Job summary
- Main area
- Assistant Health Care Practitioner
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 220-WHT-3327
- Employer
- Whittington Health NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Whittington Hospital Main Theatres
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £30,546 - £32,207 Per Annum Including HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Theatre Health Care Assistant
NHS AfC: Band 3
Covid-19 Vaccination
Getting vaccinated, and getting a booster, remains the best defence against COVID-19.
We encourage and support staff to get COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose as and when they are eligible.
Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of Whittington Health NHS Trust.
For our current apprenticeship vacancies, please go to https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship and use Keyword ‘Whittington’
By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.
Job overview
To carry out care and treatment tasks as delegated by Qualified Professionals, requiring a wide technical ability, numeracy and accuracy as well as a significant level of interpersonal skills.
To participate and complete training programme in order to fulfil the role of Assistant Health Care Practitioner.
Work under the supervision of qualified staff, as part of the clinical team, ensuring that clinical care of patients and others using the service receive an efficient and quality service.
Main duties of the job
- Following appropriate training, assist in the provision of care to patient’s pre, peri and post operatively, supporting clinical theatre staff under supervision.
- Act as a member of the multidisciplinary team,
- Carry out routine and additional/extended role, duties when trained and been assessed as competent.
- Help in the preparation of patients for surgical procedures, ensuring all relevant documentation accompanies the patient in order to maintain their safety.
- Following training assist the team in taking and dispatching specimens as required.
- Undertake procedures, processes and activities, which may be reasonably considered as an extension of their normal role. This will involve participating in training programs to improve competencies.
- Assist in endoscopy procedures and the maintenance and cleaning of equipment.
Working for our organisation
Our latest policy known as “Promoting Equality, Diversity and Human Rights” outlines the Trust’s commitment to ensuring that no job applicant or employee receives less than favourable treatment on grounds of sex, marital and civil partnership status, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, colour, creed, religion or belief, physical disability, mental health, learning difficulty, age or sexual orientation and is not placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements that cannot be shown to be justifiable.
For more information about our policy and commitment to equality, click: http://www.whittington.nhs.uk/default.asp?c=10505&q=equality ”
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Support the multidisciplinary team in the delivery of a high standard of patient care within the department, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
- Assist in the preparation of the operating room prior to commencement of surgery.
- Collect appropriate instrument trays and disposable items as directed by the Theatre Practitioner.
- Prepare and maintain the environment to a standard suitable for clinical procedures as required, ensuring instruments, materials and equipment are handled safely and correctly and are returned to the correct location at end of procedure.
- Collect and transfer patients from ward to theatre and recovery to ward in a safe and courteous manner.
- Assist the team with moving, handling and positioning the patient on the operating table.
- Transfer the patient safely, under the supervision of medical/ anaesthetic staff from anaesthetic room to theatre.
- Check and connect surgical equipment as directed by the Theatre Practitioner e.g. suction, diathermy and camera system.
- Ensure correct surgical props are available, clean and in good working order.
- Support patient limb during prepping and draping.
- Assist the scrub team with gown and gloves prior to surgery begins.
- Ensure maintenance of a sterile field throughout the surgical procedure.
- Ensure that all surgical instruments are positioned and applied only under the supervision of the surgeon.
- Provide surgical instrumentation and supplementary items for the surgical team, monitor and maintain sterile fields during operative procedures.
- Prepare and attach dressing, wound support and drain to patient at end of procedure.
Person specification
Education /Qualifications
Essential criteria
- - NVQ2 or equivalent experience
- - Key Skill Level 1 in literacy and numeracy
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- - Communicated clearly in writing, verbally, electronically and on the telephone
- - Able to prioritise workload
- - Able to plan their own work
- - Moving and handling of patients
- - Pressure area care
- - Hand hygiene
Desirable criteria
- IT Knowledge
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
- - Demonstrable experience in a healthcare setting
- - Team working
- - Caring for adults - Caring for children
- - Understands the importance of patient confidentiality
- - Understanding of health and safety issues
- - Understanding of stock control
Desirable criteria
- - Demonstrable experience of working in a theatre setting
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- - Demonstrates a caring disposition
- - Flexibility - Punctual
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Myrasol Duque
- Job title
- Practise Development Nurse
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 02072885400
If you have problems applying, contact
- Address
-
WHT
- Telephone
- If you have any queries, please contact NLPSS Recruitment Helpdesk tel. 020 3758 2060
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