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Job requirements
Requirements from the employer’s person specification. These describe the role, not your personal match.
Essential
18 listedRequirements the employer expects applicants to meet.
- Experience
Communicating with a range of people from different backgrounds
- Experience
Understanding the role of the Health Care Support Worker
- Experience
Knowledge of personal care and related procedures, clinical observations, relevant legislation
- Experience
Complete specialty-required skills within agreed time period (up to 6 months)
- Experience
Work effectively in a team
- Experience
Demonstrate effective and safe care
- Experience
Contribute to the support and development of new staff
- Experience
Work under pressure
- Experience
Information technology use
- Experience
Attention to detail e.g. patient records
- Experience
Accuracy (words and numbers)
- Experience
Effective written and verbal
- Experience
communication skills (literacy and numeracy)
- Experience
Good observation skills and recognition of the importance of reporting
- Qualifications
Successful completion of Care Certificate within 12 weeks of appointment
- Qualifications
Complete specialty-required knowledge competencies within agreed time period (up to 6 months)
- Qualifications
Must possess a willingness to undertake further study to achieve competency levels required
- Additional Criteria
As well as being able to demonstrate examples of how they work in a way that is consistent with our values of compassion, excellence and collaboration the successful candidate will be able to clearly demonstrate a commitment to driving culture change through equality, diversity and inclusion.
Desirable
6 listedAdditional qualities the employer would prefer.
- Experience
Teaching skills
- Experience
Recent experience of working in a healthcare environment
- Experience
Previous care experience in the specialty area
- Experience
Working in acute environment as a Health Care Support Worker
- Qualifications
Specific specialty on-the-job training
- Qualifications
Good general standard of education to vocational level 3 (GCSE 'A' level standard or equivalent)
Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity in Critical Care at Royal Papworth Hospital with an excellent team of nurses and healthcare support workers providing expert care to patients and their families.
We are looking for resilient, highly motivated and compassionate individuals who thrive in a fast-paced environment join our large multi-disciplinary team. You will be involved in providing highly specialised care to critically unwell patients with complex nursing care needs. This includes supporting with transfers, collection of blood products, moving and handling procedures, assisting with extubating and chest drain removal as just a small sample of what is required in this interesting and varied role.
To support you in your career development we have a dedicated Critical Care Education team committed to supporting you. You will be expected to complete the Care Certificate if not already in possession supported by the clinical Education team. You will then commence the Critical Care Healthcare support worker competencies including supportive and assistive levels. To support your development in Critical Care you will be given supernumerary support, study days and our dedicated Critical Care Education Senior Healthcare Support worker will be there through every step of your journey with us.
Main duties of the job
As part of your role, you would be:
If you are a well organised, team player and able to deal with ever changing priorities then we would love to hear from you. As part of our team, we would expect you to be able to effectively multitask and ensure all infection control risks were managed effectively. We pride ourselves on delivering high quality patient care which is enhanced through good and clear communication and team working.
Whilst you may have experience in a care or hospital setting you may not have completed your Care Certificate, which is essential for this role. If so we would still like you to apply and if offered a post you will be employed initially on a band 2 salary, pay step 1 but on completion of the Care Certificate (generally within 12-16 weeks) you would move to the Band 3 salary, pay step 1
About us
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the UK's leading heart and lung hospital, delivering care to more than 50,000 patients a year in its new state-of-the-art hospital in Cambridge. We perform the most heart and/or lung transplants in the UK and carried out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979. It also offers emergency heart attack treatment, sleep centre care and is one of just five centres nationally for those in severe respiratory failure.
Based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe the Trust is at the heart of treatments of the future. Royal Papworth became the first hospital trust in the country to be rated outstanding in all five areas assessed by the Care Quality Commission - a rating it still holds today. The Trust holds its values of compassion, excellence & collaboration at its core, and all colleagues joining the team are expected to uphold these in their day-to-day roles & interactions. Royal Papworth is proud of its diverse workforce and encourages people to embrace their individuality.
The Trust values difference and welcomes all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion & belief, sex and sexual orientation. Providing they meet the minimum post criteria, applicants with disabilities will be offered an interview.
For a street view tour: https://royalpapworth.nhs.uk/virtual-tour
Details
- Date posted: 08 September 2026
- Pay scheme: Agenda for change
- Band: Band 3
- Salary: £25,760 to £27,476 a year Band 3 on completion of Care Certificate
- Contract: Permanent
- Working pattern: Full-time
- Reference number: 175-2627-1958
- Job locations: Royal Papworth Hospital, Papworth Road, Cambridge Bio Medical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AY, United Kingdom
Job responsibilities
On this page you will find a Role Profile which provides information about the hospital and full details about the role. We recommend that you review this and refer to it as you complete your application. Please ensure you evidence in the Essential Criteria how you uphold the Trust Values Compassion Excellence Collaboration. If you would like more information about the role or working at Royal Papworth Hospital, please get in touch with the contact for this role.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Healthcare Support Worker - Critical Care with Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge, England. It is listed as a Band 3 Healthcare support worker role. The advertised salary is £25760.00 to £27476.00. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 18 Sep 2026.
Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (08 Sep 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHSjob search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
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