Domestic Assistant
Job overview
Please note that this post is Part of One LSC – a corporate collaboration hosted by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and providing Estates and Facilities Services to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Someone once called our team the ‘Backbone of our Hospitals’ and it has certainly stuck! We couldn’t run our hospitals without you and the fantastic work you will do keeping our wards, departments and areas clean, tidy, reducing the risk of infections and effectively helping keep our staff well and our patients safe.
We know you will love the work you do, seeing how you make such a big impact in keeping everything ticking over smoothly, your dedication will shine through. We want you to be proud to wear the purple coloured domestic assistant uniform, feeling a strong and vital part of our hospital team – knowing you are working side by side on the front-lines making a HUGE difference every single day.
Watch our video to find out much more about what the role involves and hear from Mariusz who has been with us over 17 years!
https://vimeo.com/691336498/e6fc5ff3d5
Main duties of the job
In a nutshell, your duties will include general cleaning of the wards, public and staff areas, on a rota with your colleagues as part of our Domestic Team. As you would expect, we do have set cleaning standards and NHS guidelines to work towards, so whilst there is no experience required, we will fully train you on all of this.The work can be physically demanding and we don’t shy away from this, however, we know that this will also be what motivates you.
A lot of the things we have to intensively clean are below waist height as they are often areas which need the most attention. Pesky bits of dirt would thrive there if our team members didn’t do such a great job cleaning them and keeping them spick and span.
Of course we want you to be friendly, reliable and conscientious as this role isn't just about vacuuming and cleaning, it’s about being part of a whole team of staff working together to ensure the best environment for our patients to receive their treatments.
Working for our organisation
We have 10000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients. Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.
Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.
You’ll have access to varied development opportunities, learn new skills, meet fab people & do things you’d never have done. You’ll learn about working in a hospital, interacting with people from all different roles to build skills & enhance your career path.
You’ll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care and enhancing their experience which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- Communicate verbally with the Domestic Supervisor and colleagues by phone and radio and through written procedures, ensuring an effective exchange of information about cleaning tasks and service needs
- Communicate with a range of clinical and non-clinical staff, patients and visitors to understand service needs
- Carry out cleaning duties in designated area of responsibility
- Assist with cleaning duties in any area of the organisation as required to support service delivery
- Maintain accurate and complete records of all cleaning activities
- Assist staff carrying out maintenance work on existing and new hard and soft floor coverings
- Identify and report all equipment defects and stock shortages
- Identify and report any potential risks within the working environment e.g. pest sightings or building environment faults
- Follow policies and procedures in relation to buildings security and access
- Pro-actively support the continued improvement of the Domestic service
- Supporting new domestic services assistants using the department Buddy Syste
Person specification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria- Working with the public
- Experience of cleaning within a working environment
- Experience of cleaning within a healthcare setting
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria- Good general education
- NVQ or other recognised qualifications
- COSHH certificate
- Functional skills Level 2/ GCSE in written English and Maths
It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
- Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
- This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
- Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
- Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.
Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)
If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.
The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary.However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.
The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.
This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post
The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a 'Zero Tolerance' policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.
We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.
We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.
We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.
Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.
If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone 01254 732075 or email [email protected] or write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH