Health Care Support Worker -Pre-Op Assessment
At a glance
- Band
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time, Flexible working
- Posted
- 21/09/2026
- Closes
- 05/10/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This role is for a Healthcare Assistant (HCA) in a Pre-Operative Assessment (POA) service, helping to prepare patients before surgery. You will work alongside nurses and doctors, performing basic observations, recording patient information, and assisting with ECGs and blood samples if trained. The job involves welcoming patients, updating records, preparing equipment, and communicating with patients and the multidisciplinary team. It requires a caring individual who can work as part of a team to make a difference for NHS patients.
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with people, ideally in a front-line customer service role.
- Ability to work agreed shift patterns designed to meet service needs.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of providing person centred care.
- Demonstrates some insight into the fundamentals and complexity of care and care delivery
- Level 2 or Level 3 (NVQ) in health and Social Care or equivalent relevant experience
- An understanding of the needs for environmental, food and personal hygiene
- Good verbal and written English communication skills.
- The ability to respond with kindness and humanity to patients.
- Basic knowledge of health and safety with an awareness of the importance of following Trust policies and procedures.
- A flexible and adaptable approach with the aptitude to work in a busy hospital healthcare setting.
- An understanding of the importance of patient confidentially and privacy.
- Previous NHS experience
- Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team
- Experience of working with people, ideally in a front-line customer service role.
- Ability to work agreed shift patterns designed to meet service needs.
- Experience of providing person centred care.
- Demonstrates some insight into the fundamentals and complexity of care and care delivery
- Level 2 or Level 3 (NVQ) in health and Social Care or equivalent relevant experience
- An understanding of the needs for environmental, food and personal hygiene
- Good verbal and written English communication skills.
- The ability to respond with kindness and humanity to patients.
- Basic knowledge of health and safety with an awareness of the importance of following Trust policies and procedures.
- A flexible and adaptable approach with the aptitude to work in a busy hospital healthcare setting.
- An understanding of the importance of patient confidentially and privacy.
- Previous NHS experience
- Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 3 at £24,625 – £25,674 a year, across England.
This advert: £25,760 – £27,476 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 14d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Health Care Support Worker -Pre-Op Assessment
The closing date is 05 October 2026
Job summary
This job is for aHealthcare Assistant (HCA) in a Pre-Operative Assessment (POA) service within the NHS in Buckinghamshire.
Are you looking to step into the new career?
Are you caring and good at talking to people?
Do you enjoy working as part of a team?
Do you want to make a difference for NHS patients in Buckinghamshire?
If the answer is yes then we would welcome your application
Main duties of the job
What the job involves
The main purpose is to help assess and prepare patientsbefore they have an operation . You would work alongside nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals
Typical duties may include:
- Welcoming patients and helping them feel comfortable.
- Taking basic observations such asblood pressure, pulse, temperature and oxygen levels .
- Recording patients' height, weight and other information.
- Asking patients about their health, medical history and current medication, under the supervision of the clinical team.
- Preforming ECGs
- Taking blood samples if the role includes phlebotomy and you are trained.
- Updating patient records accurately.
- Preparing equipment and clinical areas.
- Communicating with patients who may be nervous or worried about their operation.
- Working closely with
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