Healthcare Support Worker

Skills and Personal Characteristics Needed

The Healthcare Support Worker Role in Primary Care

Training and Career Development

The Care Quality Commission will expect every HCSW to have the Care Certificate as part of the induction process and have deemed it to be best practice.

Each practice is encouraged to evaluate which tasks they wish their HCSW to undertake and ensure they have appropriate training to underpin their activity. The HCSW role is defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2006) as:

‘Those who provide a direct service – that is they have a direct influence/effect on care and treatment to patients and members of the public and are supervised by and/or undertake health care duties delegated to them by NMC registrants.’

The RCGP (2014) state, ‘HCSWs should work at all times within the boundaries of delegated authority and personal level of competence and training. If unsure they should always consult and refer to a registered healthcare professional.’

Healthcare Support Workers new to the role are encouraged to complete the  Care Certificate following the Francis report (2013) and the Cavendish review (2013), the Care Certificate has been developed for use within all health and social care settings for both new starters at induction, and current HCSW’s who have not completed an Apprenticeship or NVQ equivalent. The Care Certificate has been implemented nationally and has an identified set of standards that health and social care workers adhere to in their daily working life. The Care Certificate gives employers and the public, the confidence that these workers have the same basic skills, knowledge and behaviours to provide compassionate, safe and high quality care and support. The Care Certificate is based on 15 standards, all of which individuals need to complete in full before they can be awarded their certificate. Each standard is underpinned by full learning outcomes, and assessment of competence is through a workbook in practice.

With experience and further training, you could become a senior healthcare assistant. You could then apply to train as an assistant practitioner or nursing associate. With the appropriate qualifications/evidence of academic ability, you could also train as one of the many degree-level healthcare professionals such as a nurse, podiatrist, midwife or occupational therapist.

Entry Requirements and Skills Needed

There are no set entry requirements to become a healthcare support worker, but good literacy and numeracy skills are expected, and in some cases GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths are required too. You may also need a healthcare qualification such as a BTEC or NVQ for some roles dependent on the employer’s requirements.

For some roles, some experience of healthcare or care work may be beneficial – this could be from paid or voluntary work, or through experience you bring in from previous roles.

But academic qualifications aren’t everything. As we have already said, you’ll also need to be caring, kind and willing to really get stuck into the role – it’s a hands-on environment where teamwork, communication and organisational skills are vital.