Job overview
The Palliative Care Support Worker is a member of the hospital Specialist Palliative Care Team (SPCT) working at Royal Sussex County (RSCH) and Princess Royal Hospitals (PRH). Their role is integral to maintaining an efficient and effective palliative care service and ensuring patients and those important to them are able to access the support they require, as well as other health care professionals.
The Palliative Care Support Worker works alongside and under the guidance of the Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) to provide support, advice and assessment for patients who have been diagnosed with an advanced life-limiting disease. They are often the first point of contact, providing an essential link between the CNS team and health care professionals in the hospital, triaging calls, offering advice and support, signposting and referring on as required / appropriate.
This role is eligible for visa sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. Sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements set by UKVI, including the relevant skill and salary thresholds, and any role-specific criteria. For example, applicants for the Senior HCA role must be able to evidence a minimum of 2 years’ experience in the same role to qualify for sponsorship.
If you are applying using a Graduate visa as your right to work, you must have a minimum of 18 months remaining on your visa at time of application.
Main duties of the job
·To work alongside the palliative care clinical nurse specialist team to build and maintain good working relationships with health care professional teams both within the hospital and in the community.
·To provide accessible information to patients and those important to them, offering resources and signposting to external charitable organisations.
·To liaise with and refer to community palliative care services to ensure coordinated patient care from hospital into the community.
·To coordinate the collection of routine service activity data and support palliative care leadership team in presenting data for quarterly and annual reports.
·To manage the administrative work for the palliative care service including relevant information sharing and onward referrals.
·To provide patient and family psycho-social support and guidance, alongside the palliative care clinical nurse specialist team.
Working for our organisation
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
Candidate Pack
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the JD
Person specification
Essential and desirable for role
Essential criteria
1. GCSE English Language and Mathematics (Grades A-C) or equivalent
2. Experience of working in health or social care environment
3. Experience of multi-professional team-working
4. Experience in the use of data management
5. Excellent communication skills
6. Ability to work independently as well as part of a team
7. Excellent IT skills
8. Ability to show empathy and understand the difficulties faced by people living with advanced life-limiting disease
Desirable criteria
9. -NVQ4 or training in foundation degree in health and social care equivalent, or equivalent through short courses -Foundation degree in health and social care
10. Knowledge of palliative and end of life care
11. Experience working with patients in hospital
12. Willingness to undertake learning and development courses relevant to Palliative Care speciality
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Essential criteria
13. Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles
14. Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
Important information for applicants:
A Note on AI Use in Applications
We value the individuality and authenticity that each candidate brings to the application process. While AI tools are increasingly accessible, we strongly discourage their use in completing your application. Your responses should reflect your own voice, experiences, and motivations—elements that are essential to a fair and accurate evaluation.
Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content may misrepresent your abilities and could result in your application being rejected. We encourage you to take the time to present your genuine self, as this helps us better understand your potential and ensures a transparent selection process.
Closing Adverts Early: In the event of exceptional interest, we may close adverts earlier than specified.
Some of our adverts are capped for a limited number of applications; therefore, the advert will close once the cap has been reached. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible if you are interested in the position to prevent you from missing out on applying for the opportunity.
Flexible Working: If you would like to explore potential options regarding flexible working please speak with the appropriate recruiting/line manager.
DBS Checks: As part of our commitment to a safe working environment, we undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check on all new employees where the role is eligible for a criminal record check. We make offers in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975.
Skilled Worker Visa: Applications for Skilled Worker sponsorship are welcome for the roles that meet the Visa and Immigrations eligibility criteria. For further information please visit the gov.uk website searching for Skilled Worker. It is your responsibility as the applicant to ensure that you meet this criteria.
UHSussex reserves the right to close the role early if we receive a high volume of applications