Healthcare assistants
This page provides information regarding courses and career progression for Band 2 & 3 Healthcare Support Workers. It aims to keep staff updated with current issues both at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and nationally.
—Dawn Grant (Lead Nurse for Health Care Assistants)
Opportunities for Health Care Assistants
In connection with Human Resources please see this page.
Course information
Essence of Care
This course runs 3 times per year with a maximum of 20 places. All Healthcare Assistants and Maternity Support Workers in the Trust should complete this as an initial requirement in the educational and practical development of their skills.
The course will run every Monday for 6 weeks on the following dates:
- Spring—14 May–25 June
- Summer—6 August–24 September
- Winter—12 November–17 December
Click below for a course overview and application form:
Apprenticeships at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Apprenticeships have replaced the NVQ and will be managed from a new provider—UH Ventures.
The main difference between the awards are that the Apprenticeship is made of 2 elements—QCF (previously NVQ) & Functional Skills. The types of Apprenticeships offered are as follows:
- Advanced Apprenticeship in Clinical Support (level 3)
- Maternity Advanced Appenticeship (level 3)
- Paediatric Advanced Apprenticeship (level 3)
- Perioperative Support (level 3)
Further details
- Defines the role of the health support worker
- Enables staff to prove competency and develop new skills, benefitting patient care
- Managers are required to attend the launch event for the first 40 minutes
- Candidate and manager sign the learning agreement
- Candidate then sits a functional skills assessment—Level 1 must be achieved for entry onto programme
- Advanced Apprenticeship takes 12- 14 months to achieve
- One study day per month—workshop to support work-based learning
- One half day study per month—work with assessor for observation and assessment
Start dates
- Clinical Advanced Apprenticeship—28 February
- Maternity Apprenticeship—April 2012
- Paediatrics Apprenticeship—April 2012
Information flyer
Dysphagia & patient feeding techniques
This course runs every month and is a 2 hour session.
BEACH
The BEACH course was developed in recognition of the need to train healthcare support workers (HCA) in basic techniques and skills needed to recognise the deteriorating patient. The course is:
- Easy and inexpensive to deliver
- Based upon simple, memorable concepts
The BEACH Course is based around a simple, illustrated manual that covers basic signs of clinical deterioration and what is appropriate action for HCAs to take and when to ask for help.
HCAs have gained an increasingly important role in patient care and will often have close patient contact. BEACH improves the skill of recognising the deteriorating patient and teaches the importance of proactive communication with colleagues. Content includes:
- Airway problems
- Breathing problems
- Circulation problems
- Good handover of critical information
- Prioritisation of workload
There are 15 places and the course runs 9am–4:30pm in the Centre for Clinical Practice.
- BEACH flyer (PDF)
To book places please complete your registration form online. If you need any further information please contact eduadmin@chelwest.co.uk.
Healthcare assistant meetings 2012
Useful links
- British Journal of Healthcare Assistants
- City & Guilds
- King's College London undergraduate study
- London South Bank University for professional opportunity
- MHRA basic observations e-learning module
- Nursing Standard
- Nursing Times
- Royal College of Midwives Maternity Support Workers roles & responsibilities
- Royal College of Nursing
- Royal College of Nursing HCA toolkit
- Skills for Health
- UCAS
- UH Ventures
- UK NARIC—qualifications comparisons
- Unison
