A North East hospital trust is looking to hire 50 new "caring, compassionate and empathetic" Health Care Assistants (HCAs) as it looks ahead to what's expected to be a challenging winter for the NHS.
Bosses at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust - which runs South Tyneside District Hospital, Sunderland Royal Hospital and a number of community services - want to hire new staff from a range of backgrounds.
The Trust is encouraging people who have customer service experience to apply for the roles, as well as those who have previously worked in the care sector.
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HCAs work to assist nurses and look after patients. They carry out tasks including helping to wash and dress patients, monitoring their health, and ensuring they are comfortable.
Anthony Watson, who heads up nursing recruitment for the Trust, said: "We are looking for people who are caring, compassionate and empathetic and have transferable skills for the nursing sector.
"We’re also asking for staff who are able to work in a team but use their own initiative and are resilient and flexible in their approach to work. It is a very rewarding job and we give staff the opportunity to develop in the role."
He said HCAs "make a real difference every day" and would play "an absolutely vital role" in looking after patients.
New members of staff will also complete the Care Certificate, a recognised qualification in the sector.
Applicants will be expected to have a Level 2 qualification such as an NVQ and some form of customer service experience.
This comes amid calls around the country for "Plan B" Covid restrictions to be implemented to help lessen the pressure on the NHS - with hospitals around the region among those experiencing long waiting lists and huge queues at A&E.
Anyone interested should visit jobs.nhs.uk or the Trust’s own jobs page via stsft.nhs.uk/join-our-team. Interviews take place over two days from November 10.
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