Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Band 3 Healthcare Support Worker - Callington Road, Bristol

The closing date is 02 April 2026

Job summary

Join Us at Callington Road Hospital - Where Compassion Meets Career

At Callington Road Hospital, we're proud to be at the heart of acute mental health services, providing compassionate and skilled care to adults in an inpatient setting. Our teams make a meaningful difference every day--and now, we're looking for new colleagues to join us.

We currently have Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) vacancies across several of our wards. Whether you're beginning your journey in mental health care or looking to grow within a supportive and dedicated team, this could be the perfect opportunity to start or progress your career.

We're seeking individuals who are passionate, motivated, and truly committed to caring for people living with serious mental health illnesses. In this role, you'll be part of a team offering high-quality, person-centred care--supporting people at some of the most challenging moments of their lives.

Because our patients need us around the clock, you'll need to be able to work a variety of shifts across a 24-hour period, including days, nights, weekends, and bank holidays.

In return, we offer:

Extensive development and training opportunities
Strong support from experienced colleagues and leaders
A positive, inclusive, and rewarding working environment

If you're ready to make a real impact and take the first step toward a meaningful career in mental health, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Aspen Ward

Aspen Unit is a 23-bed unit dedicated to providing specialist mental health care for older adults experiencing functional mental health illnesses, such as depression, psychosis, or bipolar disorder. We also support individuals who may have mild dementia or additional physical health conditions.

Cherry Ward

Cherry Ward is a mixed acute ward with 18 beds, offering a therapeutic environment that prioritises your safety, comfort, and individual needs. Each patient has their own private en-suite room, and there are shared communal areas for dining, activities, and relaxation. Additionally, there are separate spaces for female service users to ensure everyone feels secure and respected.

Lime Ward

Lime Unit is a 19-bed acute ward dedicated to supporting men who are recovering from a mental health crisis. Our experienced and compassionate team is here to help stabilize, regain strength, and work with individuals on their recovery.

Silver Birch Ward

Silver Birch Unit at Callington Road Hospital is a 19-bed female acute unit. The ward is thoughtfully designed to provide a calm and healing environment where you can feel secure and supported. Our facilities include private rooms, communal spaces, medical and therapeutic areas, and outdoor spaces--all arranged to encourage relaxation, recovery, and connection.

About us

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust):a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Date posted

25 March 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year (pay award pending)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

342-BR046-0326

Job locations

Callington Road Hospital

Marmalade Road

Bristol

BS4 5BJ

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details and information.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details and information.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

Possession of, or the ability and willingness to work towards, an appropriate Level 3 vocational qualification (e.g. Level 3 Diploma in Mental Health or Health and Social Care)
Possession of, or the ability and willingness to work towards, Level 2 Functional Skills (e.g. GCSE Mathematics and English Language Grade C/4 or above)
The Care Certificate (Cavendish Certificate of Fundamental Care) or equivalent.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

Experience of working as a healthcare support worker in a clinical team
Knowledge of, and experience of working with, a range of mental health issues
Knowledge of care planning and its uses in a mental health setting.
An understanding of how mental health issues can affect the lives of individuals, their families and their community, and experience of using a range of evidence-based approaches to reduce the impact of such issues.
Experience of working in a busy team, and an ability to use initiative at times of pressure

Skills and Abilities

Essential

Ability to communicate in written and verbal English to a high standard, and basic numeracy skills.
Demonstrable ability to use computer systems efficiently and effectively to record data clearly, accurately and quickly.
Ability to work with a degree of autonomy, whilst also taking direction from senior colleagues

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

Possession of, or the ability and willingness to work towards, an appropriate Level 3 vocational qualification (e.g. Level 3 Diploma in Mental Health or Health and Social Care)
Possession of, or the ability and willingness to work towards, Level 2 Functional Skills (e.g. GCSE Mathematics and English Language Grade C/4 or above)
The Care Certificate (Cavendish Certificate of Fundamental Care) or equivalent.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

Experience of working as a healthcare support worker in a clinical team
Knowledge of, and experience of working with, a range of mental health issues
Knowledge of care planning and its uses in a mental health setting.
An understanding of how mental health issues can affect the lives of individuals, their families and their community, and experience of using a range of evidence-based approaches to reduce the impact of such issues.
Experience of working in a busy team, and an ability to use initiative at times of pressure

Skills and Abilities

Essential

Ability to communicate in written and verbal English to a high standard, and basic numeracy skills.
Demonstrable ability to use computer systems efficiently and effectively to record data clearly, accurately and quickly.
Ability to work with a degree of autonomy, whilst also taking direction from senior colleagues

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Callington Road Hospital

Marmalade Road

Bristol

BS4 5BJ

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

Address

Callington Road Hospital

Marmalade Road

Bristol

BS4 5BJ

Employer's website

http://www.awp.nhs.uk/about-us/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)