Recruitment Open Day 31st July: local NHS jobs for motivated and compassionate nurses, therapists and health support workers

Friday 13 July 2018. Woking and Walton Community Hospitals are holding a Recruitment Open Day from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday 31st July at Woking Hospital, Heathside Road, Woking GU22 7HS.

The Open Day is a chance for nurses, therapists and people who are, or who want to be, health care assistants to meet with some of current staff and to learn about the hospitals and the work of the teams as well as the job opportunities and training that’s available.

People who are interested in jobs at the hospitals can apply in advance and be interviewed on the day. They can also drop-in between 10am and 4pm to learn more about the recruitment process and the opportunities available.

The two hospitals have a total of 60 beds on three wards and employ around 90 people. The teams look after patients who are unwell but who do not need acute hospital care and also focus on rehabilitation - helping elderly people get well enough to return home, often after having been in an acute hospital following illness, a fall or surgery. They provide expert nursing care as well as specialist physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, usually over a period of 2-3 weeks per patient.

Current opportunities within the teams include:

  • Health Care Assistants (Band 2)
  • Staff Nurses (Band 5)
  • Bank Occupational Therapists (Bands 5 and 6)
  • Bank Physiotherapists (Bands 5 and 6)
  • Bank Therapy Assistant (Band 3)

People who join the ward teams will be employed on NHS contracts, terms and conditions, including the generous NHS pension and holiday allowances. Salaries come with the NHS Fringe Area High Cost Area Supplement, which is worth an additional 5% on top of the normal salary.

Winning, caring, supportive teams

A number of the ward staff have been nominated for internal ‘STAR’ Awards recently, with four of them being named as Winners. The winners include the Manager of both hospitals, who was recognised for being a team player, supportive and always focusing on ‘getting the right service for the right patients at the right time’.

One of the other winners, Alice, is a Health Care Assistant on Oatlands Ward at Walton Hospital. Her colleagues describe her as a STAR because she is a ‘good team player, she gives patients choices, is helpful and provides a high standard of care to the patients’. Her nursing colleague, Marjorie, also won a STAR Award for being ‘very helpful, respectful, positive and professional, and always focusing on quality’.

The Night Duty Sister on Oatlands Ward, Beena was nominated for a STAR Award. She is described as ‘a good team leader who is always willing to help her colleagues’ and someone who is also ‘respectful, welcoming, polite and always goes that extra mile with her patients’. Her colleague Zori was also nominated for being ‘supportive, friendly, organised and very thoughtful in all she does’.

­­­­­­­­­­­­Meanwhile, the whole team on Hersham Ward at Walton Community Hospital was nominated for an award. They are described as working together as a team, from the Matron to the domestic staff, to achieve their daily goals. “Even if we are busy and a patient asks for their hair to be washed we will do it to make them happy. We keep up to date with our training and always do our best to maintain high standards. We help each other out and always go the extra mile,” says the Health Care Assistant who nominated the team.

Jessica is the Ward Sister at Woking Community Hospital. Her colleagues say that ‘nothing is too much trouble for Jessica. She’s positive, friendly, welcoming and flexible. Her support in delivering high quality care is exemplary.’

Kelly works as an Assistant with the therapy teams at both hospitals. She was nominated three times and is also a STAR Award winner. Her colleagues say she is ‘wonderful with the patients and is always willing to do whatever is asked with a smile – nothing is too much. She is such a pleasure to work with and manages to get patients to cooperate because of her brilliant listening skills, kindness, care and respect for them. Her patient interactions and note writing are of a very high standard and she is a highly valued member of the team’.

‘A day in the life of… Natasha Lea, Physiotherapist 

Natasha Lea has been a physiotherapist at Walton and Woking Community Hospitals for three years. She says she loves seeing the changes in her patients’ mobility, helping them achieve their goals and being a part of the last step in a patient’s journey before they return back home. “We receive a handover each day from the ward nursing staff and doctors where we discuss all the patients. We can then prioritise our caseload of patients with the rest of the therapy team, which includes occupational therapists, other physiotherapists and therapy assistants. We see our patients on the ward and do initial assessments to review their mobility. We complete falls assessments and do rehabilitation, often in the therapy gym, to try to improve patients’ mobility and physical function. We plan for patients’ discharge from hospital to ensure they return home safely. This can mean working closely with occupational therapy to establish if a patient may need a package of care or specialist equipment. We make any appropriate onward referrals and then have to complete our notes for all patients to ensure everything we have done is documented. A couple of tea breaks in between and that sums up a typical day for a physiotherapist on the wards at Walton and Woking Community Hospitals! Although we are each only one person, each of us has a large part to play, whether that is seeing patients face-to-face or behind the scenes completing administration roles. It provides me with great job satisfaction to know I work for the NHS and that together we help 1000s of people every day.”

To find out more about the Open Day and current vacancies, visit http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/8db55949029749049b550687e831e4d2/?vac_ref=915155727