Healthcare Assistant – Specialist leg Ulcer Service

Job overview

The post holder will work as part of a Leg Ulcer team which cares for people with leg ulceration, mainly in clinic settings across West Essex but also in their homes on occasions.  The Health Care Assistant will contribute in a variety of activities of patient care to the level, experience and assessed competence he/she has acquired.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all of our job roles.  If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately your application form be rejected from the process.

Please note this vacancy requires a face to face interview with the Recruiting Manager. Applicants that are unable to attend a face to face interview need not apply.

Main duties of the job

• Visit patients in a clinic environment or in their own homes and provide appropriate care and support as defined in the Care Plan, including taking observations, exercise, activity and treatment programs, acting on own initiative with supervision available when required.
• Be involved, under the direction of the Clinical Lead/ leg ulcer team in health education and health promotion activities to promote the wellbeing of the patient.  This may include advice regarding skin care, diet, exercise, leg elevation and hosiery application using specific aids.
• To answer patient’s and other professional telephone / email queries, addressing concerns or passing on as appropriate to team members
• Be involved in booking patients into clinic if required.
• Be always aware of Health and Safety, ensuring that equipment is well maintained in a safe and hygienic way e.g., patient handling equipment.
• Take an active role in the running of leg ulcer clinics through close working with the leg ulcer team.
• Assist trained staff in leg ulcer clinics by preparing the clinic environment prior to the patients’ arrival and clearing away at the end of each clinic session.  Tasks to include cleaning all couches, work surfaces and buckets, as well as preparing the dressing trolleys, in accordance with policy and Standard Operating Procedure.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together key health, care, community, and voluntary sector organisations from across our area. Our aim is to work together in partnership to join up health and care services, improving our population’s health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. One such example of this collaborative work is the launch of our HCA Academy, an ICS initiative between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) to support the incoming Health Care assistant (HCA) workforce. The academy models a ‘one workforce’ cross system approach to the onboarding, induction, education and experience of Healthcare Assistants.

To support this ‘one workforce model’ the successful candidate for this post will be required to attend our 5 day (Monday to Friday) face to face Induction Programme at our MSE ICS Education Hub at Brentwood Community Hospital. Your start date will therefore fall on one of two of the HCA Academy induction dates across the month, which will be discussed and agreed during the recruitment process.

Our HCA Academy Induction programme has been designed to train and support the successful candidate through the early stages of their employment at EPUT and will provide opportunities to enhance skills, knowledge and experience.

Further information will be provided post interview.

This will be followed by an additional 5 day (Monday to Friday) EPUT corporate / mandatory training welcome. (EPUT Welcome will be varied between face to face and virtual delivery).