Hospital Play Specialist
The closing date is 17 October 2025
Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity to welcome a Hospital Play Specialist to join our established play service on the Paediatric Unit at Ormskirk Hospital.
As a team we strive to provide an excellent service, putting children and their families at the forefront of our care. Our Play Specialists are integral to supporting individual patient journeys and promoting the voice of the child during their time within the department.
To support our services, we are looking for a friendly and approachable Play Specialist who is flexible, proactive, motivated, and able to demonstrate excelled communication skills. You will be expected to work collaboratively and support other members of the children's nursing and medical teams and other disciplines to facilitate a seamless and high-quality service for the child and family.
Within the trust you will have the opportunity to work alongside many specialties as an active member of the multi-disciplinary team. Including Outpatient's clinic, Paediatric day surgery, Children's Community Nursing team and Diabetes team.
The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change
Main duties of the job
To manage and maintain a child focused environment where play occurs naturally and help to bridge the gap between hospital and home.
Provide interesting and stimulating play programmes and appropriate distraction activities in an effort to fulfil emotional, social and developmental needs and help alleviate emotional traumas for the child and family in any area of the hospital where children are seen or admitted.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
- Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
- Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
- National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme
Details
Date posted
06 October 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 4
Salary
£27,485 to £30,162 a year per annum, pro rata
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Part-time
Reference number
409-7475711
Job locations
ODGH
Wigan Road
Ormskirk
L39 2AZ
Employer details
Employer name
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address
ODGH
Wigan Road
Ormskirk
L39 2AZ
Employer's website
https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Supporting documents
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