Senior Healthcare Support Worker | Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

As a senior healthcare support worker, your role is multifaceted, encompassing various essential tasks to ensure the well-being and comfort of patients under your care. Some of your duties will include:

• Assist with feeding patients who require help with meals, taking into account individual preferences and dietary restrictions.
• Support patients in maintaining mobility by assisting with transfers, walking, or using mobility aids.
• Assist patients with toileting needs while respecting their privacy and dignity at all times.
• Regularly monitor pressure areas on patients' bodies, such as heels, elbows, and hips, to prevent the development of pressure ulcers.
• Offer emotional support and reassurance to patients, listening to their concerns.
• Regularly monitor and record patients' vital signs, including temperature, blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate.
• Report any significant changes or abnormalities to the healthcare team promptly.
• Conduct 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) on patients as directed by healthcare professionals.
• Skilfully insert cannulas for intravenous access and collect blood samples for diagnostic testing.
• Perform regular monitoring of patients' blood glucose levels using glucometers or other approved devices.
• Conduct regular weight measurements of patients using calibrated scales, documenting changes and trends over time.
• Accompany patients to diagnostic imaging appointments, such as CT scans or MRI scans.
  
  Please note that this role may often attract a high level of applications. Please note this role may close earlier than the original closing date so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible
MTW is a large acute hospital trust in the south-east of England. We provide a full range of general hospital services and some aspects of specialist and complex care to around 600,000 people living in west Kent and East Sussex. We have a team of over 8,000 full and part-time staff. We also provide specialist cancer services to around 2 million people across Kent and East Sussex via the Kent Oncology Centre. In the 2024 NHS staff survey, our employees ranked MTW among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and the second-best Trust to work for in the South East. Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. Once your pre-employment checks have been completed you will be contacted by Recruitment to arrange your start date which will be in line with one of our Corporate Inductions. Following your Corporate Induction you will be expected to attend the Trust's Clinical Induction Programme for Clinical Support Workers (which starts on the first day of employment). The programme is full-time (please contact the CSW Induction Programme Lead if this is going to be problematic: rallen@nhs.net), lasts for two weeks and will involve travelling to both Trust sites. The programme includes 2 supernumerary shifts in the clinical area (an early and a late shift), all of the other days are classroom-based and run from 9am to 5pm Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure & Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children) At MTW, we seek to develop a culture where everyone can reach their full potential with opportunities to grow and develop their career. We recognise and value the unique contributions that each of our staff bring, delivering the best quality care and service to our patients. We are committed to being a diverse employer and strive to reflect everyone in our local communities. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences and celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that will make our Trust the best place to work. We support our staff with disabilities to ensure they have the adjustments they need to be the best they can be in the workplace. Collaborating with Access to Work means that our staff are assessed by experts in the workplace and we ensure that their recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible. You can find out more here: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)