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Reading Social Care

Healthcare AssistantNHS

Reading, RG1 5AN Permanent £25,760 to £27,476
Posted 2 October 2026 Closing date 11 October 2026
Reading Rail Station (0.8 miles, direct) Wallingford (Cholsey & Wallingford Railway) (12.7 miles, direct) Purley Social Club (4.7 miles, direct)

Job summary

Start Your NHS Career With Us -- Your Future Begins at Royal Berkshire Hospital

If you're passionate about helping others and ready to take your first step into a meaningful, long-term career, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust wants to hear from you. We're looking for enthusiastic, caring and motivated individuals to join us as Healthcare Assistants -- and to grow with us through our exceptional apprenticeship pathways.

This is more than a job. It's your opportunity to gain highly valued NHS experience, develop clinical skills, and build a career you can be proud of. Our Healthcare Assistants can go on to become Nursing Associates and Registered Nurses through our apprenticeship programmes -your journey could start right here.

You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. We are not able to offer sponsorship for this role.

Main duties of the job

Why begin your career with us

  • A supportive environment where your learning and development truly matter
  • Opportunities to apply for apprenticeship routes after probation, including:

**The Nursing Associate Apprenticeship and the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship

  • Structured progression for those who want to build a long-term future in healthcare
  • Hands-on experience in a busy acute hospital -- the perfect foundation for a clinical career
  • A team that values compassion, communication and a willingness to learn

What we're looking for

You don't need previous healthcare experience -- just the right values. If you're caring, reliable, eager to learn and committed to making a difference, you'll fit right in. Good communication skills and a compassionate approach are essential.

Please note: this role requires full-time working (37.5 hours per week) on a rota covering days, nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Job description

What youll be doing

As a Healthcare Assistant, youll play a vital role in delivering highquality care under the supervision of Registered Practitioners. Your responsibilities will include:

  • Always acting in the patients best interests
  • Supporting patients with dignity, compassion and respect
  • Providing personalised care to people from all backgrounds
  • Noticing and reporting any changes in a patients condition
  • Learning and performing clinical skills once trained, such as venepuncture and cannulation
  • Offering enhanced support to patients who need closer supervision
  • Guiding and supporting junior or less experienced colleagues

If youre ready to start a career with purpose one that offers real progression, nationally recognised qualifications and the chance to make a difference every day wed love you to join our team.

**To be eligible to apply for Nursing apprenticeships, you must meet the universitys academic entry requirements, and the relevant apprenticeship rules.**

Please note we are currently recruiting candidates who are able to work full time (37.5 hours per week) on a rota basis, 7 days a week (including bank holidays) on day and night shifts.

About us

We are one of the largest hospital foundation trusts in the country, and currently touch the lives of half a million patients in the west of Berkshire every year by providing high quality acute medical and surgical services for our local communities. The Trust strives to provide high quality, compassionate care for our patients and their families.

Our values:

  • Compassionate
  • Aspirational
  • Resourceful
  • Excellent

The town of Reading sits on the River Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford, and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work, and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as good.

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