An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Healthcare Assistant to join our dynamic team in the Pre-Assessment Unit at Colchester Hospital. You will become a key part of our friendly and dedicated team, supporting the nurses in providing high quality and dignified care. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual who is positive, caring, has good communication skills and team working. Our nurse led team deliver pre-operative assessments to patients who will be undergoing a range of procedures within the specialties of Urology, General Surgery, Upper GI, ENT, Vascular, Oral, Gynaecology ,Orthopaedic and Breast surgery. We work part of a multi-professional team delivering a patient-centred, dynamic service, from the patients pre-assessment through to their surgery. For this role it is essential for you to have acute hospital experience and it is desirable for you to be trained to take bloods. In this post you will be supported in your training and development, including support to complete the Care Certificate over the first 12 weeks if you have not already completed this. Currently the unit is open 07.00 – 18:00 Monday to Friday. Typically Healthcare Assistant working hours are 07:00 – 17:00. This post may close early if we receive a sufficient number of applications. You will assist in the delivery of a patient-centred, clinically effective and dynamic service from the patient’s Pre-assessment and admission, through to escorting them to theatre. You will effectively assist with the preparation and care of patients prior to surgery. You will take bloods, ECG and perform spirometry for patients attending pre-assessment clinics. You will perform, record and report patient observations. You will test and collect specimens as requested. You will meet the direct and indirect care needs of patients under the delegation and supervision of a Registered Nurse. You will provide personal care to patient We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?vGkPu7HphU8A For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.