Healthcare Support Worker Special School Nursing

Job summary

Join our award-winning Special School Nursing Team and help make a positive difference to children and young people with complex health needs.

We are seeking an enthusiastic Health Care Support Worker to support pupils across our nine special schools in Hampshire Portsmouth Southampton and the Isle of Wight. Working as part of a dedicated healthcare team you will support school staff to deliver safe, effective care and enable children and young people to access their education.

This varied role includes working alongside education colleagues contributing to care planning and attending multidisciplinary meetings. We are looking for someone who is adaptable organised and able to work independently.

We offer a comprehensive induction programme including experience across our schools alongside a blended learning package of face-to-face and online training. You will have opportunities to develop specialist skills undertake funded qualifications and progress your career within a supportive team.

Location: Currently based within IOW Special School Nursing Team.

If you are looking for a rewarding role within an innovative and supportive team we would love to hear from you.

Main duties, tasks & skills required

The Special School Nursing Health Care Support Worker HCSW will work as part of the Special School Nursing Team within a multi-agency and multidisciplinary environment.

You will have knowledge and experience of a range of clinical skills including epilepsy and seizure management enteral feeding medication administration clinical observations suction and oxygen administration.

Key responsibilities include growth monitoring medication management support health promotion clinical observations and PEWS monitoring equipment troubleshooting stock control cleaning of clinical equipment record keeping and caseload management.

You will support Special School Nurses with delegated clinical and administrative tasks including clinics referrals transitions into and out of school and adult services training school staff and attendance at safeguarding and multidisciplinary meetings.

The successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining their own proficiency continuing professional development CPD and mandatory training requirements.

About us

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Job description

Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

Healthcare qualification Level 3 or working towards gaining equivalent level.

Good basic education or GSCE in English and maths

Experience

Essential

Working within a multidisciplinary team

Experience in either a hospital or community setting

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral); requirement to receive routine information with patients/clients which may need some tact, reassurance, persuasion where there may be barriers to understanding. Good verbal and written skills e.g. pleasant manner when speaking to others; Clear and concise messages delivered; legible handwriting.
• Ability to manage own time; plan and prioritise work efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to shown empathy and deal empathically and tactfully when communicating with patients, carers, and clients.
• Ability to act on own initiative e.g. responding to an emergency.
• Able to work independently when on visits, demonstrating sound thought process for basic problem solving.
• Confident in dealing with difficult situations e.g. when faced with aggressive behaviour.
• Knowledge of care and related procedures including clinical observations, judgement required involving facts and situations when assessing patients and knowledge when to escalate information to qualified staff.
• Requirement for concentration where work pattern is predicable when undertaking assessment of patients.
• A required for light physical effort for short periods i.e. whilst moving patients and equipment.
• Required to be able to deal with emotional/distressing circumstances.
• Frequent requirement to manage unpleasant conditions i.e. body fluids.
• Good organisational skills
• Shows flexibility and ability to work within a demanding and changing.
• Basic computer skills e.g. word, outlook, system 1
• Hold a valid full driving licence which enables them to drive in the UK.
• Ability to travel for meetings across a range of sites in Southampton/Portsmouth/Hampshire, as required for the role.
• Can work with children and vulnerable adults.

Can &work legally in the UK

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

For help with your application, contact: 

Heather Kelly 

heather.kelly13@nhs.net 

07786332298