Operational Security Grade (Female Only)
Band 3
Main area Operational Security Grade Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent: Flexible Working Hours
* Full time
* Flexible working
37.5 hours per week Job ref 350-SC7070540
Site Ashworth Hospital Town Maghull Salary £24,071 - £25,674 R&R is included at £3,025 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 20/04/2025 23:59
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnic minorities, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore, we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
Job overview
We are inviting applications for Band 3 Operational Security Grade for the High Secure Services Security Department. 2 Posts Female Only.
This is for front of house/reception duties. The purpose of the role is to undertake a range of duties in support of the security requirements of the Hospital.
Main duties of the job
To work within an area of high security where there are service users with a known violent, criminal, or dangerous propensity that require care in High security Conditions.
The Security Department provides a hospital wide service ensuring all aspects of Procedural, Dynamic and Passive security systems are in place, operationalised, maintained and regularly updated. This ensures the delivery of effective patient care is balanced with the hospital’s statutory requirements to maintain a safe and secure environment for staff, patients and the public.
The hospital’s Passive security systems are divided into a number of functional areas. These cover all aspects of hospital security; staff main entrance reception, visitor processing, security maintenance, control room operations.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To have detailed knowledge and the practical skills, in order to carry out, all security duties as stated by the NHS Safety and Security Directive, and detailed in the Ashworth Security Procedures Manual.
Female OSG’s are required to undertake the range of duties to support the security requirements of the hospital in conjunction with other staff. OSG’s will undertake regular rotation both within specific functional areas and across functional areas once appropriate training has been provided and experience gained. This should be achieved normally within six months.
This functional area of the Security Department is primarily concerned with the secure processing of staff into the secure sites. The role incorporates responsibilities for security monitoring and responses to alarm states in the entry building.
1. Staff identification, and the utilisation of specialized I.T. equipment
2. Key and radio issue/return
3. Key security checks
4. Vehicle processing including searching and passenger processing, (metal portal, XRay, heart beat monitor)
5. Contractor/other tool checks
6. CCTV monitoring, (entry building)
7. Entry building staff pedestrian control
8. Alarm response states to entry building
The roles detailed include operational activities such as:
1. Monitor the searching of hospital vehicles through the use of closed circuit television. Log the entry and exit times and numbers of people for all vehicles.
2. Searching of vehicles on entry and exit to the secure sites of the hospital.
3. Checking of security keys held in automated key cabinets, as per hospital procedures.
4. Carry out statutory checks, as per procedures, to monitor the number of keys issued. Check the key cabinet’s for the keys that are issued against the shift pattern by use of computerized system.
5. Operate electronic doors, both vehicle and pedestrian, via consoles in the Control Centre.
6. Use the closed circuit television system to monitor the movement of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian in and out of the secure areas.
This functional area of the Security Department is primarily concerned with the secure processing of visitors into the secure sites.
1. Visitor information centre
2. Visitor verification, pre booking and goods/items processing, (metal portal, X-Ray search)
3. Visitor processing at entry building
4. Central visits North Site
5. Contractor escort management and coordination
6. Staff goods processing/control
7. Assist in the facilitation and the escorting of child visits
Completion of the appropriate documentation on arrival and departure for all official visitors. Confirm that they are expected and advise the relevant escort staff.
Check patients’ visitors are on the approved visitors list and once satisfied as to identity, complete appropriate documentation.
Provide a Reception service to all visitors to the hospital, using the visitors computerized systems. Phoning of wards and departments to notify them of visitors, following the hospital procedure on the taking of items into the hospital. Explain to visitors the hospital policies, such as not allowing plastic bags in the secure areas.
The rub-down searching of staff, visitors and patients as required. The searching of baggage using metal detectors and x-ray equipment. The manual searching of bags.
Please refer to attached Job Description for a full list of duties and responsibilities.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Good command of English both written and verbal.
KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE
* Good standard of verbal and written communication, including ability to use I.T Equipment
* Ability to carry out routine tasks.
* Experience of working to laid down procedures in a structured setting.
* Ability to get on with people and deal with visitors.
* Ability to demonstrate the operation of Information Technology equipment
* Show interest in security/patient issues
* Ability to use hand tools, and equipment
Skills
* Experience of dealing with the public
* Ability to work within a team and follow detailed instructions
* Motivated to work within the specialized department
* Ability to demonstrate calm approach to stressful situations
Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply for all correspondence. All information regarding your application will come from apps.trac.jobs not NHS Jobs.
Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants who consider themselves to be disabled who meet the minimum (essential) criteria for the role in the person specification. If you would like your application to be considered under the Trust’s guaranteed interview scheme you can indicate this in the personal information section of your online application form.
Should you require a reasonable adjustment to our recruitment process please email recruitment@merseycare.nhs.uk to ensure that measures can be put in place to support you.
The Trust expects all post holders who require an enhanced DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
FULFIL YOUR POTENTIAL AND SPREAD YOUR WINGS WITH MERSEY CARE
At Mersey Care, our commitment to ‘perfect care’ lies at the heart of everything we do, a person centred care that starts with you.
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