Guys and St Thomas is among the UKs busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

Guys is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Marys Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Childrens Hospital.

Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. 

Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.

In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.

We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of Kings Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with Kings College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities and a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of good. Our adult community services achieved a rating of outstanding.

The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.

We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.

Job overview

As part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Evelina London is there for children, young people and women from London to South East England and provides specialist care for families around the UK and across the world.

Every year, the number of children and young people Evelina London cares for, in our hospitals and throughout our local community, continues to grow. We support families from pre-conception, before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life.

Right in the heart of vibrant London, we benefit from excellent transport links, we have staff working here from the local areas, spanning across London, and further afield into the home counties.

We strive to recruit and retain staff who are motivated to develop and learn with us as we continually strive to ensure that our services are of the highest quality, safe, and focused on women, children and their families.

Here is a snippet of what our staff say about us, and working here:

I see how supportive the team are and how important it is to provide the best quality care for our patients. Knowing there will always be a friendly face supports why I love working at Evelina London.

Want to make your application stand out? Visit our recruitment website to understand what we’re looking for in your application.

Closing Date: 30th October 2022

Interview will take place w/c 7th November 2022.

Main duties of the job

We welcome applicants with customer care experience or health and social care experience with families either within the NHS or other environments. If you have not worked in a healthcare setting before, we will support you to transfer and develop your skills, knowledge and passion to flourish, and fulfil the responsibilities in this role. Communication, kindness and compassion are really important attributes in this role and you will be supported to develop your skills within experienced nursing teams.

You should be highly motivated with excellent communication skills and enjoy working with people in a positive, energetic – and at times demanding – environment delivering care for children and families.

Working for our organisation

Join us, develop and thrive as part of the team making a positive difference to babies, children and young people each and every day. Help us lead the way in providing high quality care in our hospitals and across our local communities. We particularly welcome applicants from our local communities of Lambeth and Southwark.

At Evelina London, we are reminded daily of how important life is, and how important it is to look after the health and wellbeing of our teams as they balance their responsibilities in and out of work. We are committed to supporting flexible working; we want to support you to work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you.

Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether thats job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

We are committed to supporting professional development, and have excellent training and educational offerings. Recognising that looking after babies, children and young people is incredibly rewarding, but can also bring challenge we offer amazing resources to help support our staffs emotional wellbeing and resilience.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for full details of duties and responsibilities.

  • Provide excellent customer care skills to ensure patients come first.
  • Undertake a range of delegated clinical care duties to deliver agreed plans of care, acting on own initiative.
  • Ensure that patients receive high quality clinical care and a good patient experience, having regard for their customs, religious beliefs and doctrines.
  • Recognise and avoid situations that may be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of the individuals.
  • Act as an advocate for patients within the department, to ensure a patient orientated approach to the delivery of care and to meet standards within the NHS Plan and other relevant guidelines.
  • Provide support and assistance to professionals in the implementation of plans of care for individual patients.
  • Assist with fluid and dietary needs of patients including completion of menu cards and recording intake and output of fluids and solids.
  • Collect specimens from patients, as directed, and record routine observations of weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respiratory rate. Report any abnormalities and concerns to a Registered Nurse.
  • Recognise when patients are in pain and discomfort and report to nurse in charge.
  • Undertake venepuncture/cannulation when requested by a healthcare professional.
  • Respond appropriately to clinical emergencies to ensure the patient receives appropriate care.
  • Person specification

    Qualifications/ Education

    Essential criteria

  • Evidence of general education e.g. GCSEs or equivalent
  • NVQ III in Health care or equivalent qualification in the area of speciality (e.g. Operating Dept. Practice for posts in Theatre)
  • Skills/Knowledge

    Essential criteria

  • Clear and accurate written and verbal communication.
  • Proven ability to follow instructions as well as on use own initiative
  • Understanding of the requirements of patient confidentiality
  • Punctual and reliable
  • Able and willing to work flexible shift patterns, including weekends and bank holidays, according to service needs
  • Demonstrate ability to use own initiative and work without close supervision
  • Able to listen effectively and demonstrate a sympathetic/sensitive approach
  • Experience

    Essential criteria

  • Customer care experience
  • Proven ability to work within a team as well as on own initiative
  • Previous experience of working as a healthcare assistant in a hospital or registered care setting
  • Experience of taking clinical observations
  • Values and behaviour

    Essential criteria

  • Values and behaviour
  • Guys and St Thomas celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or studys at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.