Healthcare assistant
Help ill people with their practical daily tasks, either in hospital or in a patient's own home.
Also known as: support worker, nursing auxiliary, nursing assistant
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£423
Entry level
£538
Experienced
Monthly
£1,833
Entry level
£2,333
Experienced
Yearly
£22,000
Entry level
£28,000
Experienced
42,700
people are currently employed
High growth
2,600 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You would help ill people with their practical daily tasks, either in hospital or in a patient’s own home.
You’d chat with patients and help them to feel less anxious.
A friendly, sensitive and cheerful approach will be very important. You’d need to be able to get on with people of all ages and backgrounds.
You would:
Help patients to wash, shower or dress
Serve food to people or help them to eat
Make and change beds
Talk with people to help them feel less anxious
Help patients if they find it difficult to move around
Give out and collect bedpans, and help patients to the toilet
Help patients who are confined to bed to change position and avoid pressure sores
Tidy the ward or patients’ homes
Keep supplies and equipment in order
Take and record observations such as temperature, pulse and breathing
You might use mobility aids and equipment to help lift and move patients. In hospitals you may also escort patients to and from different departments.
Nursing staff would supervise your work. With experience, you may be involved in training new healthcare assistants.
If you work for the National Health Service (NHS) the salary for this role is covered by the Agenda for Change pay rates. You can see information about the pay and conditions on the Healthcare assistant page on the NHS Careers website. There are also numerous clinical healthcare support worker roles available on the careers website.
Hours
Environment
Travel
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- taking responsibility
- making decisions
- attention to detail
- social conscience
- empathising
- observation
- verbal communication
- listening
- building relationships
- resilience
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Care
Childcare and Development
Food Health and Wellbeing
Human Biology
Skills for Work: Health Sector
Foundation Apprenticeship: Social Services and Healthcare
You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.
You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.
Discover what's on offer at your school on Apprenticeships.scot.
Some employers may require a good general education.
You could undertake a Modern Apprenticeship in social services and healthcare.
Qualifications that show an understanding of health and wellbeing, such as:
Skills for Work Health Sector (SCQF Level 6)
Health and Social Care (SCQF Level 4/5)
SQA Wellbeing Award (SCQF Level 3-5)
A First Aid certificate.
Work-based qualifications such as a Scottish Vocational Qualification in Healthcare Support (SVQ Level 2/3) can be of value when applying or relevant qualifications may be achieved once in a job.
Experience in first aid or caring for others.
To be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland.
You may need to pass a medical test and a general test of literacy, numeracy and thinking skills as part of the recruitment process.
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