registered nurse

support worker

occupational therapist

healthcare assistant

physiotherapist

NHS Healthcare Support Workers

Working in one of the Local Area Teams, we're a happy family, though in recent times one which has been subject to lots of stresses and strains with job security being very much behind most of our worries.

I have two typical kinds of day.  The first is when I go into my office and pore over data, either trying to select audit subjects, rough out an audit sample, or write up a report based on what my checks revealed, forwarding this to collegues to address things like any financial clawback identified, or sometimes breaches of contract.  
The second is when I go out to the audit site and spend the day poring over records to ensure that they contain details of the service that was provided, and that these match the service that was claimed by the contractor from the NHS in financial terms.

My office contains a friendly bunch of people in the main who are great to work with and very passionate about the admin and financial side of the healthcare coin.
All teams seem to work well together, and most seem to respect one another's points of view, share information and are generally supportive of their co-workers.  Our managers here are pretty much the same, and I consider myself quite fortunate.  
Of course many of us have worked together for years, so we've bonded, and the shared threat of redundancy has brought us a lot closer over the last two years.  The downside to the threat of job loss is that more people are now overly protective of their jobs and skills, and perhaps are less likely to share information or help out.

The hard parts of my job include dealing with contractors who do not have evidence to back up the payments they have received that I am reviewing, as this can result in financial penalties or even contract termination - they can often be very angry and upset.  Also, because I work in health services, I am privy to some patient information that can be distressing to see.

The best part of my job is meeting lots of other people who work in the extended community of healthcare provision, discussing challenges and swapping stories.  I find it very reassuring that so many of us behind the scenes are proud of the work that we do, making the NHS better wherever we can in terms of standards and value.  Also, sometimes the outcome of an audit visit is simply to praise the contractor, share tips on best practice, and pass on positive feedback to my colleagues about great standards of care records, good news for the patient and the taxpayer alike.

As a healthcare assistant I was responsible for assisting qualified healthcare professionals in caring for patients, who may be being treated in hospital or at home. The job can be extremely varied, since the health care professionals who require the services of a healthcare assistant range from nurses to doctors, and from radiologists to midwives. The job of a healthcare assistant overlaps with that performed by a nurse. However, healthcare assistants are not allowed to administer medication or perform complex nursing procedures.

 
My job duties included.
 Helping patients to undertake personal tasks, including washing, showering, and using the toilet
Serving food to patients and helping them to eat if they are physically weak
Changing dirty sheets and bedding
Making the beds
Talking to patients to ease loneliness and feelings of isolation
Listening to the particular needs of patients and acting on these needs as appropriate
Turning patients who are required to spend a lot of time in bed, in order to avoid bed sores
Helping patients to move around their environment and to feel comfortable in their own homes or in hospital. This involves keeping their living area extremely clean and tidy
Improving the mobility of patients
Giving out bedpans
Collecting used bedpans
Ensuring that supplies of medical equipment are replenished
Taking the temperature of the patient
Recording the temperature of the patient
Taking the pulse rate of the patient
Recording the pulse rate of the patient
Taking the respiration rate of the patient
Recording the respiration rate of the patient
Notifying healthcare professionals if temperatures, pulse rates, or respiration rates seem abnormal or worrying
Measuring the weight of the patient
Measuring blood glucose levels
Performing electrocardiograms, which allow healthcare assistants to monitor a patient’s heart activity
Taking blood from the patient
Preparing patients for therapy or medical treatment
Setting up equipment needed by healthcare professionals
Assisting the healthcare professional whilst they administer therapy or treatment
Ensuring that the patient is comfortable whilst the therapy or treatment is being administered
Recording the patient’s progress following each session of therapy or treatment.

I worked here for 6 very miserable years. Bought close to breakdown had to leave for my sanity. Management is totally useless. They are disconnected in their approach. Do not care about staff. They frequently went out for "meetings" where they had a generous budget to pamper themselves. They are always advertising for staff - a red flag should be in your face as a warning, all is far from well. Cafe was expensive lots of negative comments from the public due to this. They employ a chef to create fancy sounding meals at extortionate prices. Pensioners, low income/ unemployed people are disregarded. This private company has hijacked the NHS logo as have other private establishments. I made patients aware that the company was private although they made the bulk of their profits by taking NHS patients, as they don't get enough private patients to support the business. Training promised but never delivered. Even mandatory training was at one point non existent. We were warned beforehand if the Care Quality Commission were going to
visit, how would they know that? Naturally they passed inspection as we knew they were coming! Canteen was insufficient for the 3 gateways ( departments) that had to share these inadequate facilities. Rota's often left extremely late, right up to the last shift we were on. No quality time to spend with patients. The whole place is a facade, scratch the surface and its rotten. Seconded NHS staff were marvellous and made the business work but I was employed by Circle and therefore got paid considerably less money for doing exactly the same job.  This was a source of great contention for Circle employees as it was simply unfair. Also less holidays, and no pay if sick where as NHS colleagues got paid if off sick and enjoyed a generous holiday allowance. Administration department were stressed due to insufficient training and staff, so they tried to ignore you if you required assistance although they absolutely should have helped as it was part of their role, and was an integral part of making the team work so was very stressful. Complaints were made throughout my 6 years of employment about this and it was ignored time after time.... I could go on and on giving examples of the inadequacy on behalf of the management, the unfairness, the stress and tension that exists in this miserable place they pass off as a hospital.

This position had so much potential but if your faces doesn't fit then you are effectively not welcome to progress.

I witnessed absent minded staff 'fiddling' with drips during operations, not responding quickly in the event of an emergency yet were never pulled up on it, very frustrating and I lost my confidence within the NHS in theatres.

The staff turnover was phenomenal, I was asked to proceed with complaints to HR and make them aware of what I could. we had private investigators in and nothing at the time surfaced.


The hardest part of the job was working alongside people who were either tired, absent minded, not focused on their job or simply didn't understand some of the medical terminology and in that environment it is dangerous to not act imminently.

Living locally and having family / friends too, meant that on occasion you would see people you know or hear of them being discussed and it was uncomfortable to hear.


The job itself is incredible, a real opportunity for anyone interested in the human body should consider it. Everyday it is something different, you alternate theatres; obstetrics, gynae, head & neck, trauma, general etc. All very very interesting. 

But you need to think fast, be quicker on your feet, stay focused, listen clearly - the room can be loud with machine, robot or other equipment like drills so eye contact and attention throughout. you can be in theatre standing for very long periods of time, 1 person in theatre will tell you when to take a break and you must go when they say. It is very important to work as a team. to clean as quickly as possibly but really clean - infection control is SO important, I would say obviously but even after training it was shocking at times. 

It is full of students and a real eye opener for any patients. Not nice to think that when you are having an operation there can be up to 8 or more people in the room looking at you. not all necessarily need to be present, usually students or training theatre staff.

long long unsociable hours, 7 nights on 7 off. can be boring. in obstetrics it isn't guaranteed you will even see a delivery on your shift. some staff just sleep but you do not have enough time to do anything so it's boring and long.

My typical day at work starts with a handover and then a routine check of the patients in the corridor or building I am in charged of.
during the handover , I am informed in any changes related to patients and how to handle issues if any . Then assist my patients with shower or full wash , creaming, clothing and feeding if needed.
I am supervised by a care team leader acting as a manager whose information are to be passed on and action to be followed .

As a care assistant the patients are in the centre of my job , with colleagues help we work as a team although we are always assigned patients to take care of . I have patients I key work for . In my role as  a key worker , I have to make sure my patients care plan is updates changes occur inexpertly, make sure they look physically pleasant, their review takes place, their risk assessment is carried out and escorted at hospital when needed etc.

The most enjoyable part of my job is the accomplishment of a shift without any incident such as falls , injuries, without any concern or a feeling to have not accomplished my mission. Also the feeling to have made a difference in my patients life . This is quite surprising the difference patients makes in my life they give me a smile when they recover from a fall or an injury something that is not always easy.

The most hardest part of the day is shortest of resources and not being able to provide the best of my ability due to the lack of time and staffs. The other issues is patients passing away as I got used to r being admitted to hospital and not being able to house in our setting

At the start of each day on duty i would get allocated four patients on the ward. I would begin to spend time with each patient individually to observe their mental state. If the circumstances allow i would try to take the patients out on leave to see how they would respond in public areas. Everyday we will sit with patients at meal times and be involved in activities throughout the day. Towards the ending of the shift i would type up notes on the work system so other multi professionals can see.

I have learnt good communication skills at my current post. I have also learnt to be more understanding, to listen more and have good eye contact when speaking. De-escalating is a big part of my job and over the years i have learnt to do this well. I can adapt with all sorts of background and ages.

My time management is at a very high level, being on time is very important as it allows other members of staff to either leave to go home or time or free them up to do other jobs.

At work im apart of a multi professional team, i get on very well with staff of all area's. There maybe times when there is a difference of opinion but we handle this in a professional and comfortable manner.

The hardest part of my job is approaching distraught families that are finding it hard coping with fact there relation is in hospital. Trying to remain positive is key to helping them feel a bit better

The most enjoyable part of my job is watching a patient return to full health and get discharged from the hospital.

A day or night at work is very fast paced and can be stressful but also rewarding.

Everyone I work with are so friendly and supportive. The Team Leaders/Supervisors on site are very approachable and give lots of guidance and support.

I am in an environment where I am always learning new things. At times the job can be very stressful as I am on the phone to patients who can be emotional and challenging. Overall I enjoy trying to help people with their problems and give them the right direction and advice.

The downside is that shifts can be long and it is difficult to take a break when the service is particularly busy. Work can be repetitive and non-stop at busy times. 

Overall, this is a pleasant yet challenging working environment. Everyone who works with me is lovely and we all know the importance of team work. I believe each 111 service can vary, this particular one can be at times a little disorganised (it is a new service) but the Team Leaders are very nice and everyone has a positive attitude.

I feel 111 could be improved if there was more advertisement on what exactly its purpose is. The information about the service is too vague. This causes further stress to callers because they often don't expect extensive questions and they often assume that the service is either there to diagnose or to get seen by a Doctor rather than to rule things out and to give some advice/point people in the right direction to appropriately address their own needs.

I work on a busy medical ward, I like to be busy, I start at 7.00 am with report from the nurse that has been working threw out the night, then we give bowls out to the patients that need only assistant with their personal hygiene needs. pressure area such as sacrum, heels and elbows have to be checked on each patient for pressure sores this is vitally important, full bed baths are given plus mouth care to all patients, that require full assistance. There are three teams working on the wards three trained nurses working on each team with an healthcare working along side of them, each team have nine patients to care for, and occasionally we have a student nurse working with us. Then when washes have been done the breakfasts are given out, and some patients need full assistance with feeding and drinking, fluid, food and 2hourly turn charts must  be filled in threw out the shifts and full observation to be checked on  patients every 2 to 4 hours.  The job can be very demanding at most times but it also can be extremely rewarding especially when families thank you for the care and compassion you have given to both them and there loved ones. The hardest part of the job is when a patient has died and they have been a regular patient on our ward as there is a strong bond with both patient and their families.

Ok so, I do love working for the NHS. The money is great, the enhancements on nights, Saturday (both 44% extra an hour) and Sunday (88% extra an hour) you just can't complain at. I currently work on the Temp staffing as I can choose my own shifts on different wards. I have worked permanently and I found the management horrendous. The hours are long as you can only work 12.5 hour shifts now. You can be contracted from 11.5 hours to 37 but one week you may only have 6 hours and the next you would have 11.5 plus the other 6 you missed the week before. My manager (and I know others do this too) booked my own annual leave and from September to January she had used my whole entitlement. What?! Sometimes you also owe a lot of hours as they use an electronic roster system which doesn't work, this means if you decide to leave the trust you could owe 100+ hours plus annual leave they have booked for you! Many managers also give back to back shifts, and I have seen some staff have a rota of 4 night shifts in a row, which is a lot with work load you are expected to do. I do recommend the Temporary Staffing option they offer as you can choose your own hours and you still receive all enhancements and an annual leave entitlement, you do have a 0 hour contract but there are more than enough shifts for everyone.

ive worked in all types of jobs and havent found one i didnt like ive adjusted to all types of work from warehouse and distribution ,factory to nhs job ,i always give any job my best ,my typical day at work starts with going to the office to see which areas need to be covered and collect my keys to the areas im working and any information my supervisor has to discuss with me , we do regular training to keep us up to date within Nhs guidelines such as health and safety ,food hygiene ,fire training and C,O,S,H , Each building has its own team of workers and we all pull together as a team if any extra duties have to be carried out such as carpet cleaning we will all pull together on that area as well as doing our own duties so the work gets completed on time ,the hardest part of the job is if we have to go on to the wards ,the clients are mentally ill and we risk personal safety ,we have forensic units which are high security and most of the wards have a locked door policy as clients are sectioned ,the most enjoyable part is working as a team to achieve our jobs the bosses call us the A team as they always call on us if any area in the hospital needs to be upgraded

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Registered nurse 44 salaries reported	£34,983 per year
Support worker 179 salaries reported	£25,930 per year
Occupational therapist 16 salaries reported	£45,160 per year
Healthcare assistant 26 salaries reported	£27,767 per year
Physiotherapist 21 salaries reported	£47,985 per year

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