Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is now one of the largest trusts in the country, serving a population of 1.2 million people comprising acute hospital sites at Broomfield in Chelmsford, Basildon and Southend. We are a well-led, high-performing and innovative organisation determined to provide the best health care services for our local population and working in the best interests of the people we serve. Job overview The Senior Health Care Assistant will function as part of the multi-disciplinary team within the ward or department to provide a seamless service & high-quality care to patients under the support and direct supervision of a Registered Nurse. The Senior HCA is expected to undertake care to meet the needs of the patients under the supervision of the Registered Nurse, working within the Trust's policies, procedures and Trust Values and of the ward or department in a safe and person-centred environment for the treatment of patients whilst working collaboratively as part of the multidisciplinary team. It is expected that the Senior Health Care Assistant will continue to develop their own capabilities and knowledge of nursing tasks in line with the Trust's career pathway to maintain standards of care. Main duties of the job Communicate effectively with patients, relatives and colleagues. Maintain accurate documentation surrounding patient care and interventions. Demonstrate care and compassion at all times to patients and their relatives or carers. Assist patients with personal and oral hygiene needs. Assist patients with eating and drinking and accurately record intake. Enable patients to access appropriate toileting facilities, collect and dispose of body waste. Record patient vital signs and observations and escalate appropriately. Provide pressure area care and regular repositioning. Recognise patients who are in pain using a pain scoring scale and escalate to a registered nurse where appropriate. Provide compassionate and dignified end of life care. Undertake simple wound dressings as delegated by the Registered Nurse. Orientate patients to the ward. Remove peripheral cannulas from patients following instruction from the registered nurse. Participate in the enhanced observation of patients. Utilise a range of de-escalation techniques in challenging situations. Respond appropriately to emergency situations. Respond to any safeguarding concerns and escalate appropriately. Act in a professional manner at all times demonstrating dignity and respect Working for our organisation With a workforce of approximately 15,000 staff, we can now do more and go further in delivering health services to our local communities. Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers. Patients will experience improved care as well as fewer delays and cancellations. We are able to provide more once-in-a-lifetime specialist care region-wide. With our new trust size will come more opportunities for development, research, networking and innovation. We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust. Detailed job description and main responsibilities The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together key health, care, community, and voluntary sector organisations from across our area. Our aim is to work together in partnership to join up health and care services, improving our populations health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. One such example of this collaborative work is the launch of our HCA Academy, an ICS initiative between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) to support the incoming Health Care assistant (HCA) workforce. The academy models a 'one workforce' cross system approach to the onboarding, induction, education and experience of Healthcare Assistants. Successful candidates to this role will be able to access the additional support provided by the HCA Academy following their induction with MSEFT. This includes development opportunities, pastoral support, staff rewards and access to HCA exclusive resources such as HCA App. For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description and main responsibilities. We look forward to your application Person specification Experience Essential criteria Experience working in healthcare or ward setting Desirable criteria Knowledge and experience of caring for patients living with Dementia Experience in an acute hospital setting Skills Essential criteria Excellent written communication skills Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold. Employer certification / accreditation badges Applicant requirements The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties 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. Documents to download Senior HCA - Braxted - BR - B3 (PDF, 608.3KB) Privacy Policy (PDF, 441.0KB) AFC Pay Poster 24/25 (PDF, 39.2KB) Behaviours Framework (JPG, 298.0KB)