Housekeeper - Ward 5B

Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,

Our mission is:
Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is:
To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Housekeeper - Ward 5B who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

You will be an integral part of the team, responsible for providing catering throughout the day to our Orthopaedic patients. You will also liaise with contractors and support services together with specified tasks to meet patient needs as determined by the nurse in charge.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

1. To assist in monitoring and maintaining cleaning standards on the ward.
2. To carry out spot cleaning and ensure spillages are dealt with swiftly and efficiently.
3. To ensure the ward is kept safe and tidy at all times.
4. Where necessary, ensure infection control measures are adhered to.
5. To ensure patients order food, taking into account special needs and meal requirements.
6. To ensure patients have any assistance they require to eat and drink and to monitor food intake in conjunction with patients' dietary needs.
7. To prepare and serve hot and cold snacks as requested, ensuring compliance with current food hygiene standards.
8. To ensure food and beverages are served/consumed at the correct temperature.
9. To wash all equipment/utensils used in preparation, serving, and consuming food and beverages.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide. Our 6,000 dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way we work has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work-life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns, and we are committed to listening and considering all requests.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the main job description and person specification attached. Alternatively, please contact either Sue Passfield or Terri Adams.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

• Basic general education – English & Maths

Previous Experience

• Clear and polite telephone skills and verbal communications.
• Dealing with enquiries/complaints.
• Ability to work closely with all levels of staff.
• Adaptability, able to prioritise especially under pressure.
• Customer service focused environment.
• Previous employment within the NHS, hospital environment or hotel industry.
• Training in food hygiene.
• Training in cleaning standards/small maintenance tasks.

Skills

• Leadership, Organisational, Communication.
• Motivation and initiative to work alone and within a team.
• Able to organize and ensure that the environment is conducive to healthcare.
• Politeness, approachable with all patients, staff and visitors.
• Confidentiality.
• Flexible/adaptable.

Knowledge

• Technical, Professional, Specialist job-related knowledge.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety issues.
• Clerical procedures/ordering supplies.
• Dealing with the public.
• Patients' nutritional needs.
• Infection control issues.

Other requirements

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Role model our Trust values every day.

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background.

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to supporting flexible working for our staff wherever possible.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net.

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form.

As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, which may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name: Sue Passfield

Job title: Ward Manager

Email address: sue.passfield@nhs.net

Telephone number: 01438 285056

Alternatively, you can contact Terri Adams on a Tuesday or Friday on the same telephone number.