Community Healthcare Support Worker
Closing date is 09 December 2025
Are you a caring individual with a previous background working in a mental health environment? Our Blandford Older Persons Community Mental Health Team would love for you to join their team! Being a driver is essential for this role.
As a Community Healthcare Support Worker, you will be working in a multi‑disciplinary team supporting adults over the age of 65 with mental health conditions. You will help to support patients’ wishes and promote quality of life by utilising wellbeing and recovery approaches. Working with qualified staff and other care networks you will help to develop holistic individualised plans of care. Essential skills are strong communication, organization, confidence working alone and the ability to prioritise daily work tasks.
In return, our established and supportive team offers regular supervision and opportunities to develop your skills and experience. You will also work closely and be supported by other North Dorset teams, in providing care. Your working base will be Blandford Community Hospital, covering the surrounding areas. It is desirable that you have support worker or mental health experience, preferably in ward or community settings.
This Community Healthcare Support Worker post is a full‑time role Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00. We can be flexible with start and finish time to promote a healthy personal and work life balance. Any queries, please contact Becky Evans, becky.evans10@nhs.net.
Main duties of the job
You will assess changes in service users on visits (including use of formal testing scales), helping to identify early indicators of relapse by monitoring progress, level of functioning and mental state and communicate alert to appropriate staff involved in the service users' care.
You will make decisions using your own initiative, while recognising limitations and understanding when it is appropriate or necessary to refer to other agencies.
You will follow up with service users on a regular basis, developing good rapport and being a source of information for them regarding health and wellbeing. This will mean you are able to help identify potential barriers to accessing services and groups, working with clients to have the confidence and information to enable access, taking the lead from clients when there are issues and acting upon them to find a solution.
Applications from candidates that require current Skilled Worker sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.
Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of. Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service can present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.
About us
At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined‑up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward‑looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.
We do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.
Our 7,000‑strong workforce is at the heart of what we do, and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We’re all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities, and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.
We are a community team in the heart of our beautiful rural setting and pride ourselves on bringing the best care we can to our service users. We are a small team with a rich range of skills and experience and looking forward to welcoming someone new to our team.
Job responsibilities
For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.
We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over‑reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidates' individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.
As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact dhc.wideningparticipation@nhs.net.
Person Specification
Knowledge skills and training
* To be numerate and literate
* NVQ level 3 in Healthcare or willingness to work towards
* Good communication and interpersonal skills
* Full driving licence
Information technology
* Willingness to study sessions as and when required in order to learn how to input relevant trust database and keep client records up to date.
Buisness Travel
* Subject to the provisions of the Equality Act, able to travel using own vehicle on Trust business
Additional requirements
* Demonstrate skills in written and spoken English to a standard which enables the post holder to carry out the full range of duties and responsibilities of the role effectively.
Job Specific Experience
* Genuine interest and motivation to do the job
* Empathy with the client group
* Experience with similar client group would be advantageous
Personal qualities and attributes
* Evidence of demonstrating trust behaviours
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 name
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
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