Health Play Specialist

This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified registered Health Play Specialist to join our team and be part of an established service promoting specialised play and therapeutic intervention for children and young people in our care. The post holder will work within the Multi Professional Team to ensure that the needs of the children and young people are met and a positive hospital experience is achieved., Provide a welcoming environment for children and young people of all ages and abilities where specialised play is promoted and used to reduce anxiety, alleviate boredom and aid in recovery.
Display advocacy towards the child or young person at all times to ensure all aspects of holistic care are met.
Use effective preparation, distraction and post procedural play to support each patient and their families through the necessary procedure or treatment helping to develop coping strategies and compliance.
Closing Date: Please be advised that this job advert will close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Please apply for this job as soon as you can, if interested., + Be accountable for own actions in accordance with the Society of Health Play Specialist professional Code Conduct. Acting within local, Trust and statutory guidelines and policies always, including all aspects of child protection.
+ Effectively communicate information to patients/carers and the multi-professional team regarding play interventions including situations which promote awareness of the emotional needs heightened by stress and crisis.
+ A competent practitioner that is able to demonstrate and teach good practice to other members of the Multi Professional Team and students. Assess, supervise and provide mentorship to appropriate students when required.
+ Ensuring appropriate therapeutic play provisions are planned implemented and evaluated with group/individual patients and carers.
+ Participate in appropriate organisational activities, development of service and audit to improve quality of care.
+ Demonstrate practical skills to ensure optimum patient care including; equipment management, environment and service improvements.
+ Ensure clear concise communication both written and verbal taking into consideration language barriers and developmental ability.
+ Show empathy when supporting patients, carers and others during expected/unexpected situations arising in the clinical area e.g. receipt of bad news.
+ Utilise information and IT systems to ensure written records and activity data in accordance with Professional and Trust Standards
+ To take responsibility for own evidenced based practice and maintain continual professional development for registration with the Society of Health Play Specialists.
+ Promote and monitor adherence to Health and Safety and Trust policy designed to protect healthcare staff and service users from known hazards.
+ Maintain a clean, safe environment ensuring adherence to Trust standards of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control at all times.
For further details please see the attached job description.
To ensure that we provide world-class patient care, UHCW recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust's Values and Behaviours in their everyday life. Therefore, if you are invited to interview, you will be undertaking a Values Based Interview/Assessment, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust's Values and Behaviours which can be accessed on the right side of this page under the job description.
The Supporting Information Section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust's Values and associated Behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.
The Trust is committed to Equal Opportunities within the workplace. All vacancies will be considered for Job Share unless otherwise stated. All applicants who have a disability and who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be interviewed. Where a post has an overwhelming response, this Trust may use random selection in order to reduce numbers to interview, any disabled applicants will automatically be guaranteed an interview and will be exempt from this process.
In submitting an application form, you authorise University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you, including Occupational Health data (inoculations and screening tests). This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third-party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post.
UHCW NHS Trust, by virtue of its Green Plan, is committed to ensuring that the way we provide services minimises the impact on the environment and the future health of the public e.g. zero waste to landfill, reducing our carbon footprint and increasing our recycling and reuse percentages.
If you are successful at interview you will receive a conditional offer of employment and we'll ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete all pre-employment checks to progress to a final unconditional offer.
We must confirm the identity of our staff and their right to work in the United Kingdom. We will ask you to submit proof of your identity and right to work documents via a secure digital platform approved by the Home Office, named TrustID. Alternatively, you may be asked to attend our office with original documents.
Depending on you level of exposure with patients you may be required to undertake a Standard or Enhanced DBS. The cost of this check will be charged to you and will be deducted from your salary over the first 3 months of employment at the current rate.
All correspondence will be sent by email; please check your account regularly including your Junk/SPAM folders

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.
We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.
Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.
We are proud to be recognised as a Pathway to Excellence^® designated organisation - please click the link for further details about this prestigious award. Pathway To Excellence ® - University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (uhcw.nhs.uk)
By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.
The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.