Health Care Support Worker (HCSW)
Health Care Support Workers (HCSW), sometimes also referred to as Healthcare Assistants (HCA), can be a stepping stone into many other NHS roles.
The role of a HCSW can vary depending on the setting – in general practice, tasks include carrying out new patient health checks; supporting practice nurses with health promotion programmes; carrying out basic observations such as pulse oximetry, blood pressure, temperature, pulse rate; undertaking wound care and dressings; facilitating BP monitoring; undertaking BMI checks and more.
More experienced HCSWs with advanced skills could become a senior health care assistant where they could take on additional responsibilities such as taking blood samples.
Health Care Support Workers work alongside and under the supervision and guidance of other healthcare professionals such as a nursing associate or registered nurse.
Requirements
There are no set entry requirements to becoming a HCSW
Sometimes, employers will expect good literacy and numeracy and may ask for GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths. They may also sometimes ask for a healthcare qualification, such as BTEC or NVQ.
Employers can also expect you to have some experience of healthcare or care work. This could be from paid or voluntary work.
Training and Qualifications
Your training as a Health Care Support Worker will include basic nursing skills and you’ll work towards the Care Certificate, developed by Skills for Care, Skills for Health and NHSE and launched in 2015. Find out more about the Care Certificate.
You may also be offered the chance to study for qualifications through an apprenticeship such as:
- The NCFE CACHE level 2 Certificate in Healthcare Support Services
- The NCFE CACHE level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support
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 nursing associate.