Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Linen Services Assistant to join our team.
A Linen Services Assistant atOrmskirk Hospitalensures wards and departments have a constant supply of clean linen and uniforms by delivering, sorting, and restocking supplies, while also managing uniform services like measuring and ordering for staff, and maintaining stock records, all to support patient care and hospital efficiency.
Main duties of the job
- Provide a customer focused service.
- To ensure wards and departments receive clean, laundered linen in quantities appropriate to the demands of their service.
- To adhere to safe working practices in all aspects of hygiene management.
- To adhere to safe working practices in all aspects of risk management and security.
- To ensure the patient environment is maintained to a high standard.
- To undertake mandatory training in infection control and comply with all Trust Infection Control policies relevant to the post particularly with regards to the hand hygiene policy.
- To ensure compliance to all Trust Risk Management, Research Governance and Infection Control Policies and Procedures and abide by the Standards for Better Health.
- Take responsibility for managing own health and well-being.
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
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
- To participate in the sorting, production and finishing of clean linen and dispatch to wards and departments and external contracts.
- To liaise directly with wards and departments and external contracts as required and use initiative and judgement to overcome day to day operational issues.
- Sort and grade used linen from hospital wards, departments and contract work.
- To load industrial washing machines with used linen, programme and empty machines of clean linen
- To load, operate and empty the dryers.
- To prepare linen for the calendar/folder.
- To process linen from calendar/folder to finishing area.
- To dry fold items.
- To prepare articles for the tunnel finisher and operate the machine.
- To package and dispatch all clean linen to wards, departments or external contracts.
- To maintain a safe and clean working environment.
- Cleaning of structures, equipment and components manually.
- To provide linen checking duties on Southport Hospital Site and Ormskirk Site as required.
- Linen checker ensures that adequate stocks are supplied to wards by using a top up system.
- Linen Checking duties also require communication and liaison with ward staff and managers.
STAFF TRAINING
- Staff will be trained in all aspects of linen services role and Standard Operating Procedures.
- To undertake local induction training of 4 weeks as minimum or until deemed competent.
- All trained staff are expected to display a flexible and supportive attitude to their work and colleagues, providing guidance and assistance to new or existing staff.
- Ensure an understanding of COSHH regulations and comply with these when using and handling chemicals.
- Complete and maintain competency levels.
- Participate in staff appraisal system and attend training in accordance with your personal development plan.
QUALITY & RISK
- Ensure good customer relations working with wards and departments and other groups of staff.
- Maintain and improve all aspects of the service.
- Participate, as appropriate, in staff involvement groups for all aspects of quality.
- Ensure a high standard to finished articles.
- Ensure all appropriate hygiene/temperature monitoring is carried out and recorded for every process.
- Ensure compliance with guidelines laid down in BS EN 14065.
- Responsible for the safe use of all equipment.
- Ensure compliance and operational observance of safe working practices as detailed in all aspects of risk management.
- Maintain a high level of personal hygiene as advised by control of infection.
- Ensure compliance with all Trust policies.
- Take responsibility for managing own health and wellbeing.
FINANCE / PLANNING & ORGANISATION
- Ensure economic use of all materials.
- Ensure good practice to minimize waste.
- Ensure stock levels are maintained and that stocks are ordered before minimum levels reached in order to ensure continuity of service.
Job description
Job responsibilities
KEY DUTIES
- To participate in the sorting, production and finishing of clean linen and dispatch to wards and departments and external contracts.
- To liaise directly with wards and departments and external contracts as required and use initiative and judgement to overcome day to day operational issues.
- Sort and grade used linen from hospital wards, departments and contract work.
- To load industrial washing machines with used linen, programme and empty machines of clean linen
- To load, operate and empty the dryers.
- To prepare linen for the calendar/folder.
- To process linen from calendar/folder to finishing area.
- To dry fold items.
- To prepare articles for the tunnel finisher and operate the machine.
- To package and dispatch all clean linen to wards, departments or external contracts.
- To maintain a safe and clean working environment.
- Cleaning of structures, equipment and components manually.
- To provide linen checking duties on Southport Hospital Site and Ormskirk Site as required.
- Linen checker ensures that adequate stocks are supplied to wards by using a top up system.
- Linen Checking duties also require communication and liaison with ward staff and managers.
STAFF TRAINING
- Staff will be trained in all aspects of linen services role and Standard Operating Procedures.
- To undertake local induction training of 4 weeks as minimum or until deemed competent.
- All trained staff are expected to display a flexible and supportive attitude to their work and colleagues, providing guidance and assistance to new or existing staff.
- Ensure an understanding of COSHH regulations and comply with these when using and handling chemicals.
- Complete and maintain competency levels.
- Participate in staff appraisal system and attend training in accordance with your personal development plan.
QUALITY & RISK
- Ensure good customer relations working with wards and departments and other groups of staff.
- Maintain and improve all aspects of the service.
- Participate, as appropriate, in staff involvement groups for all aspects of quality.
- Ensure a high standard to finished articles.
- Ensure all appropriate hygiene/temperature monitoring is carried out and recorded for every process.
- Ensure compliance with guidelines laid down in BS EN 14065.
- Responsible for the safe use of all equipment.
- Ensure compliance and operational observance of safe working practices as detailed in all aspects of risk management.
- Maintain a high level of personal hygiene as advised by control of infection.
- Ensure compliance with all Trust policies.
- Take responsibility for managing own health and wellbeing.
FINANCE / PLANNING & ORGANISATION
- Ensure economic use of all materials.
- Ensure good practice to minimize waste.
- Ensure stock levels are maintained and that stocks are ordered before minimum levels reached in order to ensure continuity of service.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Basic Numeracy and literacy
Knowledge & Experience
Desirable
- Large scale or NHS laundry work
- Working on a production line
Skills
Essential
- Customer Care Skills
- Working as part of a team
- Ability to instruct other less qualified staff
- Use of mechanical/electrical machines
Other
Essential
- Ability to work repetitively
- Ability to stand for long periods of time
- Ability to deal with Varied deadlines and adhoc pressures
- Ability to work under pressure
- Professional and hygiene awareness/ appearance
- Varied Shifts
- Possibility of contact with body fluids (soiled linen)
- Weekend and Bank Holiday Working
- Working in high temperatures
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Basic Numeracy and literacy
Knowledge & Experience
Desirable
- Large scale or NHS laundry work
- Working on a production line
Skills
Essential
- Customer Care Skills
- Working as part of a team
- Ability to instruct other less qualified staff
- Use of mechanical/electrical machines
Other
Essential
- Ability to work repetitively
- Ability to stand for long periods of time
- Ability to deal with Varied deadlines and adhoc pressures
- Ability to work under pressure
- Professional and hygiene awareness/ appearance
- Varied Shifts
- Possibility of contact with body fluids (soiled linen)
- Weekend and Bank Holiday Working
- Working in high temperatures
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.
