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Community Healthcare Assistant

If you have a passion for caring and are interested in making a real difference to patients and their families, come and join the outstanding St Elizabeth Hospice team.

We are looking for Healthcare Assistants to join our dynamic Virtual Ward team that is part of our Community team. This role offers the unique opportunity to work alongside our outstanding multi-disciplinary team, providing planned or reactive care to patients and support to their loved ones.

Our ideal candidate will have NVQ level II in Health and Social Care or the Care Certificate, with experience in community / palliative care.

As well as joining our rewarding and well-respected organisation, St Elizabeth Hospice is here to support your career, with progression and training opportunities available to enhance your skills and development.

St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent charity and hospice, which improves life for people in the East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney areas living with a progressive or life-limiting illness.   Established in 1989, the hospice has built a reputation for delivering high-level care to patients and the community it serves. Through medicine and therapy, they ease pain; give life purpose and make life liveable. Last year the charity supported over 4,000 patients and their families.

Our most recent Care Quality Commission report rated the hospice as “Outstanding”

Every patient and family member is valued, and we pride ourselves in giving dedicated time to care for patients, whether it is in a patient’s home, on the telephone through OneCall or at the In-Patient Unit in Ipswich.

St Elizabeth Hospice is an innovative and compassionate organisation. Hear from Healthcare Assistants themselves on why working at St Elizabeth Hospice is so special:

“Joining the hospice is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I can’t imagine working anywhere else, it’s a very special place to be and to work.”

“Many people have said it must be very sad to work at the hospice, which it can be, but it is also the most uplifting and positive place that I have ever worked.”

“I wouldn’t change my job for the world. Being able to continue supporting people during difficult times in their lives, has been one of the most rewarding and proudest moments in my career.”

“People often assume working at the hospice is dark, gloomy and sad, but this is not the case. We work with the living and help make a difference to people during very difficult times in their lives. It is a real privilege to be a part of an organisation that provides this special care, and I have felt this same feeling ever since I joined.”

St Elizabeth Hospice is committed to safeguarding and protecting the adults and young people that we work with and has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, neglect and discrimination of any person. As such, all posts are subject to a rigorous safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We have a range of robust safeguarding policies in place which promote safeguarding across the hospice and staff are expected to undertake regular, mandatory safeguarding training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to potential risks.

If you would like an opportunity to find out more about working at the hospice and how it can fit your own career aspirations, we recommend an informal visit/discussion prior to you completing your application. Please contact Jodie Hodgkinson, Virtual Ward Clinical Lead, via email to  [email protected]

Details
Closing date Thursday 16 July 2026
Interview date Thursday 30 July 2026
Location Ipswich
Status Permanent
Salary WTE: £25,272.00 per annum (based on 37.5 hours per week) – band 2
Hours Various hours available covering 7 days a week, day and night shifts

Discover St Elizabeth Hospice and what it’s like to work with us

The hospice offers a generous benefit package, including:

  • 27 days annual leave entitlement
  • Pension scheme
  • Life Cover
  • Cycle to Work Scheme
  • Car Leasing Scheme
  • Health Service Discounts
  • Occupational Sick Pay
  • Blue Light Card
  • Employee Assistance Programme

For more details about this role please read the job description and person specification.

Applicants selected for interview will be contacted, and an invitation to interview will be sent by email.  If applying, please keep a check on your emails including your spam/junk folders.