Job reference: 233244
Salary: Band 3 (£28,011 – £30,230)
Job closing date: 26/11/2025
Job Type: Nursing and Midwifery
Location: Raigmore Hospital
Employment type: Permanent
Hours Per Week: 37
Job posted date: 24/11/2025
Employer (NHS Board): NHS Highland
Department: AMU Raigmore Hospital
The NHS Healthcare Support Worker Band 3 sits between Band 2 (basic Healthcare Assistant) and Band 4 (Associate Practitioner/Senior HCSW). It is a clinical support role that requires the Care Certificate (or Scottish equivalent), competency sign-off and often additional skills such as venepuncture, cannulation, ECGs or catheterisation.Current Agenda for Change pay (2024–2025, rising April 2025):
- Starting: £27,499
- Top of band (after 3–4 years): £30,559
NHS Healthcare Support Worker Posts
Most Healthcare Support Worker posts are 37.5 hours (full-time) with enhanced rates for nights, weekends and bank holidays.Common Band 3 Job Titles in Scotland (2025)
- Senior Healthcare Support Worker (SHSW)
- Clinical Support Worker (Band 3)
- Theatre Support Worker (Band 3)
- Outpatients/Endoscopy Support Worker
- Mental Health Support Worker (Band 3)
- Community Rehabilitation Assistant
- Phlebotomy & Cannulation Practitioner
High-volume recruiters: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Tayside and NHS Lanarkshire.Typical Band 3 Job Description & DutiesCore Responsibilities
- Perform venepuncture, cannulation and ECGs (after training)
- Assist with patient personal care while promoting independence
- Support the registered nurse with clinical observations (NEWS2) and escalation
- Accurate fluid balance, food charts and intentional rounding documentation on TrakCare or HEPMA
- Stock management, ordering and basic clinic/theatre preparation
- Support patients with dementia, delirium or mental health needs using trauma-informed approaches
- Act as a link worker for specific pathways (frailty, falls, diabetes)
Essential NHS Healthcare Support Worker Qualifications & Experience
- SVQ Level 3 Health & Social Care (or willing to work towards within 12–18 months)
- Care Certificate (England) accepted + Scottish induction
- Minimum 12–18 months recent acute or care home experience
- Excellent communication and observational skills
Support Available When You Start a Band 3 Post in Scotland NHS Scotland is one of the best employers in the UK for structured support:
- Local Induction & Preceptorship
2–4 weeks supernumerary with a named preceptor. - Fully Funded Training
- Venepuncture & cannulation course (1–2 days)
- ECG interpretation basics
- Catheterisation (male & female)
- TrakCare/HEPMA electronic patient record training
- Learn Pro modules (dementia, tissue viability, sepsis, etc.)
- SVQ Level 3 Funding
If you don’t already have it, your board will pay for and release you to complete the Scottish qualification (usually 12–18 months). - Flying Start NHS (for newer staff)
Protected learning time in your first year. - Clinical Supervision & Appraisals
Regular 1:1s and access to Schwartz Rounds. - Career Progression Routes
Clear pathways to:- Band 4 Associate Practitioner
- Nursing Associate (new in Scotland 2025)
- Pre-registration Nurse Degree (secondment possible)
- Physician Associate or Operating Department Practitioner programmes
Current Hotspots for Band 3 Vacancies (November 2025)
- Glasgow – Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (trauma, neuro, theatres)
- Edinburgh – Royal Infirmary & Western General (frailty and cancer services)
- Aberdeen – new Baird Family Hospital (maternity & neonatal Band 3 roles)
- Inverness – Raigmore Hospital (rural generalist posts with accommodation packages)
- Dundee – Ninewells (endoscopy and outpatient expansion)
A Band 3 healthcare vacancy in Scotland in 2025 is far more than “just a support worker job”. It’s a properly skilled clinical role with excellent training, protected time for development and genuine respect within the multidisciplinary team. With pay rising every year, no staff parking charges, generous annual leave (27–33 days) and one of the strongest pension schemes in the UK, it’s no surprise these posts are attracting applicants from across the UK and Ireland.Start your application today on jobs.nhs.scot — your patients (and the Scottish mountains on your days off) are waiting!
To apply for this job please visit apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk.