Health Play Specialist

**Band 4**:
**Main area**
- Health Play Specialist

**Grade**
- Band 4

**Contract**
- Permanent

**Hours**
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Flexible working considered)

**Job ref**
- 343-7094407-FM-NP-S

**Site**
- St Helier Hospital

**Town**
- Carshalton

**Salary**
- £31,081 - £33,665 pa incl HCAS Outer pro rata

**Salary period**
- Yearly

**Closing**
- 16/07/2025 23:59

At Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, above all we value respect. We put respect at the heart of all we do, by living up to our shared behaviours of kindness, professionalism, positivity and teamwork. This enables us to provide great patient care and make ESTH a great place to work. When you sign up to work with us, you sign up to this and we welcome applicants who share our values.

**Job overview**:
**Health Play Specialist
- Band 4**

**Full time and part time options are available**

Would you like to work in a local district general hospital? Are you thinking of returning to practice as a HPS? Or considering a move into Health Play Specialism and would like the opportunity to start here and build on the Play service that is developing. Are you already newly qualified and looking for experience or still studying and wanting a step in the door to working within the NHS. If so, then this post is for you.

**Main duties of the job**:
**Full time and part time options are available**

You will be working to organise play activities to help children prepare for clinical procedures, surgery and to work through their concerns and worries through a range of techniques suitable.

The work that you will be doing will be supported by a combination of evidence based practice and theoretical knowledge which will enable you to be able to plan, implement, review and evaluate therapeutic play programmes that support children (from birth) and young people emotionally and developmentally.

You will also be providing support to parents, carers and the wider family, including siblings, and will offer advice on how they can use play to help their children make sense of what's happening to them.

**Working for our organisation**:
**Welcome to Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust**

Thank you for showing an interest in working with us at Epsom and St Helier - a family of more than 7,000 colleagues.

We are truly an integrated health and care Trust. In simple terms, that means that as well as the services we provide at our acute care hospitals (Epsom in Surrey and St Helier nearby in south west London) we work with local GPs, mental health services, community providers and local authorities, with the joint aim of preventing local people from becoming unwell, and when they do, that they receive the right care, in the right place, with the right support.

So, as well as great hospital care, together we offer an increasing range of services. These include adult community health, sexual health and children's therapies. Many of these community services are run by the partnerships we host, Surrey Downs Health and Care and Sutton Health and Care.

**Detailed job description and main responsibilities**:
Please see the attached supporting Job description/Person Specification documents which contains more information about the role

**Person specification**:
**Qualifications**:
**Essential criteria**:

- Registered and Qualified Health Play Specialist holding the Foundation Degree in Healthcare Play Specialism
- NNEB/NVQ Level 3 or equivalent training involving normal childcare development

**Experience**:
**Essential criteria**:

- Experience of working with children aged 0 -18 years and understanding their developmental process.
- Experience leading play / recreation activities for babies, children and young people
- Experience of working with children in a healthcare setting

**Desirable criteria**:

- Ability to deal with conflict in a professional manner.
- Supervisory Skills/ Mentoring students

**Knowledge and Skills**:
**Essential criteria**:

- Recognition of the effects of hospitalisation on the child and family
- Awareness of child safeguarding processes
- Knowledge of professional and ethical issues, including professional boundaries

**Desirable criteria**:

- Knowledge of current best practice in clinical area
- Basic competency of Word andExcel

**DBS**: We are committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
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**Disability Advice Line**:S_WL Recruitment Hub is committed to promoting equity and equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. We believe that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even more positive