Mental Health Support Worker
Job overview
Are you a caring individual looking to work in an acute male patient setting? Harbour Ward within St Ann’s Hospital, Poole would like you to join our dedicated and supportive team.
Applications from candidates that require sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.
St Ann’s Hospital is an acute mental health inpatient unit located in Canford Cliffs, Poole, Dorset. Harbour Ward is a 16 bedded male treatment ward, providing treatment and care for a wide range of mental health illnesses which include Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Depression, Anxiety and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.The age of the patients ranges from 18 to 64.
The multi-disciplinary team on Harbour Ward are friendly, supportive and have wide ranging skills to;
Treat informal patients and those detained under the Mental Health Act using positive engagement, talking therapies (CBT/DBT) and medicines
Place the patient front and centre in their recovery journey
Engage creatively with patients to co-produce their individual care plans
Prioritise both mental and physical health wellness
Help patients get active, eat well and take care of their own wellbeing
Promote freedom of choice and least restrictive practice, in a safe and therapeutic environment
Main duties of the job
Your role will be pivotal to support the trained nursing staff in providing direct care and assistance to patients with:
Support with personal care and hygiene
Timed Observations
Mealtimes
Escorted walks and journeys
Ward Tidiness
Therapeutic Engagement with organised ward activities
You will need to have an NVQ 3 in Health and Social Care or equivalent and be able to meet the NHS values of ensuring respect and dignity, be committed to providing a high quality of care, behave with compassion and kindness, helping to improve peoples’ lives, work as a team to meet patients’ needs and make sure that everyone counts.
If you have the ability to interact well with people, are enthusiastic, willing to listen to what they have to say and are interested in learning and applying new skills then we would like to hear from you.
You will be required to undertake a Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression course and it is a condition of your employment that you successfully complete all aspects of this course; if this is not achieved you will not be able to commence working in the post.
Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of. Applicants who subscribe to the DBS update service are able to present a valid DBS certificate instead of requiring a new check.
Working for our organisation
At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people.
We do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference.Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities.
Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves.
Working with us you’ll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don’t know. And you’ll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.
As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support.If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [email protected]
Person specification
Knowledge, skills and training
Essential criteria- Literate
- NVQ level 2 or 3 or equivalent level of experience
- Numerate
Information Technology
Essential criteria- Basic IT keyboard skills, normally obtained through practice or practical training
Job specific experience
Essential criteria- Ability to work within a team
- Experience of working within a care environment
Personal qualities/attributes
Essential criteria- Good communications skills
- Ability to use initiative
- Ability to engage and motivate others
- Ability to remain calm in stressful situations
At Dorset HealthCare we want to offer all our staff the opportunity to work flexibly, putting health and wellbeing first, whilst continuing the delivery of excellent patient care. Flexible working looks different for everyone and we welcome applicants to discuss flexible working opportunities with the recruiting manager.
What working for us will provide:
- 27 days of annual leave, rising to 33 over ten years (for staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions)
- Excellent NHS pension scheme
- Health and wellbeing services
- Flexible working options, including family-friendly hours
- Free training and one-to-one career coaching to reach your career goals
- Preceptorship programme for newly qualified nurses and AHPs
- Access to nine staff networks – have a voice and transform our Trust
- Relocation costs where applicable
- Salary sacrifice scheme opportunities – including childcare vouchers, car lease and cycle scheme, home technology equipment, and buying annual leave
- NHS discounts to save on your shopping, gym membership and more
Visit our careers website to learn more about our culture, staff stories, benefits, development programmes and opportunities.
What you need to do:
Before applying for this post, please do ensure that you have read the job description and person specification requirements. If you think you have everything we're looking for, then we'd love to hear from you, alternatively if you would like more information about the role please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regrettably, we are not able to offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you attempt to apply for a role that we do not offer sponsorship for, you will receive notification of this at the time of starting your application and you will not be able to proceed.At this point, we wish to thank you for your interest in working for us and apologise we cannot take your application any further.
Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Further guidance can be found on the gov.uk website. It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form.Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)