Patient Catering Assistant
The closing date is 13 April 2026
The Patient Catering Assistant will be responsible for the provision of an efficient, safe and hygienic food service at ward level operating within established food hygiene, safety practices, methods and procedures. This will include the picking, preparation, regeneration and plating up of patient meals in order to assist nursing staff to serve meals to the patients.
The post holder will be responsible for the safe and hygienic cleaning of the ward kitchen and all associated equipment.
The Patient Catering Assistant must be receptive to individual patients' food service needs and treat any information about their condition with utmost confidence.
The role will also include undertaking duties to provide a portering and cleaning service to the catering department and to assist in simple food preparation in a chilled and/or frozen working and storage environment.
To generally assist when required with other comparable tasks including Saffron and the general stores as directed by their Assistant Duty Manager/Duty Manager.
The post holder will need to be fully aware of the Trust's Values and Behaviours and Patient First initiatives and act accordingly.
Main duties of the job
* To clean allocated pieces of heavy catering equipment using instructions and cleaning materials.
* To dispose of waste materials from catering areas to designated collection points.
* Operate industrial dishwashers in all the catering areas.
* To operate mechanical floor scrubbing and steam cleaning equipment.
* To transport provisions, equipment and other catering related items as required.
* To maintain clean working environment at all times, with special regard to hygiene.
* To ensure that all food is prepared in the environment with due care and attention, particularly in regard to customers' special dietary requirements: for example, nut, dairy or wheat allergies.
* To monitor the inputting of the patient menu on the Saffron tablets ensuring that all the necessary information is captured accurately.
* Collate patient meal numbers for picking and packing as required and generate associated Saffron system reports as necessary.
* Printing of the pick pack sheets for each meal service ensuring that all the correct information has been captured and the sheets are printed in a timely manner to allow sufficient time for the pick pack to be carried out.
IF YOU HAVE APPLIED IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS YOU DO NOT NEED TO RE-APPLY
About us
At UHSussex, diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients and staff with the same compassion and empathy we expect for ourselves. We're here for them when they need us, and we go above and beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our wellbeing Programme for staff which is extensive and designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching and training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us and throughout your career we will help you to grow and develop. We hope that in choosing UHSussex you are choosing a long and happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make and feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application and the start of your journey with UHSussex.
Job responsibilities
* Assisting with the receipt of deliveries, checking quantity and quality of goods; ensuring that due diligence is followed by checking and recording deliveries temperatures as appropriate and compliance with the Trusts policies and procedures as required.
* Reporting of variances in deliveries both internally and to the supplier arranging replacement deliveries or credit notes as appropriate.
* Keep accurate records of stock and inventory, movement both inwards and outwards allowing costs to be correctly attributed to the specific department.
* Ensure all stock is rotated and stored correctly reducing wastage and ensuring compliance with necessary legislation as required.
* To undertake occasional duties outside the normal routine but within the scope of the position and the departments activities.
Experience / Qualifications
* Willing to undertake Training as required. i.e COSHH, Infection Control, Health and Safety Manual Handling
* Understanding of English and Maths due to taking Patients Meal Orders
* Knowledge of Food Hygiene Practices and Food Presentation
* Previous experience in Catering or working in a Hospital Environment
* Understanding COSHH and Colour coded equipment
* Knowledge of Cleaning methods.
Skills
* Effective Communication and Customer Care Skills
* Demonstrate understanding of written instructions
* Evidence of undertaken own development
* Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
* Able to use a range of equipment competently and safely
* Computer Literate
Specific Requirements
* Customer centred approach is required
Equlaity, Diveristy and Inclusion
* Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role).
* Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues
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 name
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (279)
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