Healthcare assistants make sure the patient experience is as comfortable and stress-free as possible. It can also be the stepping stone into many other NHS roles.

A healthcare assistant (HCA) has a varied role depending on their place of work. Sometimes staff working in HCA roles are known as nursing assistants, nursing auxiliaries or auxiliary nurses.

They can form a vital part of a nursing team in a hospital, doctor’s surgery or in the wider community in a residential care home – looking after the elderly or in a domestic setting looking after someone who is disabled or terminally ill.

HCAs can work with infants, children, young people and supporting registered nurses in the delivery of nursing care.

In a healthcare assistant role, you’re likely to carry out a number of duties from helping to feed and wash a patient, assist with testing urine or blood to perform ECG’s (with training).

You don’t need to have any formal qualifications to become a healthcare assistant, but what you do need to have is compassion for other people, the ability to learn on the job, and if you want to progress in the clinical field the relevant training. If you have these skills, you can undertake this rewarding job.

Taken from : https://www.totaljobs.com/advice/healthcare-assistant-job-description Accessed 2021

There are no set entry requirements to become a healthcare assistant. Employers expect good literacy and numeracy and may ask for GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths. They may ask for a healthcare qualification, such as BTEC or NVQ.

Employers expect you to have some experience of healthcare or care work. This could be from paid or voluntary work. There are sometimes apprenticeships in healthcare that can give you experience to apply for HCA posts.

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