Overview
Are you looking to develop a career in mental health? We are looking to recruit compassionate, resilient and enthusiastic Healthcare Support Workers within our 20 bedded acute unit.
Poppy Unit is a 20 bedded mixed acute unit located in the heart of Wiltshire. We work with a range of service users who are presenting as acutely unwell and in crises. This is an exciting opportunity for you to develop a rewarding career where you can make a real difference to help change the lives of our service user group for the better. Poppy Unit offers a unique opportunity to dual work with Bluebell Place of Safety and Poppy Unit to ensure a full and diverse start to your career.
We are looking for professional and enthusiastic support worker to come and work with our wonderful team of qualified nurses, HCA's, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapist, Exercise Specialists, Activities Coordinator and Doctors.
Responsibilities
* Deliver high quality care and recovery interventions for service users within designated clinical areas, in collaboration with, and under the indirect supervision of, registered care staff.
* Support individuals with fluids and nutrition, physical wellbeing, and personal care.
* Assist service users with financial or accommodation issues.
* Escort or accompany service users for planned periods of leave on hospital grounds and in the community facilitating social inclusion.
* Encourage service users to talk about their experiences in one-to-one or group discussions.
* Maintain a clean, well-organised, safe and therapeutic environment, supporting registered care staff to perform environmental assessments to monitor and improve the care setting.
* Deliver psychosocially-informed one-to-one and group interventions to positively impact service users’ cognitive and emotional wellbeing.
* Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team and, where appropriate, assume lead or link roles on core practice initiatives (e.g. Essence of Care, Safewards and carer engagement) under the supervision of registered staff.
* Integrate areas of personal interest with clinical practice to enhance the diversity of the team’s provision of care.
* Practise planned care and participate in the development of recovery-focused interventions addressing service users and carers needs and preferences.
* Review, record and assess the ongoing impacts of such interventions; participate in ongoing care planning, CPA and risk assessment processes with service users, carers, and the care team, contributing to clinical record keeping.
* Maintain a basic working understanding of the Mental Health Act (1983) and Mental Capacity Act (2005), and any other relevant legislation as required by mandatory and statutory training (MaST).
* Adhere to AWPs Code of Conduct for unregistered practitioners; promote and embed it through peer support and supervision of junior, temporary and newly appointed Health Care Support Workers.
* Observe and record interactions with service users and carers both verbally and in writing via clinical records and handovers.
About us
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
Details
Date posted: 10 September 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 3
Salary: £24,937 to £26,598 a year pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
Reference number: 342-WTS184-0925
Job locations: Poppy Ward, Green Lane Hospital, Marshall Road, Devizes, SN10 5DS
Person Specification
Experience
* Essential: Experience within Mental Health
Desirable
* Possession of, or the ability and willingness to work towards, an appropriate Level 3 vocational qualification (e.g. Level 3 Diploma in Mental Health or Health and Social Care)
Skills
* Essential: Ability to work with a degree of autonomy, whilst also taking direction from senior colleagues.
* Essential: Ability to communicate in written and verbal English to a high standard, and basic numeracy skills.
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.
Employer details
Employer name: Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Address: Poppy Ward, Green Lane Hospital, Marshall Road, Devizes, SN10 5DS
Employer's website: http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/
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