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Job summary

Main area
Cardiovascular
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 2
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - Day shift only. Working pattern negotiable
Job ref
196-COF10729-T
Employer
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
St Thomas's Hospital
Town
London
Salary
£29,583 inc HCA
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
18/05/2025 23:59

Employer heading

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust logo

Housekeeper

NHS AfC: Band 2

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. 

Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.

In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.

We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.

The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.

We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.



Job overview

We are looking to recruit a motivated and passionate individual to take on the role of Ward Housekeeper.  This role is non clinical and consists mainly of the day to day house keeping of the ward.  This is a full time position with a negotiable day working pattern.  

Main duties of the job

The purpose of the role of the Ward Housekeeper is to ensure a safe, clean, tidy and organised environment which is safely stocked and well maintained for both patients and staff. You will have a set of daily and weekly tasks and responsibilities to help achieve this and also be guided by the ward sisters, the matron and the nurse in charge where appropriate. You will take part in regular environmental audits and lead on actions that come up from these.  Please refer to attached job description for further information

Working for our organisation

Guy’s and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals – Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield – as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.

We strive to recruit and retain the best staff as the dedication and skills of our employees lie at the heart of our organisation and ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe and focused on our patients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

 

 Duties and Responsibilities

 3.1  IT and information resources

 ·  Inspect the floor daily to ensure the following:

 ·  All computers and computers on wheels are working, clean and charged where appropriate (must have green label to show equipment is clean).

 ·  All phones and mobile phones are clean, in working order and are in the correct place.

 ·  Report all broken computers and phones to the ward administrator or to IT immediately and either take the item of equipment out of circulation / tag it as broken. Follow up any actions on a regular basis until the problem is resolved.

·  Maintains an inventory of all equipment used on the ward and keep this updated with a monthly / yearly check to ensure the ward has enough working equipment to keep the ward safe.

 ·  Helps with identifying where we need new equipment or supplies and liaises with the ward sisters and administrators to ensure that new equipment is sourced, ordered etc

 ·  Ensure all equipment is stocked, clean, set up and ready to use in the designated place including: Emergency cardiac monitor and portable emergency equipment, Cardiac monitors on stands and at patient bed sides (with all attachments in place), Manual sphig (or dinamap in side rooms ) / SPO2 monitor / thermometer in each bay and in each side room, Weighing scales, ECG machines, Bladder scanner, Hoist and hoist slings (with one battery in situ and the other on charge), Pat slides, Commodes, Sharps bins (full bins to be disposed of correctly and replaced with fresh), Hand gels at the end of bed spaces, Drip stands etc. · Maintains an equipment log book and deals with broken equipment daily: tags correctly, takes to medical physics immediately where appropriate, flags up any issues to ward sisters or ward administrator.

 ·  Chases medical physics for broken equipment reporting any issues to the ward sisters or the ward administrator.

 ·  Monitors stock of essential items of equipment and liaises with omnicell, ward clerks, ward sisters and ward administrator any issues such as supply of drip stands, cardiac monitor attachments, slide sheets, pillows, hand gel holders, macerator items etc · Monitors stock of moving and handling equipment, liaises with ward clerks to ensure prompt ordering of slide sheets etc and ensure that this equipment is in the designated place ready to use. · Ensures that the equipment cupboards on the ward are tidy and organised and are well stocked at all times, reporting any issues to the ward sisters or the ward administrator. 3

 ·  Ensures ward is free of clutter, clean and tidy at all times and acts in accordance to infection control policy and C4C regulations

·  Is responsible for the tidiness and organisation of the main  equipment cupboard, linen rooms, sluice rooms and its contents

 

·  Ensures that any broken furniture or equipment on the ward is labelled as such and sent to the appropriate place liaising with IT / medical physics and the waste department to ensure that this is dealt with in a timely manner.

 ·  Liaises with nursing staff to ensure patient areas are clean and tidy at all times

 ·  Routine stocking of small items such as gloves, aprons, stock trolleys, hand gel etc across the ward and clinical areas.

 ·  Responsible for checking and maintaining stock of appropriate PPE (Personal protective equipment) on the ward.

 ·  Maintains the tidiness and cleanliness of all clinical areas such as equipment cupboards, omnicell and the IV rooms, day rooms and sluices ensuring they are well stocked, clean and organised at all times.

 ·  Checks bathrooms regularly to report on any broken equipment or furniture. Checks weekly that ward furniture including buzzers and bedside lights are in working order. · Assists with environmental audits including the C4C audit.

 

·  Assists in maintaining the tidiness and organisation of the staff room and locker room, including fridges

 ·  Reports any issues to appropriate person including ward sisters, ward clerks, ward administrator, IT help desk, works etc.

 ·  Deals with patients lost property and leads on reuniting it with patients.

 ·  Liaises with the domestic housekeepers and nursing staff to ensure appropriate areas are clean, stocked and ready to use.

 ·  Check on showers/bathrooms for dirty linen  /used shower containers

 ·  To ensure patients lockers and bed side tables are kept clean and tidy.

 ·  To ensure that alcohol gel dispensers are cleaned and replenished.

 ·  To report immediately to a registered professional any observed change in a patient’s health, safety or wellbeing or any concerns expressed by a patient or relative about nursing or medical treatment

 

 

·  Maintains inventory of all equipment on ward and all IT equipment on ward

·  Maintains equipment log of all equipment leaving ward. Delivery and collect at MEMs/ equipment repairs

·  Maintains staff locker log and ensures all staff have access to a locker.·  Maintains and organises supply of patient information leaflets etc on ward

 ·  Assists with maintaining up to date and tidy information on notice boards across the ward.

·  Photocopying, laminating, filing and general admin as required.

 ·  Assists with other administrative and clerical duties as directed by ward sisters or ward administrator

·  Assist with patient survey feedback

 

 

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Basic English and Maths

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Appropriate experience relevant to role
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of audit

Skills / Physical Requirements

Essential criteria
  • Good communication skills (verbal and written)
  • Basic IT skills
  • Excellent skills around ensuring an area is tidy and organised at all times.
  • Ability to take direction from senior staff and work under own initiative where appropriate
  • Flexibility in workload
  • Hard working and focused on tasks.
  • Good level of Professionalism and customer service
  • Works in line with trust values and behaviours
  • Motivated
  • Ability to liaise with A/I  Good trouble shooting skills  Knowledge of guidelines around infection control in a hospital setting A/I multiple staff from various areas
  • Good time keeping
  • Efficient and safe when working
  • Ability to move and handle multiple items eg equipment, boxes off floor and shelves in line with M&H policy
  • Ability to reach high and low surfaces for cleaning and tidying eg, cupboards, shelves, underneath trolleys etc
  • Good attendance record
  • Able to stand for long periods of time.
  • Able and willing to work flexible shift patterns, internal rotation to day and night duty and unsocial hours, according to service needs
  • Ability to follow procedures in own role and attend training as necessary.
  • Flexible and positive approach to work
  • The ability to undertake reflective thinking on own practice

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Timewise helps businesses to attract and develop the best talent through flexible working.Care quality commission - GoodDisability confident employer

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
PJ Cunningham
Job title
Cardiovascular Matron
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0207 188 7520
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