Support Worker - Help and Resources

Support Workers work under the direct supervision of healthcare professionals to deliver the fundamentals of care to patients.

This page has been put together for Health Care Support Works to enable them to find, in one place, information relevant to their current role as well as information about how they can progress to registered professions.

Support Worker roles range from Ward Clerk and Receptionist, Porters, Health Care Support Worker at Level 2, to Senior Health Care Assistants and Level 3, and Nursing Associate and Assistant Practitioners, at Level 5, which are all rewarding jobs in their own right. Health Care Support Worker is also an ideal starting place for a person who with aspirations to work in one of the clinically regulated professions, such as Registered Nurse, Allied Health Professional, Medical Practitioner, Healthcare Scientist, Adult Care Worker, or enter into a management role.

The option to embark on undergraduate courses or apprenticeships is also available to Support Workers and are a useful means to enable progression.

Resources

Information for existing and aspiring Health Care Support Workers

Support Worker Voice

The Support Worker Voice is a free virtual network facilitated by Health Education England, set up specifically for the Support Worker workforce. It consists of regular meetings with an agenda driven by Support Workers.

The network gives Support Workers the chance to meet their counterparts from across the country so they may feel connected, share values and opinions and most importantly have their voices heard.

To register your interest and receive your invitation please email us on supportworkervoice@hee.nhs.uk 

Health Care Support Worker Roles

For information about Health Care Support Work and information on how it can lead to progression to registered professions, visit here 

Allied Health Professions Support Worker

Health Education England’s National Allied Health Professions (AHP) Support Workforce Programme provides national leadership and support on recognising, developing, and expanding the non-registered AHP workforce. For more information, visit here. 

Healthcare Support Worker – Health Careers

For information on the Healthcare Support Worker Role and how to apply, visit here. 

A range of learning resources can be found here.

Skills for Health - Pathways

The Skills for Health website offers useful tools which can help Support Workers in their current role and also help them progress to registered professions. The resources can also be used by employers for appraisal purposes. To view the resources, visit here.

Information for Employers

Accelerated Care Certificate

The Care Certificate is part of the induction process designed for the health care support workforce. Due to the demands of the pandemic the Care Certificate will be accelerated to deliver an induction programme and training for colleagues, whilst maintaining the high quality of the qualification. For more information visit here. 

Health Education England – East of England How We Work Resource Pack

The link below contains a resources pack produced by the East of England team which can help organisations through the processes from the vacancy attraction period through to post induction of a new Health Care Support Worker (HCSW). For more information, visit here.