Associate Pratitioner
About Us
EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:
- We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.
EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.
Our vision and values
Our Vision
“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.
Our Purpose
“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.
Our Values- We Care
- We Learn
- We Empower
- We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
- We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
- We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
- We will help our communities to thrive.
- Mental Health Services
- Community Health Services
- Learning Disabilities Services
- Social Care
Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory.
Job overview- Be a positive role model for Infection Prevention and Control across the Trust and with key external organisations
- Attend and maintain training to be fit test accredited
- wider organisation
- Work closely with all members of the IPC team and care unit fit testers in order to prioritise staff whom require fit testing to provide them with protection against respiratory pathogens
- Be prepared to work flexibly to support the needs of the care unit staff and their workload
- Conduct face fit testing for those who are identified as requiring RPE
- Clearly provide the rationale for fit testing and all relevant education linked to donning, doffing and all other subjects related to RPE
- Ensure confidentiality is maintained with staff members
- If fit testing is not successful provide information on next steps to individual staff members and their line managers in order to keep them protected
- Maintain the centralised fit testing database to support with accurate reporting of compliance
- Provide timely and accurate reports as requested for care unit Quality and Safety meetings as well as the IPC steering group
- Order and maintain the equipment and consumables required for fit testing to take place
- Face fit testing for respiratory protective equipment (RPE) has been mandatory under Health and Safety legislation (COSSH) since October 2019
- Fit testing remains a critical element of the emergency preparedness of the NHS, that has a much wider impact than part of the COIVD 19 response
- The main purpose of this role is for the post holder to deliver both qualitative and quantitative fit testing for relevant colleagues within the care units trust wide, and to support those staff who are trained as fit testers to do the same
- The post holder will be responsible along with IPC colleagues for accurately maintaining the trust central fit testing data base in a timely way
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;- Season Ticket Loans
- NHS discounts for staff
- Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
- Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
- The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
- Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For further information then please check the job description and personal specification.
Any questions please contract
KatherynHobbs
Person specification
education
Essential criteria- • GCSE level 4 or equivalent in English and Maths
- NVQ Level 3 in healthcare, or equivalent experience or willingness to undertake
- Associate Practitioner Qualifications or equivalent experience
- • Attendance at relevant IPC education/ training events/ courses
Knowledge
Essential criteria- • Demonstrable experience of working in varying health care environments • Knowledge of relevant IPC guidance and standards including the Health and Social Care Act 2008
Skills
Essential criteria- • Experience of working as part of a multi- disciplinary team • Ability to use a variety of IT equipment and packages
personal qualities
Essential criteria- • Be able to negotiate and influence others
- Ability to work within a team and independently
- Able to challenge and be challenged
- Good time management skills
- Ability to evidence data in a timely and accurate way
Additional Qualities
Essential criteria- • Delivering compassionate and respectful care
- Excellent communication skills
- Full UK driving licence and ability to travel across trust sites as required
- Must be able to work unsupervised
Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Important Professional References
Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.
As a newly appointed employee you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.
Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.
Equal Opportunities Employer
Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply.If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [email protected] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.
The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
Covid Vaccination
Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.
If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing [email protected].