Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Health Care Assistant - Emergency Department

The closing date is 20 April 2026

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Health Care Assistant to join our Emergency Department Team here at Whiston Hospital.

If you have a caring and compassionate approach, and want to join a motivated, friendly and supportive team, we are keen to hear from you! We require staff who have a genuine interest in help caring for acutely unwell patients as part of a multi-disciplinary team as well as having excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Successful applicants will be supported through a supernumerary period and will become proficient in providing basic care as well as other day to day responsibilities.

Due to current service demands, we are only able to consider applicants who have relevant UK experience. Candidates must also be available to commence employment immediately or within a very short timeframe. We regret that we cannot progress applications that do not meet these essential requirements.

Main duties of the job

The Senior Health Care Support Worker (SHCSW) will:

1. Work with all members of the multi-disciplinary team to deliver the Trust's vision and valuesproviding safe, high quality, compassionate, person centred care. 2. Support/supervise learners, new staff and junior staff where required.3. Record patient information in accordance with local and trust policies.4. Undertake personal care duties for patients within the care setting accessing supervision from a registered healthcare practitioner.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Date posted

13 April 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

409-7907095

Job locations

Whiston Hospital

Warrington Road

Prescot

L35 5DR

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please find attached Job Description and Person Specification for detailed main responsibilities and requirements.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please find attached Job Description and Person Specification for detailed main responsibilities and requirements.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent
Care Certificate (equivalent to level 1)
Literacy and numeracy functional skills level 2 or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Knowledge of personal care and related procedures
Demonstrable experience of working in a patient care/health related role
Knowledge of relevant legislation related to healthcare
Experience of working in a team

Skills

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats
Good interpersonal skills
Able to work within a team
Experience of supporting junior staff and learners
Able to accept direction and guidance
Aware of own limitations
Flexible in working hours
Able to prioritise own workload and manage time effectively
Flexible, adaptable and responsive to change
Reliable and professional
Ability to cope in stressful and challenging situations
Inclusive and non-judgmental
Punctual, motivated and committed
Effective role model demonstrating Trust values
Basic IT skills

Other

Essential

Frequent moderate effort for several long periods during the shift such as manual handling patients to supporting patient's personal care
Concentration, focus and frequent record keeping requirements. Carrying out time critical tasks
Aware that developing resilience to distressing situations is necessary without losing the ability to care compassionately
Aware of the process for accessing staff health and wellbeing support
Daily exposure to distressing situations which may include challenging behaviour, care of chronic health conditions, patient end of life care/care after death
Able to carry out direct clinical care as required on ward or department

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

NVQ level 3 Health and Social Care or equivalent
Care Certificate (equivalent to level 1)
Literacy and numeracy functional skills level 2 or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Knowledge of personal care and related procedures
Demonstrable experience of working in a patient care/health related role
Knowledge of relevant legislation related to healthcare
Experience of working in a team

Skills

Essential

Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written formats
Good interpersonal skills
Able to work within a team
Experience of supporting junior staff and learners
Able to accept direction and guidance
Aware of own limitations
Flexible in working hours
Able to prioritise own workload and manage time effectively
Flexible, adaptable and responsive to change
Reliable and professional
Ability to cope in stressful and challenging situations
Inclusive and non-judgmental
Punctual, motivated and committed
Effective role model demonstrating Trust values
Basic IT skills

Other

Essential

Frequent moderate effort for several long periods during the shift such as manual handling patients to supporting patient's personal care
Concentration, focus and frequent record keeping requirements. Carrying out time critical tasks
Aware that developing resilience to distressing situations is necessary without losing the ability to care compassionately
Aware of the process for accessing staff health and wellbeing support
Daily exposure to distressing situations which may include challenging behaviour, care of chronic health conditions, patient end of life care/care after death
Able to carry out direct clinical care as required on ward or department

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Whiston Hospital

Warrington Road

Prescot

L35 5DR

Employer's website

https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Address

Whiston Hospital

Warrington Road

Prescot

L35 5DR

Employer's website

https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)