Health Care Assistant

Job summary

The Addison Unit is a 12 bedded Unit located at Health care wing at HMP Wandsworth.

The Addison team is a multidisciplinary team (MDT) that provides an assessment and treatment service to patients who present to the acute hospital with mental health difficulties. Referrals are received from various department within the prison and triaged by the in-reach team MDT and placed on a waiting list pending vacancy at Addison Unit. The main responsibilities of the HCA is to support the qualified staff in any way required, to deliver this service.

The HCA has a key role in gathering and recording data, carrying out therapeutic engagement with the patient, and recording any interactions about and with patients on the System one as well as initiating an ACCT and managing presenting risk to safeguard patient. HCA's are also required to support patients in crisis, with personal care and to escort patients who are being transferred to a psychiatric facility or hospital.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: we are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Main duties of the job

• Carry out delegated tasks for patients in mental health crisis or admitted to Addison Ward under the direction of qualified nursing staff.
• Support admissions by recording clinical information and completing physical observations (vital signs), including within the first 72 hours of admission.
• Undertake routine physical monitoring (e.g. NEWS2, ECGs, phlebotomy, blood glucose, BMI) and report any abnormalities promptly.
• Conduct and document daily mental state observations, escalating any deterioration or risk concerns without delay.
• Deliver and support prescribed observation levels (general, intermittent, constant/1:1), ensuring accurate documentation.
• Engage therapeutically with patients, offering emotional support and promoting recovery-focused care.
• Support patients with activities of daily living, maintaining dignity, respect, and independence.
• Assist patients to identify triggers for crisis and develop coping strategies under supervision.
• Accompany and support patients during transfers to psychiatric units or other services as required.
• Identify, monitor, and escalate clinical and environmental risks, including self-harm and suicide risk.
• Initiate and support ACCT processes as required in line with safer custody procedures.
• Complete incident reports (Datix) and ensure timely reporting of incidents, complaints, and near misses.
• Work in accordance with Trust policies, procedures, and relevant legislation (Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act).

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Provide constant (1:1) observation to patients within the custodial healthcare setting as directed by a Registered Nurse, maintaining continuous visual contact in line with Oxleas and HMPPS protocols.

• Support the safety and wellbeing of patients at risk of self-harm or suicide, including those managed under the ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork) process.

• Observe and report on patients mental state, behaviour, presentation, and risk indicators, promptly escalating any concerns to the Nurse in Charge or relevant healthcare professional.

• Maintain dynamic risk awareness within a prison environment, including vigilance around:

  • Ligature risks
  • Concealed items
  • Behavioural escalation

• Deliver basic therapeutic engagement, providing reassurance, active listening, and encouraging the use of coping and distraction techniques appropriate to the custodial setting.

• Work collaboratively with both healthcare staff and prison officers, ensuring a coordinated approach to patient safety and risk management.

• Maintain a safe clinical environment, reporting and escalating any environmental or security risks in line with prison and healthcare procedures.

• Accurately complete observation records and entries in ACCT documentation (where appropriate), ensuring all records are timely, factual, and defensible.

• Undertake and record physical observations (vital signs) such as temperature, pulse, respiration rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturationas delegated by the Registered Nurse, promptly reporting any abnormalities or concerns.

• Support patients with activities of daily living (ADLs) where appropriate, maintaining dignity within security constraints.

• Maintain professional boundaries at all times, recognising the complexities of working in a custodial environment.

• Participate in handover processes, ensuring clear communication of risk, care needs, and incidents, with no gaps in observation.

• Respond appropriately to emergency situations, including self-harm, medical emergencies, and behavioural incidents, seeking support as required.

• Adhere to Oxleas policies and HMPPS security procedures, including safer custody, safeguarding, infection control, and information governance.

• Participate in mandatory and prison-specific training, including personal safety, security awareness, and ACCT processes.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be soughtfrom:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Achieved grade
• Relevant field

Desirable

• NVQ LEVEL 3 IN CARE

Experience

Essential

• Inpatient experience
• Prison or forensic experience

Desirable

• PICU Experience

IT skill and commuinication skills

Essential

• Able to use Sys1
• Good communication skill

Desirable

• Experience in writing clinical notes

physical healtrh skills

Essential

• Familiar with taking vital signs

Desirable

• Experience in escalating when patient is in deteriorating

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

HMP Wandsworth

Heathfield Road

London

SW18 3HS

United Kingdom

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

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