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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.
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 and may ask for a vocational qualification in healthcare, such as a BTEC. They may 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. Your training as a healthcare assistant will include basic nursing skills. You may be offered the chance to study for qualifications such as the NCFE CACHE level 2 Certificate in Healthcare Support Services or the NCFE CACHE level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support.Healthcare assistants usually work standard hours of around 37.5 a week. They may work shifts, which could involve nights, early starts, evenings and weekends. In the NHS, HCAs are paid on the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system. You'd typically start at AfC band 2. With further training and experience, you could apply for posts at bands 3 and 4 (as an assistant practitioner). Terms and conditions will vary outside of the NHS.As a healthcare assistant, you need to be caring and kind, cheerful and friendly, physically strong (for pushing trolleys, lifting, etc), willing to be hands-on with patients, willing to do personal care tasks (washing, toileting, etc), able to follow instructions and procedures, able to work in a team but use your own initiative. You also need good communication, organisational and observational skills.With experience and further training, you could become a senior healthcare assistant. You could apply to train as an assistant practitioner, nursing associate or as a healthcare professional such as a nurse, podiatrist, midwife or occupational therapist for example. -
Our donor carers are the frontline of blood donation services. They are the first point of contact for our blood donors and care for them while they give blood.
There are no set entry requirements or formal qualifications to becoming a donor carer. However, you will need a good grasp of literacy and numeracy. If the role is for a mobile team you will also need to possess a full UK driving licence, although we will train you to drive our larger vehicles and if necessary support you in obtaining the additional category to drive large vehicles on your licence. NHSBT provide comprehensive training to undertake the donor carer role, so you don’t need a background in healthcare for this role.Donor carers work standard hours of around 37.5 a week. Some may work evenings and weekends. You'll move around between locations to collect blood, as part of a team. In the NHS, you'll typically be on Agenda for Change band 3.As a donor carer, you'll need to interact with lots of people, so you will need to be friendly and confident with good customer care skills. You will also need the ability to work within a team and have excellent communication skills. You'll need to carefully follow the written procedures required to collect blood safely, so an eye for detail is key. Confidence working with computers and other digital devices is also important. You will also need to be physically fit to be able to carry and set up the donation equipment.With experience, you could become a donor care supervisor, overseeing the work of donor carers, organising rotas, etc. You could then become a manager, responsible for donor sessions and staff across an area. You may be able to move into other wider health care roles such as clerk, health records staff or healthcare assistant. You could apply to train for other roles including assistant practitioner or nurse.