About this role
Job summary
The Band 3 Maternity Support Worker (MSW) will play a vital role within the maternity department's Smoking Cessation Team, supporting pregnant women and birthing people to reduce and stop smoking throughout pregnancy and the postnatal period. The post holder will work collaboratively with midwives, health professionals, and the wider multidisciplinary team to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.
This role is predominantly community-based, involving Traveling to rural locations for direct engagement with patients in their homes or local community settings. The MSW will provide ongoing encouragement, practical support, and guidance to help women reduce smoking, with a key focus on lowering smoking rates at the time of delivery.
The post holder will receive all relevant training required for the role, including smoking cessation interventions, communication skills, and use of monitoring equipment.
This is an excellent opportunity for an individual who is passionate about improving maternal and infant health outcomes and enjoys working directly with patients in a community setting.
Main duties of the job
A Smoking Cessation Maternity Support Worker (Band 3 MSW) is responsible for delivering high-quality, person-centred care while supporting the wider maternity team. Key duties include:
Professional communication with colleagues, women, birthing people, and families to ensure safe, respectful interactions.
Promoting individualised care and acting as an advocate for women/birthing people when the midwife is not present.
Accurate data recording in both written and electronic systems in line with Trust policies.
Working in partnership with families and internal/external professionals to ensure coordinated, effective care.
Supporting national health initiatives and contributing to service improvement.
Demonstrating Trust values consistently in daily interactions with service users and colleagues.
Supporting patients to engage with smoking cessation pathways and interventions Providing brief advice and promoting healthy lifestyle choices during pregnancy Monitoring and documenting progress, including carbon monoxide (CO) readings where appropriate Building supportive, non-judgemental relationships to encourage behaviour change Contributing to service targets, including reducing smoking at time of delivery (SATOD)
About us
#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community
We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.
The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.
Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.
We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.
With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.
We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.
Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?
Job description Job responsibilities
Please see job description for details
The closing date for this vacancy may change if we receive a strong response. Please ensure that you apply for any post you are interested in as soon as possible.
Certificate of sponsorship For your information only
Please note that Certificate of Sponsorship is not available for this position as it does not meet one or more of the required criteria. For more information on eligible roles please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
If you qualify for another type of visa or right to work, please ignore this information.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications Essential
oRegulated Qualifications Framework Level 2 qualifications in literacy & Mathematics or equivalent. oPrevious clinical experience within health and social care settings relevant to role and evidences values associated with the NHS constitution and commitment to Band 3 role development including completion of Care Certificate (6 weeks from Commencement of post)
Desirable
oPrevious experience in a maternity setting oBasic IT skills oLevel 3 Apprenticeship in Maternity Support.
Experience and knowledge Essential
oWorking/Communicating with the general public oWorking in a team oCommunication with a wide range of different people including service users, carer's and members of the multidisciplinary team
Desirable
oExperience of working with families, mothers and babies
Skills and abilities Essential
Excellent written and verbal communication Demonstrates awareness of the 6C's, Trust values, and Patients First Service Standards. Able to understand the importance of how to apply person centred values in the care environment: Privacy, Dignity, Respect, Active Participation, Equality, Diversity and Confidentiality Demonstrates an awareness of the importance of keeping the clinical environment safe and clean. Ability to use IT devices
Desirable
Knowledge of Data Protection Act Understanding of risk Management and health and safety issues, including safe manual handling
Personal qualities Essential
A genuine interest in kind and compassionate caring Flexible approach to working hours and duties Able to deal with challenging situations Able to relate to all people, valuing their individual traits that contribute to team working and the outcomes of care delivery. Aility to Travel to rural locations to meet the demands of the role.
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 details Employer name West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Address West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Hardwick Lane
Bury St Edmunds
IP33 2QZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.wsh.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)