Theatre Assistant

We are looking for a motivated, enthusiastic and flexible individual to join our Operating Theatres Units in ODCU.

You will undergo an induction programme incorporating all essential competencies to enable the delivery of quality peri-operative patient care. You will join a friendly and extremely flexible team, who require you to demonstrate a positive attitude and a desire to learn. You will be fully supported by experienced Theatre Practitioners allowing you to build confidence within various specialities and will be given every opportunity to further develop your skills and career.

Whilst given the benefits of specialising in your elective area, you will be given the opportunity to develop new skills within the Ophthalmic clinic area, comprising clinic, Retinal Suite, Assessment Unit and the ODCU ward area.

ODCU comprises two operating theatres, offering both general and local procedures, including cataract surgery, squint correction, oculoplastic procedures, corneal surgery, glaucoma surgery, vitreoretinal surgery and a ‘minor op’ service. We run a Monday to Friday service 8-8, with an on-call provision alternate weekends (8-8).

This is an excellent opportunity for individuals who are willing to learn and to play a fundamental role in caring for a patient undergoing a surgical procedure at Ipswich Hospital.

You will provide support and assistance within the operating department teams. You will also contribute to the support and care of patients under the direction of registered members of the clinical team. In this role you will also assist in supplying and maintaining materials and equipment.

Please note you may be required to undertake a Numeracy & Literacy test as part of the pre-employment checks.

One of the largest Trust’s in East Anglia, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) provide hospital and community health services to people living across a wide geographical area. We deliver care from two main hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, six community hospitals and in patients’ own homes. You will be joining a team of almost 12,000 amazing colleagues providing care to approximately a million people.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (if applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services. We offer a range of flexible working opportunities.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which do not work or cause time delays for our staff and patients.

To support our employees to achieve their career aspirations you may be eligible to obtain a qualification via an apprenticeship. All successful applicants will be required to undertake a skills review to facilitate this. For full details please see the attached Apprenticeship Handbook.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.
- Provide patient reassurance, information and support sensitive to their needs
- Prepare and check equipment - beds, operating tables, transfer devices, table attachments
- Transfer patients from one location to another - ward/theatre, theatre/recovery etc - and accurately record relevant information
- Move and position patients following instructions from person responsible for the move
- All actions are coordinated and communicated effectively with others involved with the move

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.