination.

Berkshire Healthcare has a record of achievement and success that places us as one of the best performing Trusts in the country. We are rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC, we have a history of strong financial performance and we have a highly skilled and engaged workforce. We aspire to be an outstanding organisation for everyone: our people, our patients, their families, and their carers. For our people who work here that means we want Berkshire Healthcare to be a great place to work where everyone can thrive and grow.

If you recognise yourself in these requirements, we recommend you apply today!

We are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Please don't hesitate to call: Laura Rayfield on or email: who'll be delighted to help.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where required.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, that as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Appointment to any position is conditional on the satisfactory completion of the core NHS Employment Checks Standards. Information disclosed in your application will be checked and any offer of appointment may be withdrawn if you knowingly withhold information or provide false or misleading information.

The Trust may close any vacancy prior to the advertised closing date due to the high level of responses we receive for some of our vacancies.

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust is committed to improving the health of its staff, patients and the wider community by providing a smoke free environment. A smoke free policy is in operation and smoking is not permitted on any of the Trust's sites.

The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults.

NO AGENCIES TO CONTACT BERKSHIRE HEALTHCARE DIRECTLY PLEASE