The closing date is 26th Jul 2026
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Anticipated Interview date(s) TBC
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Job summary
Our Catering Service is responsible for the delivery of nutritious and safe meals to patients, staff and visitors across Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust sites. We are looking for a Ward Host to work at The Orchards, a mental heath unit at St James Hospital.
You will work closely with the nursing team, liaising with patients regarding meal preferences and appetite, taking into account any cultural and religious choices. You will be responsible for taking meal orders, serving meals and drinks as well as cleaning up after meal times, ensuring that the needs of the individual are met.
The role will involve working every other weekend and some weekday shifts. The role is for 15 hours a week.
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Main duties, tasks & skills required
- To ensure that a high standard of customer care is maintained at all times.
- Liaise on a daily basis with the patients regarding meal preferences and appetite, taking into account any cultural and religious choices.
- Discuss with the nursing staff patients' treatment plans in order to determine their effect on individual appetite / dietary requirements.
- Communicate daily with the catering staff regarding meal requests and in the absence of the catering team leader /supervisor, meet with the catering manager to plan meal requirements.
- Serve beverages and meals, ensuring patients are assisted with positioning of their meal and access to cutlery and condiments.
- Liaise with the catering department regarding new patients' menus and dietary requests.
- Manage snacks for patients, including snacks required off the ward e.g. for patients attending appointments at a different location, ensuring the snack is appropriate to the patient's needs (soft, pureed, diabetic etc.).
- Where appropriate and under the guidance of nursing staff, provide a system that enables each patient to have access to fresh water.
- Manage food stores appropriately, ensuring a range of drinks are available to offer patients during the 24 hour period, including out of hours food items for patients missing their meal for any reason.
- Under the supervision of hostess team leader /supervisor, complete daily documentation.
- Assist patients to complete menu cards and provide explanations regarding choice.
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About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.
Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.
We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.
Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence
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Job description
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
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Person specification
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Qualifications
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Essential
Level 2 Hygiene Certificate
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Experience
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Essential
- Working alone and within a team
- Experience of working in a constantly changing environment
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Desirable
- Previous catering, host or housekeeping experience.
- Caring for people with a range of healthcare needs
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For help with your application, contact:
Ronnie Parrett-Harris
[email protected]
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Pay scheme
Agenda for Change
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Band
Band 2
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Salary
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£25272.00 to £25272.00 Yearly
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Contract
Permanent
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Working pattern
Part-Time
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Reference number
348-FME-11813
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Job locations
The Orchards, St James' Hospital
Locksway Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO4 8FE
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Attachments
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Job Description
Z HIOW JD Ward Host.docx – 144KB Opens in a new window
Converted File Z HIOW JD Ward Host.docx.pdf – 215KB Opens in a new window
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Additional document 1
EmployeeBenefits_hiowh_v1-compressed_3.pdf – 1001KB Opens in a new window
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