Healthcare Support Worker

Job overview

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of cancer patients ?

As a Healthcare Support Worker, you will play a crucial role in delivering compassionate, patient-centred care. Based on the Ricky Grant Day Unit and Turner Ward, you’ll be at the heart of providing essential nursing support, clinical interventions, and emotional care to patients undergoing cancer treatment. Whether assisting with personal care, performing vital clinical tasks like venepuncture and ECGs, or advocating for patient safety and wellbeing, you’ll contribute meaningfully to the patient journey.

We’re looking for individuals with a caring nature, strong communication skills, and a commitment to excellence. If you’re flexible, eager to learn new skills, and thrive in a fast-paced yet supportive environment, this role is for you. In return, you’ll join a team that’s as passionate about your growth as they are about patient care, with access to robust training, career development opportunities, and the chance to make a real impact in a rewarding specialty. Take the next step in your healthcare career with us—where your dedication truly changes lives

Main duties of the job

• Provide patient-centered care in line with Trust policies, including personal care (e.g., washing, dressing, toileting) while promoting independence. Use effective communication skills to overcome barriers, offering reassurance, empathy, and persuasion.
• Undertake training to perform clinical interventions (e.g., observations, venepuncture, ECGs, cannula insertion/removal, urinalysis) and remain competent in these skills. Assess patients’ conditions using tools like NEWS2, pain assessments, and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Work independently or within a team, prioritizing patient needs, and demonstrate accurate use of equipment for interventions. Support patients at risk (e.g., falls, pressure damage) by following care plans and escalating changes in condition. Promote mobility, independence, and mental stimulation through appropriate activities.
• Ensure adherence to Trust policies and maintain accurate documentation (e.g., care plans, observations, fluid/food charts). Assist with nutrition by supporting mealtimes and recording intake. Act as an advocate for patient safety, safeguarding from harm, and reporting concerns or incidents through the Trust's system.
• Provide guidance to less experienced staff, ensuring safe practices, maintaining clinical environments, and performing quality control checks to uphold standards. Demonstrate Trust values and a professional approach in all aspects of care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide direct patient centred care in accordance with patient needs and in line with Trust policies, this may include providing personal care, such as washing and dressing patients, as needed, whilst promoting independence; oral care and supporting with toileting and continence needs • Establish and maintain good interpersonal skills, providing and receiving factual and accurate information and to overcome communication barriers using other methods, such as visual prompts, reassurance, empathy, persuasion • Undertake training in order to perform high quality clinical interventions effectively and remain competent to practice these interventions, such as clinical observations, blood glucose monitoring, urinalysis, venepuncture, removal or urinary catheter, insertion and removal of peripheral cannulas, perform ECG, calculation of BMI, all following assessment and completion of clinical competency. This is not an exhaustive list, and other clinical interventions may be required dependant on the area of practice • Assess a person’s clinical condition, within the individual’s scope of competence using tools such as, NEWS2 parameters, pain assessment tool, non-verbal signs of deterioration and know how to urgently escalate concerns appropriately • Work independently or as part of a team to plan your own workload, prioritising the clinical needs of the patients in your care
• Undertake a range of clinical interventions and to demonstrate accurate physical skills, with the use of relevant equipment, obtained through training and practice, physiological observation monitoring, venepuncture, removal of urethral catheters, peripheral cannulation insertion and removal, urinalysis, blood glucose monitoring, swab taking inclusive of MRSA, Covid, wound swabbing, simple wound dressings, ECG, placing cardiac monitoring, spirometry, bladder scanning • Assist a patient at risk of harm, such as pressure damage, and risk of falls by following the risk assessment and individualised care plan, they will also be expected to report any changes in condition that may impact the patient, via our Trust incident reporting system • Adhere to trust policies and standard operating procedures in relation to all aspects of practice. To know how to access the most up to date policies and adhere to them in line with Trust requirements • Promote independence with mobility and to maintain current function and support individuals to return to baseline function when there has been a change • Act on own initiative delivering patient care and demonstrate Trust values in all areas of work and to conduct yourself in a professional and appropriate manner • Prevention of adverse effects on health and wellbeing. Support patients with activities to keep them active and mentally engaged and stimulated, such as the role of an activities co-ordinator • Work within your own capabilities and demonstrate a personal duty of care, using any resources, valuables, ordering clinical supplies, when using any equipment such as hoists, examination trollies and wheelchairs • Provide support and supervision to new or less experienced staff by demonstrating and teaching safe practice and explaining supplementary tasks which need completing in the clinical areas, such as daily cleaning of environment and equipment, quality control checks on equipment, audits or other works to maintain standards, stocking of equipment, organising the clinical environment • Accurately record information, such as physiological observations and understand the importance of accurate and complete documentation, recording clearly and accurately all aspects of care given to the individual in relevant documents, such as risk assessments, care plans, comfort rounds, fluid and food charts, blood glucose monitoring • Promote nutritional intake of food and fluids, this may require assisting with feeding or completion of menus, preparing for mealtimes, such as positioning and hand washing and maintaining clear and accurate records of intake, such as Food and Fluid charts • Act as the patient’s advocate in safeguarding patients from harm using the patient’s information, such as falls prevention and pressure damage prevention • Act accordingly if concerned or made aware of any incidents/concerns or harm such as safeguarding concerns, reporting incidents using the incident reporting system