Trac proudly powers the recruitment for
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
About
Contact
- Address
- Trust Offices
- St Thomas' Street
- London
- SE1 9RT
- Contact Number
- 020 7188 7188
Bank Catering Food Service Assistant
Closed for applications on: 25-Mar-2025 13:11
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 25-Mar-2025 13:11
Key details
Location
- Site
- St Thomas
- Address
- 249 Weminster Bridge Road
- Town
- London
- Postcode
- SE1 7EH
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Bank: 0 years (Zero hour contract)
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
Salary
- Salary
- £13.15 - £14 Per Hour
- Salary period
- Hourly
- Grade
- (Band 2)
Specialty
- Main area
- Food Service Assistant
Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.
Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions.
Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.
In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.
We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.
Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.
The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.
We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.
Job overview
We are looking for dedicated and dynamic Food Service Assistants to join our Soft Services Team.
The Patient Food Services Department is responsible for ensuring that over 3,500 high quality meals are served every day. The Guy's Facilities Team provides patient catering, housekeeping and building maintenance services across the site. The post holder will join a dynamic and skilled team, with the ability to build on the strengths of the current facilities services, yet flexible to adapt to future changes to ensure the needs and objectives of both the service and the Trust are met.
You will have previous catering experience in a facilities environment and be confident at:
Delivering exceptional customer service
Having a commitment to carrying out tasks with a great attention to detail
Demonstrating a natural ability to work with colleagues as part of a large and diverse team
‘Putting Patients First’ is one of our Trust Values and all team members must be friendly with a willingness to help patients, visitors and colleagues at all times.
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Operational
- Conducts a wide range of patient food service duties including:
- Liaises with the clinical team, specifically the Mealtime Co-ordinator and observes the dietetic data noted on the ward level Nutrition Boards.
- Takes and records temperature readings of the food prior to serving.
- Checks that all documentation relating to the patient catering service is readily available in both the patient’s bedside locker and also in the kitchen; obtaining replacement copies as and when necessary.
- Contributes to the continuous improvement of the service, increasing client satisfaction and flexible working practices; prepared to offer support and cover on a cross-site basis if necessary.
-
Technical
Observes and adheres to all aspects of health and Food Safety and relevant legislation.
Completes training courses as required to maintain skills and knowledge.
CommunicationReports any maintenance faults, damage, theft or health and safety issues in their designated areas of responsibility; to enable these issues to be resolved expediently.
Reports all accidents and adverse incidents, in accordance with Trust policy and IR1 procedure.
Working for our organisation
Essentia is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ and is responsible for all non-clinical healthcare services. Essentia designs, builds and maintains healthcare infrastructure, which is vital to the smooth running of healthcare services. This encompasses everything from construction projects and healthcare planning to waste management, catering, housekeeping, transport and security. Essentia employs around 1,800 people. It combines exceptionally high standards and public sector values with commercial focus, innovative thinking and modern technology to create the best possible patient experience.
What We Offer
We offer a dynamic challenging job in an exciting, fast moving, flexible working environment. We have a strong commitment to your personal and professional development.
In addition, we offer excellent benefits, including:
• The NHS Pension Scheme - one of the most generous and comprehensive in the UK. When you start working for the NHS you
automatically become a member and you will get an excellent package of pension benefits.
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Long Term Service Awards
• Subsidised on-site nurseries and childcare vouchers
• A comprehensive staff health and well-being programme, '5 ways to a healthier YOU'
• Ride to work scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Free stop smoking service
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Prepares breakfast, lunch and supper meals, together with 5 beverage rounds; conducting food box collections and regeneration of the food using either the Burlodge oven or microwave.
Liaises with the clinical team, specifically the Mealtime Coordinator and observes the dietetic data noted on the ward level Nutrition Boards.
Takes meal orders from patients in a courteous manner, with full knowledge of menu options with the ability to make recommendations. Utilises electronic or manual devices to record menu selections and encourage patients to make informed choices through the use of food photography.
Heats, plates and garnishes meals; in accordance with the dish requirements.
Takes and records temperature readings of the food prior to serving.
Notifies the clinical team when the meal service is about to commence, checks whether there are any additional dietary requirements since meal orders were taken.
Delivers meal trays to patients and clears them once the patient has finished; recording any food wastage before emptying it into the appropriate bin.
Notifies clinical team if there are high levels of waste from a particular patient, including untouched meals.
Completes the associated documentation to confirm the number of meals served.
Ensures all glassware and crockery are cleaned, stacked and put away in the cupboards.
Checks that all documentation relating to the patient catering service is readily available in both the patient’s bedside locker and also in the kitchen; obtaining replacement copies as and when necessary.
Cleans kitchen fittings, including sinks, microwaves/burlodges and fridges/ice machines; and removes any fluids present from surfaces, as dictated by local procedures.
Damp dusts all surfaces, including those at high level; cleans internal glass and removes finger marks e.g. on doors and surrounds; and damp mops hard surfaced flooring.
Maintains high standards of tidiness within their designated areas of responsibility.
Replaces all consumables; ensuring they are fully stocked at all times, including hand towels, hand soap, toilet rolls and waste sacks.
Empties and cleans waste bins, ensuring items are disposed of both safely and correctly in accordance with the waste and infection control policies.
Assists with the movement of stores and cleaning materials.
Carries out their duties in all areas of the Trust, including mental health wards, isolation rooms and barrier nursing areas, as and when dictated by local procedures.
Ensures specific work is completed to a satisfactory standard by undertaking routine and ad-hoc environmental quality audits within the scheduled area of work. Utilising performance monitoring systems, either electronic or manual to report areas of concern.
Utilises ‘image of the service’ initiatives, ensuring high presentation and commercial standards are maintained at all times; adhering to SLAs and CQC/PLACE audits.
Contributes to the continuous improvement of the service, increasing client satisfaction and flexible working practices; prepared to offer support and cover on a cross-site basis if necessary.
Please see the Job Description for the full duties of the role
Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership.
Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy.
As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends.
Flexible working
We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process.
Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on the UK Government website.
Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis.
Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now."
Please note that the references will be approached prior to interview.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Will be required to successfully complete a patient food service induction programme
- Good command of the English language, including oral and written communication skills.
- Good numerical skills
- Basic Food Hygiene Certificate
- Experience of using IT systems including Microsoft Office packages.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment (PLACE).
- Intermediate Food Hygiene Certificate.
- Knowledge of manual handling procedures.
- Knowledge of health and safety procedures.
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Proven experience of delivering an effective food services assistant role within a large and complex facilities services department
- Experience in customer services.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working within the healthcare profession or hotel/ restaurant
- An understanding of special diet requirements.
Skills/Knowledge/Ability
Essential criteria
- Good knowledge of food hygiene techniques and procedures.
- Good customer service skills, with the ability to respond sensitively to patient queries; demonstrating empathy and compassion.
- A methodical and accurate approach to work activities and capable of following procedures and systematic processes.
- Ability to manage time, organise and prioritise work; whilst showing initiative when working on their own and as part of a team.
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
- Ability and willingness to learn new skills and to attend training
- Good team member with the ability to communicate and engage effectively with all grades of staff, within a busy and challenging environment
- Committed and enthusiastic towards providing high service standards.
- Ability to work quickly and efficiently
- Problem solving skills
- Willing to undertake further training as necessary
Desirable criteria
- NHS Foundation Trust knowledge
- Allergens awareness.
- Data Protection Act 1998 knowledge.
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Amanda Carlin
- Job title
- Senior Soft Service Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
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