Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health - Secure Care
- Grade
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent: HSS recruitment & retention premia £4034 per annum pro rata
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 350-SC6795991-G
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Ashworth Hospital
- Town
- Merseyside
- Salary
- £24,625 - £25,674 per annum, pro rata - Plus a £4034* R&R premium will be offered
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 01/08/2025
Employer heading
Nursing Assistant, Ashworth Hospital (£4034* R&R) - MALE ONLY
Band 3
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
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Job overview
MALE APPLICANTS ONLY - We are currently recruiting male applicants only for this role, in line with a Genuine Occupational Requirement under the Equality Act 2010. This is to meet the specific needs of our service users in secure care settings.
Are you caring, compassionate, flexible and have excellent communication skills, with an NVQ in Health and Social Care and/or experience of working in a care environment? If yes, we have career opportunities available for you at Ashworth Hospital.
A recruitment and retention premia available for roles in Secure Care division which will be reviewed in 2028. For our nursing assistants this will be a premia of £4034* at Ashworth Hospital. This is paid on a pro rata basis if applicable and will be pensionable.
Main duties of the job
The division is responsible for specialised secure mental health and learning disability services, in low, medium and high secure settings for service users with a primary classification of mental illness, personality disorders, learning disabilities and autism. Working across the division as part of a multi-disciplinary team, you will contribute to the delivery of high standards of care and treatment to a complex group of service users. This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to gain invaluable experience in a specialist forensic environment.
Ashworth Hospital - High Secure:
Ashworth Hospital is one of three high secure hospitals in the country. Ashworth provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment & care for patients with a mental illness & have been assessed as presenting a grave & immediate danger to others. Patients remain in the high secure service until they are safe & well enough to move to conditions of lower security or return to prison.
This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be reviewed in light of the changing needs of the Trust in consultation with the post holder.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To coordinate the assessment and delivery of a planned programme of care with guidance and indirect supervision from a qualified practitioner and to contribute to formal assessment and delivery of an individuals plan of care.
2. To assist with activities of daily living, social, recreational and occupational activities as agreed in the service user care plan.
3. To report general observations and provide feedback to a qualified practitioner both verbally
and in written formats, if required. This should include any concerns arising from the service user physical or mental health.
4. To contribute to effective running of the service by providing and receiving information to/from other departments or services. Ensure this information is provided in the most effective way i.e. telephone, fax or in writing.
5. To assist service users with self-administration of oral medication and ensure any concerns / issues about medication are reported back to a qualified practitioner.
6. To use a variety of verbal and non-verbal skills to overcome communication barriers
presented by service users due to their mental health needs.
7. To contribute to maintaining a safe environment for service user in the community (where appropriate).
8. To carry out specific duties that contributes to the assessment of service users as requested by a qualified practitioner.
9. To develop and maintain links with other agencies and services, both statutory and voluntary (where appropriate).
10. To use skills and techniques, to de-escalate situations where service users become physically or verbally aggressive.
11. To carry out observations and inform the Registered Nurse of any concerns. e.g. temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, diet and fluid intake, weight as requested by a qualified practitioner.
12. To contribute to the development of risk management plans for service users by reporting, to the qualified practitioner any issues or concerns regarding service users behaviour / action towards themselves or others.
13. Respond to the changing needs of service users.
14. Control the assessments of implemented individual service users care plans.
15. To undertake and understand the support of observations as per policy tbc (Levels 1- 4)
16. To carry out escorts with service users on and off the hospital site.
17. To support qualified nurses in the administration of medicines by acting as a witness.
18. Provide advice and guidance related health promotion to the service user.
19. Plan social and therapeutic work with service user using a range off therapeutic approaches.
20. Participate in presenting multi disciplinary reviews, daily reviews and handovers.
21. Undertake surveys and audits.
22. Assist in the collection of data from a variety of resource.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Health and Social Care Level 2 qualification or equivalent experience.
Desirable criteria
- Phlebotomy trained
- Physical Health competency basic passport
- MEWS
- Level 2 Smoking Cessation
- Care certificate
- Willing to work towards Level 3 Health Care qualification
- Qualification in craft, domestic skills, leisure or health equivalent to City & Guild Part 1-, or 2-year experience working in a health setting.
KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE:
Essential criteria
- Able to communicate effectively.
- Understanding of issues of confidentiality.
- Ability to work as a member of a team.
- Ability to demonstrate a non-judgmental attitude.
- Ability to work on own initiative under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.
- Experience working in a care setting
Desirable criteria
- Experience of individuals with mental health problems or personal lived experience of mental health problems.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to provide support and guidance to junior staff
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lara Mills-Jones
- Job title
- Project Coordinator
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
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