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Healthcare assistants make sure the patient experience is as comfortable and stress-free as possible. It can also be a steppingstone into many other NHS roles. You will work under the guidance of a healthcare professional such as a nurse and your job will vary depending on where you are based. For example, In a health centre and GP surgery, you may:
- do new patient or NHS health checks
- process lab samples
- take blood samples
- do health promotion or health education work
- assist with the monitoring and management of long-term conditions
- take ECGs
- undertake wound care
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.
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.
Further details about the role are in the links below:
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Please click link below to open an editable version of a HCA Job Description and Person Specification:
Editable HCA Job Description and Person Specification
Please click link below to open a leadlet which contains details on Healthcare Apprenticeships through Walsall College:
College Apprenticeship Details
The link below will take you to the Healthcare careers website for further information:
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The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) brings you First Steps for Health Care Assistants (HCAs) to support you either individually – or as part of your workplace induction programme – to learn in your own time, the most important factors that will get you started in your health care career.
For more information, please click the link below:
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