Job summary
- Main area
- 317 Paediatric Oncology Spec - RVI
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Fixed term: 9 months (from date of appointment)
- Hours
- Part time - 34.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 317-2025-19-014
- Employer
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Trustwide
- Town
- 317 Trustwide
- Salary
- £26,530 - £29,114 pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 17/07/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 06/08/2025
Employer heading
Health Play Specialist
Band 4
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS foundation trusts in the country, with around 15,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.6 billion.
We have a long history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, and innovation in medical research regionally, nationally and internationally.
We’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country, supporting people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
Our staff oversee around 6,500 patient contacts each day, delivering high standards of healthcare.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job overview
As a registered Health Play Specialist (HPS) you will be responsible for participating in the delivery of a specialised pathway called Kidzscan.
The kidzscan pathway is a structured programme that supports children to carry out Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanning without any form of sedation. This is an exciting new position where the post holder will be a positive role model for Kidzscan and work with children from all specialties with the north east of England.
For each child referred to the kidzscan pathway, you will carry out a play preparation session using various resources such as a LEGO scanner, short film and role play. This session will inform the child what happens during a MRI scan and you will create an individualised plan to meet the child’s emotional, physical, sensory and social needs. This plan will then be used with your support on their day of scan.
You will be expected to work in partnership with all members of the multi-disciplinary team to support the delivery of this service and respond appropriately to unexpected events in order to maintain service delivery.
- Interview Date Wednesday 06 August 2025
- 34 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
- Use communication skills with parents and families where situations are complex, sensitive and there are barriers to understanding.
- Acts as an advocate for the patient and their family / carer.
- Respects the individuality, values, cultural and religious diversity of patients and their families. Contributes to the provision of a service sensitive to these needs.
- Effective verbal and written skills.
- Adjust and amend play intervention to reflect changing needs of child/young person.
- Caring attitude.
- The post holder is required to have knowledge and experience of developmental, emotional and social play for all age ranges and abilities of children and young people.
- Inform, educate, support and advise other healthcare specialists, nursing staff, and families in the role of play.
- The post holder is expected to work across all specialties within The Great North Children’s Hospital.
- Receive and manage requests from relevant health care professionals to support children through the kidzscan pathway.
- Prioritise and manages a wide and varied workload.
Working for our organisation
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
• Freeman Hospital
• Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
• Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
• Newcastle Dental Hospital
• Newcastle Fertility Centre
• Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
• Northern Genetics Service
• Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As some children who have MRI scans require cannulation, you will also be expected to support The Great North Children’s Hospital to carry out all blood taking and cannulation using the new initiative kidzaccess, and where appropriate act as a resource to support the professional development and education of all other staff.
- The Hospital Play Specialist role will, under the accountability of the Learning Disability Liaison Nurse offer normalising and specialised play for children, young people and on occasion adults with complex healthcare needs and their families, considering age, stage of development, medical condition and background to promote emotional health and optimal development, this will include the effects of hospitalisation, ill health and treatments required.
- The Play Specialist is required to have knowledge and experience of developmental, emotional and social play for all age ranges and abilities of children and young people in hospital.
- Inform, educate, support and advise other healthcare specialists, nursing staff, and families in the role of play.
- Use play to help and assist in alleviating anxieties, pain, or emotional trauma caused to the child, young person and their families, which can often occur in the unfamiliar hospital environment, aiding them to engage in hospital life, promoting their understanding of their healthcare needs, investigations and treatments.
- The post holder is expected to be a fully integrated member of the department team.
- Contribute to the maintenance, consistency and development of the play service throughout the Trust.
- Receive requests from relevant health care professionals and other HPS for a patient to be seen following a referral to a medical consultant and his team.
- To escort children and young people to theatre (where appropriate) in line with Trust policy, to aid and promote understanding and coping mechanisms.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
- • Hospital Play Specialist (HPS) qualification at Diploma level, recognised by the Hospital Play Staff Education Trust (HPSET) or a Diploma in Children and Young People
- • Registered with HPSET
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
- • Evidence of ongoing professional development
Desirable criteria
- • Experience of working with children and young people with complex health needs and disabilities
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- • Good communication skills
- • Good interpersonal skills
- • Good organisational skills
- • Basic IT skills
- • Able to work effectively as part of multi-disciplinary team, as well as on own initiative within scope of practice, with effective time management
Desirable criteria
- • Advanced IT skills
- • Able to mentor HPS students and provide support to junior staff
- • Previous experience in co-ordinating and providing a play service in a healthcare setting
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
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
- Jade Ryles
- Job title
- Nurse Specialist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0191 2826295
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