As part of the estates and facilities team, you'll look after NHS buildings and the grounds.
You'll make sure medicines, goods and patients are where they need to be so care is received at the right time and in the right place.
The choice is yours
There are many different roles in estates and facilities including domestic services, such as catering or linen services; the estates team in engineering or gardening for example; or as a porter or security staff.
Catering manager
NHS catering managers make sure our patients have nutritious, high-quality food and drink when they need it.
As a catering manager, you will:
- recruit, train and manage staff
- make sure all services meet health and safety and food hygiene standards
- plan menus to take into account nutritional standards and medical requirements, such as low fat, gluten free, vegetarian
- arrange staff rotas
- control budgets
- order and control stock
- supervise catering staff to make sure meals are prepared and served correctly and supplies are available and carefully used
- liaise with dietitians and dietetic assistants to plan meals for patients on special diets
- work with chefs and cooks to plan menus.
Chef/cook
Chefs and cooks are responsible for cooking food in NHS hospitals and other services making sure our patients and staff have nutritious, high-quality food.
You'll work with the catering manager to make sure food and drink is nutritious and appetising. The food must meet patients' medical and cultural needs including gluten free, low fat, soft food, halal and vegetarian.
Domestic services staff
Domestic services staff are the lifeblood of the NHS. They keep hospitals, health centres, offices and other areas clean and hygienic so staff can care for patients while reducing the risk of infection.
Housekeeper
Housekeepers help make sure hospital wards and other settings are clean, safe and attractive places for patients and staff.
As a housekeeper, you will lead ward services such as catering, cleaning, equipment and supplies. The work can include:
- talking to and reassuring patients
- ordering non-clinical supplies
- keeping the ward clean and tidy
- serving and clearing away meals
- preparing snacks and drinks
- reporting faults
- clerical and admin tasks
- ordering patient transport
- receiving visitors.
Linen services staff
Linen services staff are the hidden heroes of the NHS. They make sure hospital departments have stocks of clean uniforms and linen, such as sheets and towels, for patients.
Clean linen is an important part of healthcare. It has to be cleaned correctly to reduce the spread of infection.
Estates services
Like any building, NHS sites need repairs and regular maintenance. Estates services staff look after NHS buildings and grounds, so they are a safe and pleasant environment for our staff and patients.
As the needs of the NHS change, existing buildings need to be extended or renovated and new sites built. The fabric of the building needs to be looked after – walls, floors and windows – as well as the systems inside them – heating, power and ventilation.
All this work needs skilled staff, often from the construction sector.
Although some estates staff are multi-skilled, the main roles include carpenter, electrician, painter and decorator, plumber, estates technician. Outside jobs may need to be completed by a window cleaner, gardeners and grounds maintenance staff.
Support services
Support services staff carry out a range of tasks in different parts of the NHS. Some keep people or equipment safe, while others transport patients and equipment around hospitals and other NHS sites.
Safe places
Patients, staff and visitors need to be kept safe while they are in hospital or using other NHS sites. Buildings need to be safe to use, with suitable fire exits. Everyone who works in or visits an NHS site needs to know how to keep themselves and others safe. Roles include:
- health and safety officer
- fire safety officer
- security staff
Moving around the site
Hospitals are big places, with long corridors, different wings and, often, separate buildings. Patients may need to be moved to different parts of the hospital or to and from a hospital or clinic. Equipment needs moving too, from the stores to the wards, for example. Specialist equipment for conferences and meetings needs setting up. Your role could be: Porter, stores and distribution staff, audio visual staff or as a driver.
This is one of the fastest growing areas in health. It involves the intelligent use of information and technology to provide better care for patients.
Clinical informatics
Your working life in clinical informatics will involve looking at how information and data can help patients and the delivery of care. This could include:
- analysing information about falls on wards to prevent hospital patients having accidents
- helping to develop electronic patient records that link healthcare organisations, for example doctors and hospital clinics
- running systems that store and share x-rays, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
Health records and training administration
Health professionals need access to vital information at a moment's notice. This makes health records and patient administrators crucial to the delivery of healthcare. They are also responsible for promoting and supporting the effective use of data, information, knowledge and technology within their organisation.
Education and training roles
Educators and trainers in health informatics are responsible for making sure staff are able to use the latest technology for the benefit of patient care.
Information and communication technology
Information and communication technology (ICT) is the development, management and support of the information technology infrastructure in a health organisation. This includes personal computers, email systems and mobiles. ICT staff are responsible for all internal and external electronic communication networks, including:
- wide area networks (WAN) and local area networks (LAN) that link systems in healthcare organisations, including WiFi
- the hardware such as desktop computers, printers, laptops, tablets and smartphones
- software systems such as email systems, applications and systems, such as patient records communications.
Information management
This relates to the retrieval, analysis, interpretation and presentation of health data and information. This enables the planning, improvement and delivery of patient services and care.
Understanding how patient data is generated and captured by health professionals is just as important as the analysis itself. This means clinical audit, data protection and patient confidentiality are all crucial areas for information management staff in health organisations.
Information management staff are also able to encourage evidence-based practice, measure performance and improve access to patient records through their work.
Library, knowledge and information services
Knowledge and library service staff make sure important evidence and information is available and accessible where and when colleagues need to use it.
Project and programme management
The NHS is investing heavily in digitisation and health informatics projects are at the forefront of continuously improving patient care.
Project and programme managers in health informatics work on projects such as delivering digital systems for staff to record, analyse, extract and use data for the benefit of patients; improving the way information is shared across healthcare organisations, or developing a healthcare app.
Healthcare scientists use a range of science, engineering and technology skills to prevent, diagnose and treat a range of medical conditions.
A variety of roles
There are more than 50 different specialisms in healthcare science. Our scientists work in laboratories and directly with patients to assess and diagnose disease and illness. Our engineers help patients live independent and fulfilling lives. Our data and technology experts improve systems to benefit patients.
A choice of training routes
As well undergraduate degrees and the NHS Scientist Training for graduates, there are entry level roles and apprenticeship opportunities including a growing number of degree-level apprenticeships.
Life sciences
Life science staff play a major role in the delivery of healthcare.
Whether they are helping couples with IVF or supporting doctors and other healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, they are a crucial part of the team.
Roles in the life sciences can be divided into three areas.
Pathology – investigating the causes of illness and how it progresses; carrying out tests on tissue, blood and other samples from patients. Pathology plays a crucial role in helping doctors choose the best type of treatment for patients and monitoring its effectiveness.
Genetics – understanding the genetic components of illnesses.
Reproductive science – a rapidly developing field, creating life and providing other solutions to infertility.
Healthcare science teams in life sciences work in hospital laboratories, in the community or at organisations such as NHS Blood and Transplant and Public Health England.
Physiological sciences
Healthcare science staff who work in the physiological sciences use specialist equipment, advanced technologies and a range of different procedures to evaluate the functioning of different body systems. They diagnose abnormalities, provide therapeutic intervention and long-term management and care.
Most healthcare science staff in physiological sciences work in hospital clinics and departments, or as part of a surgical team. Some work in the community, visiting patients in their homes or in schools. These are some of the areas of work:
- audiology
- cardiac sciences
- clinical perfusion
- critical care science
- gastrointestinal physiology
- neurophysiology
- ophthalmic and vision science
- respiratory physiology and sleep sciences
- urodynamic science
- vascular science
Clinical bioinformatics
This is an area of healthcare science responsible for developing and improving methods for acquiring, storing, organising and analysing biological data that supports the delivery of patient care.
Staff working in clinical bioinformatics use areas of computer science including software tools that generate useful biological knowledge by manipulating ‘big data’.
Informatics in health care science is broken down into three unique areas:
- clinical bioinformatics (genomics)
- clinical bioinformatics (health informatics)
- clinical bioinformatics (physical sciences)
Physical sciences and clinical engineering
Healthcare science staff in this area develop methods of measuring what is happening in the body, devise new ways of diagnosing and treating disease, and ensure that equipment is functioning safely and effectively.