Health Care Support Worker

Job overview

Come join our team in Children and Young Peoples’ Daycare and Outpatients Department.

Our busy CYP Daycare and Outpatients sees over 6000 thousand patients a year, requiring systemic anti-cancer therapy, radiotherapy and supportive care, delivered by our team. The age range of our patients is 1 to 24 year old, making CYPDU a unique unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Are you experienced and clinically competent in performing observations, phlebotomy and working collaboratively, then we’d love to hear from you.

We are looking for a candidate that has the drive and passion to bring ideas forward, lead on projects to improve the patients journey through the service.  The candidate will have exceptional communication skills and will demonstrate consistent positive role modelling to support developing both the team and our patients.

Main duties of the job

• To carry out in a responsible and efficient way, the nursing care for patients which has been drawn up in conjunction with the co-ordinator of the shift.
• To demonstrate the ability to develop a greater awareness and understanding of the needs of patients with cancer and the different treatment modalities and work autonomously under supervision of a registered nurse.
• As an integral member of the nursing teamwork with team members to ensure the maintenance of an efficient, safe, clean and pleasant environment for all patients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:

• To practice the Care Certificate and support junior staff to achieve the standards. Communicate with tact, empathy, overcome barriers to understanding e.g., patients with physical impairment, mental health conditions or learning disabilities.
• Monitoring and recording patients’ vital signs (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation) and reporting any abnormal results to registered nursing staff. Assess comfort of patient and instigate emergency procedures.
• Measuring and recording patients’ height and weight.
• Performing venepuncture and venous blood sampling, after training and assessment of competency.
• Undertakes a limited range of delegated clinical care duties relevant to the specific clinical area following competency sign off, for example, ECG, urinalysis, catheter removal, MRSA screening swabs, blood glucose monitoring, pregnancy testing, removal of peripheral cannula, observing patients for signs of agitation or distress, providing heightened observation through specialing/ enhanced care, recording of allergies on EPR and other clinical tasks where training/competency sign off deemed appropriate for a Band 3 HCSW that has been ratified through NAHPC.