Job Summary
An opportunity has arisen within the Surgical Pre Operative Assessment department for a motivated and enthusiastic individual who will work as an Early Health Screening Practitioner, which is a clinical role. You will be patient facing in this active job, undertaking basic health assessments for all patients who have been placed on the waiting list for surgery under sedation or general anaesthetic. The role is an exciting, new, evolving role. This is a result of new NHS England’s best practice guidelines for pre-screening and optimisation of perioperative patients. Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) recommends that NHS organisations should establish Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams, to introduce early preoperative screening, risk stratification and provide an opportunity to optimise patients’ health prior to surgery. Training will be provided around personalised care, use of healthcare systems and on brief intervention conversations.
Main duties of the job
Working in a team under the direction of the Pre-operative Assessment Lead the duties will include:
The post holder will support the Trust in adhering to national guidance and develop learning for Dudley Group Foundation Trust.
The post holder will undertake clinical observations of patients and complete onward referrals / escalate where necessary.
This post will include using current and future digital tools, to identify patients requiring optimisation ahead of planned surgical intervention as well as those who may be suitable for triage to a high-volume, low complexity site and those patients at risk of deterioration as part of emergency admission avoidance pathways.
The post will work collaboratively and have support from the wider clinical operational and clinical teams to contact patients to gather information, signpost and promote engagement to appropriate services. The post will be embedded within, surgical and pre-operative assessment teams.
The post holder have good communication skills and be able to build rapport and relationships with a diverse population to encourage and support behaviour change.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- Educated to GCSE standard with passes at grade C or above for English and Maths or similar through vocational training
- Evidence of commitment to continued learning or improvement through attendances at courses
Desirable
- NVQ Level 4 or equivalent
- IT qualification, e.g. NVQ, CLAIT, ECDL
Experience
Essential
- Previous experience of working within a health or social care setting or alongside these sectors (including unpaid work)
- Experience of using initiative and willingness to challenge appropriately
- Experience of using Information technology (MS Teams, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and electronic notes systems
Desirable
- Clerical experience
- Experience with preoperative assessment
- Experience within other relevant teams e.g. data quality
- Experience of helping people navigate health and social care systems
Knowledge & Training
Essential
- IT literate with good keyboard skills
- Ability to analyse and manage conflicting demands and prioritise workload
- Awareness of the need to maintain confidentiality
- Ability to demonstrate accurate inputting and retrieval of data
Desirable
- General Administrative knowledge
- Knowledge of medical terminology
Communication & Relationship Skills
Essential
- Good interpersonal (Ability to provide support to others)
- Good communication skills (telephone/email/written/verbal)
- Good command of the English language – both written and spoken
- Good team worker and able to work effectively as part of a team
Desirable
- Ability to converse with staff from all areas, such as clinical and admin staff
Planning & Organisational Skills
Essential
- Good organisation skills (ability to prioritise workload)
Physical Skills
Essential
- Excellent IT and keyboard skills
- A willingness to undertake further training and learn new skills
- Prolonged use of the telephone
- Must be able to work cross site
- Puctual and reliable
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 19 November 2025
