Assistant Theatre Practitioner / HCSW – Ashford

We are looking for candidates with excellent communication skills, a desire to learn and passion to develop and improve. Previous theatre experience is welcome, along with experience from other acute hospital setting.  If you are enthusiastic, motivated and looking for an opportunity to be part of a dynamic team of dedicated staff then this unique opportunity to join our theatre team at Ashford and St Peters NHS Foundation Trust could be for you!

Ashford Hospital operates as a dedicated Elective Centre, offering advanced facilities designed for efficient, high-quality care. The site includes eight theatres—six of which have laminar airflow systems—and a 13-bed recovery suite. The department also features two specialist ophthalmic theatres and two day surgery theatres with a dedicated three-bed recovery area.

Full training and support will be given and we offer many opportunities for further career progression

Informal visits to the unit are welcome so you can come and meet us and see the way that care is delivered. Please contact Ashford Matron Tom D’Souza at Tom.dsouza@nhs.net 

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will work as part of a team to provide a safe, cost effective, efficient care environment for patients, relatives and carers. You will be expected to function clinically within the Operating Department carrying out circulating roles and other theatre duties  except scrubbing. Effective communication skills is vital for this role both written and verbal with all levels of staff including the multidisciplinary team, patients and relatives, taking into account impairments, levels of consciousness and language barriers.

You will be required to adhere to local policies, guidelines and SOP’s in order to maintain a high standard of good quality care within the department.

You will also be rotated in Day Surgery Admissions and Discharge areas.

Working for our organisation

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.

Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter’s, Chertsey, Surrey.

We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development, staff benefits and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

This is an exciting time to join our Trust, as we work on the expansion of our theatres at Ashford Hospital and move towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures; with care delivered by dedicated, specialist teams in a modern and well-equipped environment.

 We hope to use this centre to create an environment of learning and to facilitate training of the next generation of our skilled NHS workforce. Our plans are ambitious – why not, come and be a part of our journey.

Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Successful candidates will under the direction of registered practitioners

• Develop knowledge of the surgical speciality and surgical instrument requirements, to provide support to team members including registered staff providing care.
• Have the ability to learn and adapt skills to the theatre environment 
• Have knowledge of hazards associated with the theatre environment and equipment, support registered staff in the safe use ensuring practice is within all current trust and theatre guidelines and polices.
• Be prepared to extend knowledge and skills by rotation to other specialties
• Report any complaints, accidents, untoward incidents or unusual occurrences to the Clinical Manager and ensure that where possible remedial action is taken to prevent the occurrence/reoccurrence of such incidents. Ensure incident forms are completed with statements where appropriate.
• Demonstrate a personal duty of care in keeping yourself and other staff up to date in the use of new equipment and procedures in the relevant areas of care.
• Ensure rigorous adherence to infection control practices including hand hygiene and universal precautions
• Demonstrate an understanding and practice of theatre standards related to patient safety, e.g. swab count, electro surgery, handling of specimens, infection prevention and control, theatre etiquette.
• Day surgery ward areas, you will be working closely with Registered nurses to assist admissions, post operative care and discharge of day surgery patients. 

Have the ability to support patient positioning for surgical procedures under the direction of registered practitioners, understanding the specific requirement for operating table attachments and patient care