Health Care Assistant

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a healthcare assistant within a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Mill Lodge provides specialised inpatient care for young people between the ages of 13 and 17 with a range of mental health difficulties. Health care assistants work alongside registered nurses and wider MDT staff to deliver a range of interventions; such as building a therapeutic relationship, meal support, involvement in family work and supporting the young person to engage in activities. They are involved in formulations and discussions in order to support young people to be able to return to the community more able to manage their mental health difficulties.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic about working with young people, be able to show initiative and work within a nursing team alongside a wider multidisciplinary team. Clinical supervision will be provided on a regular basis and all relevant training will be available with opportunities to develop any particular interests. We use a range of therapeutic approaches at Mill Lodge with key ones being Trauma Informed Care, DBT skills and Systemic Family Therapy.

You will work under the direction of the nurse in charge of each shift. The majority of your day will be working directly with young people engaging them in a range of therapeutic interventions. This will involve supporting them at mealtimes, supporting nurses to administer NG feeds, carrying out therapeutic observations, supporting young people to attend school and carrying out physical observations. You will help to support young people through periods of distress and will work with them to develop interpersonal, distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills. You will be expected to follow care plans developed by the team and be involved in reviewing these alongside registered nurses. You will be expected to document care provided to a high standard and will receive training for this.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We recruit people based on their values and qualifications (where required) and believe that their lived experience is an advantage, this means that together we are as diverse as the communities we care for. Simply put, when we employ caring people who act with integrity and have the right skills, we can give those with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity high-quality care and support to live fulfilling lives, and make our staff feel purposeful, happy and valued.

All our information is available in accessible formats. Please contact the Recruitment team [email protected]  Attached to this advert is our candidates guide to values-based recruitment and supporting guidance on how to make a successful application.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Recruitment Team or see the attached candidate guide to reasonable adjustments.

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading.

So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the Candidate Guide to Values Based Recruitment. This document provides you with information to help you apply.