Overview
Oak Tree Ward is a 17‑bedded Older Adult Mental Health Inpatient unit, primarily serving those over 70, people living with cognitive impairment, or those with a frailty score above 6. We accept patients from home, care homes, and acute hospitals and support them with a range of conditions including anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, personality disorder, and schizophrenia.
Team
Our multidisciplinary team includes consultant psychiatrists, junior doctors, a ward manager, mental health nurses, dual‑trained nurses, nurse associates, healthcare support workers, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.
Responsibilities
Working under the supervision of registered nurses, you will support patients to meet their day‑to‑day needs:
* Provide washing and dressing assistance, ensuring showers, clothing changes, oral hygiene and necessary support.
* Assist with toileting to prevent incontinence and skin breakdown.
* Monitor finger and toe nails, offering nail care when required.
* Maintain adequate dietary intake, observing meals, documenting concerns about refusal, and supporting patients to eat.
* Take vital signs, use NEWS2, and know how to escalation concerns to nursing and medical teams.
* Observe patients at various levels of observation, providing constant supervision where indicated.
* Maintain documentation such as observations, fluid charts, NEWS2 scores, stool charts, and sleep charts.
* Participate in mandatory training, including ECG and venepuncture sessions.
* Report safeguarding and physical health concerns, contribute to referrals and assessments, and raise issues about care, safety, or ward improvements.
* Keep documentation legible and stay competent in IT systems.
Shift patterns include Day (07:30‑20:00), Early (07:30‑15:30), Late (12:00‑20:00), and Night (19:30‑08:00).
Training & Development
You will receive a local induction, an allocated supervisor, regular supervision (clinical, management, safeguarding), and a tailored clinical training programme. Opportunities include completing the Care Certificate (if not already achieved), ECG training, venepuncture training, and career development support.
Benefits & Perks
* Local induction and allocated supervisor
* Strong leadership and management support
* Regular clinical, management, and safeguarding supervision
* Opportunities for career development
* Focus on staff wellbeing and access to staff engagement programmes
* My Trust Benefits: discounts and savings at numerous retailers nationwide
* Buy & Sell Annual Leave
* Employee Assistance Programme – free, confidential support for personal life
* Staying Well at Work – tailored employment‑related support for staff with severe, long‑term mental health problems
* Health and wellbeing support
* Flexible working options
* Annual staff awards
* Childcare vouchers
* Cycle to work and gym membership salary‑sacrifice schemes
* Home electronics salary‑sacrifice scheme (interest‑free loan)
* NHS long‑service awards
Role Level
Band 3 Health Care Support Workers work closely with patients, their families and carers. They are expected to be kind, responsive, professional and to contribute to the quality of services. They must report concerns to nursing and medical teams – including safeguarding, physical health and referral needs – and raise issues that may improve patient care.
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