East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has committed to recruiting 100 new Healthcare assistants, with no experience necessary, between January and March 2021, to help those who have found themselves unemployed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Are you looking for a career change or simply want to start something new? Healthcare assistants are responsible for providing a range of personalised care for patients in support of, and supervised by, a registered Nurse. They support the effective operation of the ward environment by undertaking a range of non-clinical activities to provide a comfortable and stress-free experience for patients.
Many members of our community have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, so ELHT wants to support the local economy by getting people back into work. The vacancies will be targeted at those who have never worked in Healthcare but are interested in a career change, as the role can often be a stepping stone into many other NHS careers. Individuals will be given a place on the fast track training course, which will be supported with a guaranteed job offer at one of the Trust sites for those who successfully pass the training.
Julie Molyneux, Director of Nursing at ELHT, said:
"The Covid-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone, especially those who have sadly lost jobs or businesses as a result. At ELHT we are committed to providing the best jobs for the best people, which is why I'm really glad we are able to offer this opportunity to those who are not already in the Healthcare sector. Being a Healthcare assistant is a rewarding job, especially during the current climate, so we are really excited to welcome 100 new staff members on board to provide the best care for our patients, whilst helping the local economy."
There are two pathway options available; the Healthcare Assistant pathway where candidates undertake 1-2 weeks of online teaching followed by two weeks of work experience, after which they will have a guaranteed job offer at one of the Trust sites. And the Nursing Career pathway, which follows the same fast track training, however upon completion candidates are offered an apprenticeship contract and will be supported to undertake a Level 3 Health & Social Care qualification, which will enable them to progress to further study for other roles including Nursing Associate, Assistant Practitioner or a Nursing Apprenticeship. Training is planned to start on the 22nd February 2021 for the first cohort. This will be repeated for a further 5 weeks, the final training week commencing 22nd March 2021.
Entry requirements:
Applicants for both pathways must have:
· previous work experience
· demonstrable experience of managing competing demands
· a genuine desire to work in a healthcare support role
· ability to treat people with kindness and respect and demonstrate ELHT values
· a good standard of numeracy and literacy
· the ability to successfully complete the Care Certificate and ELHT mandatory training requirements
· the ability to work flexibly on completion of training to meet the needs of their ward (see below)
In addition, applicants must be able to commit to the fast track training requirements outlined above and have access to a PC / internet at home to be able to undertake the training via MS Teams (this can be done in 1 week full time or over 2 weeks part time). In order to meet the entry criteria for further study, applicants for the Nursing career pathway will have a level 2 (or equivalent) qualification in English and Maths or the ability to achieve this alongside their Level 3 vocational qualification.
If you are interested in applying for any of the roles, please send an email to admin.lal@nelsongroup.ac.uk (from your personal email address) expressing an interest in ELHT HCA vacancies, identifying which pathway they are interested in.