Healthcare support workers and assistants require a wide range of competencies, including (but not limited to) basic understanding of clinical roles, patient care, effective communication, and understanding of nstructions and procedures.
Individuals will also need to demonstrate compassion when carrying out the role, ensuring they harness a caring attitude, and the ability to work both independently and within a team.
This section aims to provide users with information on expected competencies within their role at all leves. Using the AHP Support Worker Competency, Education and Career Development Framework provided by the Health Education England (HEE) as a reference.
The AHP Support Worker Competency, Education and Career Development Framework is grouped under eight domains
- Formal knowledge and experience
This domain covers the required formal qualifications expected of a new candidate.
- Supporting service users
Expectation to support service users and their families and providing care throughout
their care and care pathways.
- Clinical, technical and scientific roles and responsibilities
The underpinning knowledge and practice, support and interventions required of support workers to safely assist service users in meeting their optimum potential.
- Communication and information
The ability to communicate clearly, respectfully, and effectively using a range of methods – written, verbal and non-verbal. Maintaining confidentiality and protection of data and overcoming physical, sensory, cognitive and language barriers to understanding.
- Safe and inclusive environments
The principles of equality, diversity and inclusion, safeguarding, protection, personal wellbeing and safety, along with the importance of duty of care and candour.
- Research and service improvement
Participation in research, audit, evaluation and service improvement projects.
- Leadership
The importance of being a role model, identifying areas for selfimprovement and supervising others, and leading on service user safety, improvements and support for others.
- Personal and professional values and behaviours
Understanding and demonstration of the values in the NHS Constitution and NHS People Promise, as well as self-development and personal wellbeing.
Formal knowledge and experience
This section includes the minimium essential formal qualifications and experience needed to become AHP support workers. Each column contains information for each entry level.
Entry Level
| 1.2 Experience | It is not essential to have experience in health or social care settings at this stage, but candidates should be able to demonstrate experience of working with the public, for example customer care skills in retail or through employment, work experience or volunteering. |
| 1.3 Values | Demonstrates the values of the NHS and commitment to personal and professional development. |
Intermediate
| 1.1 Education requirements | RQF Level 3 qualifications OR demonstrated ability and relevant level 3 qualification.
Level 2 Functional Skills.
OR
A level 3 apprenticeship, such as the Senior Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship (or other level 3 qualification pathway) |
| 1.2 Experience | Experience in health and/or social care settings, such as employment, work experience, volunteering or placement(s) |
| 1.3 Values | Demonstrates the values of the NHS and commitment to personal and professional development. |
Assistant Practitioner
| 1.1 Education requirements | Foundation degree in Health and Social Care, OR equivalent level 5 qualification; plus, A-levels and GCSEs or equivalent(s), including Functional Skills (level 2).
OR
A level 5 apprenticeship, such as the Assistant Practitioner apprenticeship
Care Certificate. |
| 1.2 Experience | Able to demonstrate substantial experience in health and care settings, including in the relevant field of work. |
| 1.3 Values | Demonstrates the values of the NHS and commitment to personal and professional development. |
Supporting service users
Supporting service users and their families throughout their care, promoting health and wellbeing, and understanding the wider health and social care system.
| Competence | Entry level | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
| 2.1 Positive relationships | Develops, manages, and maintains positive, appropriate relationships with service users, families and carers, demonstrating respect, kindness, compassion and empathy at all times. |
| 2.2 Person-centred care | Provides personcentred care and support. | Understands and demonstrates what it means to provide personcentred care, by providing education and resources to support informed decision making, and of respecting individual’s decisions. May provide information to service users. | Consistently deploys care, treatment and support strategies to promote and provide person-centred care, including providing information, advice and guidance to service users, carers, families, health professionals and others. |
| 2.3 Prevention | Understands the social, cultural, and economic influences, individual circumstances, behaviours, and lifestyle choices that impact on health outcomes for service users and their families, including health inequalities |
| 2.4 Health promotion | Understands the aims and principles of health promotion, protection and improvement and importance of relevant interventions for individual service users and their families, including making every contact count. |
| 2.5 Supporting behaviour change | Seeks support from a registered practitioner when a service user signals a desire to
change their health behaviour. | Understands principles of behaviour change and interventions to prevent ill health and effectively applies these to practice, recognising the individual’s right to privacy and choice. | Applies principles of behaviour change within individualised contexts to enable personalised discussion, sensitively communicating complex and/or potentially challenging information to service users if appropriate to facilitate change including through social prescribing |
| 2.6 Privacy and dignity | Able to identify ways to promote dignity and is aware of individuals’
environments and factors that might cause discomfort. |
2.7 Health and social
care system | Aware of the main organisations in the health and social care system and services provided | Understands a range of organisations in the health and social care system and services provided and can signpost people effectively in liaison with multi-disciplinary team colleagues. | Understands a range of organisations in the health and social care system and services provided, referring service users to services appropriately. |
2.8 Legal, and ethical
responsibilities | Aware of the main legislation, legal and ethical responsibilities that shape provision of social care services for service users. | Understands and can explain the main legislation, legal and ethical responsibilities that shape provision of health and social care for service users. | Understands and can explain the main legislation, legal and ethical responsibilities that shape health and social care and the role of agencies such as the Care Quality Commission. |
2.9 Practice
frameworks | Understands the importance of adhering to codes of practice, clinical procedures, and professional standards. |
2.10 Team and
partnership working | Able to work collaboratively with a variety of health staff, social care staff, professional staff and others. Understands and demonstrates the principles of team and partnership working. |
| 2.11 Role awareness | Recognises the importance of support workers in service delivery, including
the diverse roles undertaken by AHP support workers. Is able to define own
role, for example by describing their duties and the roles of others. |
2.12 Service
awareness | Understands the services and programmes of care provided by their employer and team. | Has a thorough understanding of the function and role of their service. | Has a thorough understanding of the function and role of their service and can actively advocate for this to other teams and services |
Clinical, technical and scientific roles and responsibilities
Knowledge and practice, support and interventions required to safely assist service-users meet their optimum potential.
| Competence | Entry | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
3.1 Underpinning
knowledge | Basic understanding
of routine clinical,
technical and/or
scientific roles and
responsibilities. | Core knowledge of
clinical, technical
and/ or scientific roles
and responsibilities,
including clinical risk
assessment. | Developed knowledge
of clinical, technical
and/or scientific theory
and practice, within
their immediate field of
practice. Understands
the importance of
evidence-based
practice. |
| 3.2 Role boundaries | Understanding of role boundaries and the importance of supervision and carrying out appropriately delegated tasks. Able to understand and follow procedures, protocols and plans. |
| 3.3 Autonomy | Works under close supervision. | May work alone within scope of role, for example in the community, and have their own caseload of service users with non-complex needs previously seen by a registered member of staff. | Able to work independently with service users within the scope of the role and operational policies, protocols and procedures. |
| 3.4 Time management | Organises own day to day tasks to ensure timely completion. | Manages own workload and time, for example maintaining own diary | Manages own workload and time, including prioritising tasks and resources, taking account of changing circumstances. |
| 3.5 Consent | Understands and gains valid consent prior to action or providing care, and records this appropriately. |
| 3.6 Tasks and responsibilities | Performs straightforward, routine and specific delegated care tasks, for which they have achieved competencies, and working within procedures, policies and plans. | Performs straightforward, routine and specific delegated care tasks, for which they have received training, working within procedures, policies and plans. Able to adapt practice to situations. | Within scope of role and working to operating procedure, protocols and procedures plans, implements and monitors own treatment and care plan interventions, including adapting to circumstances. |
| 3.7 Prioritising care | Demonstrates the ability to respond flexibly to the needs of the working environment. | Can prioritise activities to meet the holistic needs of service users, including adjusting normal routines where levels of complexity exist. | Understands the impact of complex care needs and other factors when prioritising care activities within their own or the team’s defined workload. |
| 3.8 Planning and evaluating care | Assists in effective care planning assisting with service user flow and evaluation by sharing relevant information in a timely manner with members of the multidisciplinary team. | Provides feedback on service-user progress and condition, recognises the impact of support and interventions, and suggests ideas for improvement when developing, reviewing and evaluating care plans based on objective evidence and experience. | Actively participates in the planning, development and evaluation of personalised care plans by offering objective clinical and evidencebased information to inform planned activities. |
| 3.9 Reporting, referring and escalating concerns | Able to recognise signs of discomfort, anxiety or concerns and promptly report them to a registered practitioner. This includes recognising discomfort in other members of staff, families and carers, as well as service users. | Uses knowledge and understanding of common physical, mental and behavioural health conditions to recognise deterioration in service users. Responds by promptly escalating concerns to a registered practitioner. | Gathers and interprets relevant information working under protocols and forms a judgement on the improvement or deterioration in the physical, mental or behavioural condition of service users and responds by referring or escalating concerns to a registered practitioner |
| 3.10 Signposting | Directs queries in respect of signposting to appropriate multidisciplinary team colleagues. | Maintains a working knowledge of local support available for service users and signposts people effectively in liaison with multi-disciplinary team colleagues. | Arranges access to services to support personalised care plans, referring service users to agencies and services appropriately. |
| 3.11 Equipment | Maintains service user equipment, including stock control, delivery and setting up. | Ensures safe and effective use of equipment by service users,carers and family members, including fitting, demonstration, and teaching of safe and appropriate use. Ensures equipment is safe. | Ensures safe and effective use of equipment, including fitting, demonstration and teaching of safe and appropriate use. Adapts equipment where appropriate and monitors individual’s progress. Carries out basic risk assessment and able to document in care records. Ensures equipment is safe. |
| 3.12 Emergency care | Recognises an emergency, summons assistance and acts as a member of the multi-disciplinary team within parameters of own competence and defined role. In settings where a registered practitioner is not present, initiates immediate first aid whilst awaiting the arrival of appropriately qualified practitioners. |
Communication and information
Communicate clearly and accurately using a range of written, verbal and non-verbal methods, maintaining confidentiality and protection of data, and overcoming physical, sensory, cognitive and language barriers to understanding. Barriers to understanding can include emotional and social barriers.
| Competence | Entry | Intermediate | AP |
4.1 Confidentiality and data protection | Understands role requirement and the importance of accessing, maintaining and storing documentation relating to care, in accordance with local guidance and legal requirements for maintaining confidentiality and data protection. |
4.2
Record
keeping | Keeps complete, clear, accurate and timely records, utilising digital platforms as required. |
4.3
Methods of
communication | Communicates through a variety of methods, including the use of interpersonal, written and verbal and non-verbal skills. Exchanges information with service user and families using active listening, compassion, empathy, and coproduction techniques with the service user |
4.4
Effective
communication | Provides and receives routine and straightforward information in a timely and effective manner to and from service users, carers, members of staff and others. Actively listens and receives information, gives and acts on feedback. Understands the communication needs of others and adapts communication style accordingly. | Communicates to service users, carers, staff, teams and others in a way that is understandable and accessible, addressing any barriers to understanding. This requires the selection of the most appropriate method of communication. Actively listens and receives information, gives and acts on feedback. Understands the communication needs of others and adapts communication style accordingly | Demonstrates the ability to provide and receive complex and sensitive information, including relating to service users. Judges the appropriate method of communication, ensuring information is provided in an accessible way. Actively listens and receives information, gives and acts on feedback. Understands the communication needs of others and adapts communication style accordingly |
Safe and inclusive environments
Working within organisational policies and procedures to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion, safeguarding, protection and personal wellbeing, and safety, along with the importance of infection control, duty of care and candour.
| Competence | Early | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
| 5.1 Health and safety | Contributes to the maintenance of healthy and safe working environments through appropriate practice, use of resources, techniques and behaviours and understanding of relevant legislation |
| 5.2 Policies and procedures | Understands the importance of adhering to organisational policies, protocols, procedures, and standards | Understands the importance of adhering to organisational policies, protocols, procedures, and standards. | Contributes to the development, application and evaluation of organisational procedures and protocols. |
| 5.3 Risk management | Identifies and manages risks, including assessment of moving and handling, using local policies and procedures. Is aware of the environment in which they work and how to maintain safety for themselves and others. |
| 5.4 Incidents and complaints | Reports any incidents, accidents or complaints in a timely manner, taking appropriate action where necessary. |
| 5.5 Safeguarding | Understands and follows the principles of safeguarding and protection. Follows local procedures and escalates concerns in a timely manner, complying with legal requirements. | Is vigilant for cues indicating safeguarding issues. Escalates safeguarding concerns and reports to the multi-disciplinary team in a robust, timely manner; complying with legal requirements. | Takes responsibility for risk identification and assessing activity within scope of role and adhering to local and national safeguarding procedures and policies. |
| 5.6 Infection prevention and control | Understands the principles and practices of infection control, adhering to these consistently within own scope of practice | Understands the principles and practices of infection control, adhering to these consistently within own sphere of practice. | Supports others to understand the principles and practices that underpin infection control principles. |
| 5.7 Duty of care and candour | Acts with integrity and honesty, ensuring individuals do not experience harm by reporting situations, behaviours or errors that might lead to adverse outcomes for service users. |
| 5.8 Respects diversity | Understands, promotes, and advocates for equality and diversity and demonstrates inclusion through interaction with individuals. |
| 5.9 Awareness of subconscious bias | Aware of your own values, culture and position, and the impact of your work and actions on others. |
| 5.10 Recognises and reacts to discrimination | Promotes equality and challenges discriminatory behaviour, particularly relating to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation. Provides support without prejudice. |
| 5.11 Widens access to care | Understands and applies the principles and processes to support access to care and making reasonable adjustments. |
Research and service improvement
Participation and undertaking of research, audit, evaluation and service-improvement projects.
| Compotence | Entry | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
| 6.1 Service improvement | Participates in service evaluation and quality improvement activities relevant to own work. | Contributes to audit, service evaluation and quality improvement activities, such as service user feedback and benchmarking. | Participates in, contributes to, and may lead, audits, service evaluation and quality improvement projects relevant to own work |
| 6.2 Research activity | Able to understand and comply with research governance, ethics, protocols and guidelines. | Understands and complies with research governance, ethics, protocols and research, and may carry out routine research activities under guidance of more experienced staff. Disseminates research findings. | Applies research governance, ethics, protocols and guidelines and may undertake more complex research activities including data collection and analysis. Disseminates research findings |
Leadership
Understanding the importance of being a role model, time management, identifying areas for self-improvement, and supervising others.
| Compotence | Entry | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
| 7.1 Professionalism | Acts in a professional manner, demonstrating NHS Constitution values. |
| 7.2 Role modelling | Acts as a role model (for example by being welcoming). | Understands the importance of role models, for example to assist the development of others. | Demonstrates role modelling, including advocating for other support staff. |
| 7.3 Leadership | Takes appropriate action when the performance and practice of others should be positively recognised or requires improvement. Identifies and develops own leadership skills, for example by volunteering for broader opportunities within their organisation. Advocates for service users, families and carers. | Takes appropriate action when the performance and practice of others should be positively recognised or requires improvement. Identifies and develops own leadership skills, for example by volunteering for broader opportunities within their organisation. Advocates for service users, families and carers. | Takes appropriate action when the performance and practice of others should be positively recognised or requires improvement. Takes and demonstrates management and leadership for own work within scope of practice. Advocates for service users, their families and carers. Identifies and develops own leadership skills, for example by volunteering for broader opportunities within their organisation. |
| 7.4 Supervising others | May help induct and instruct new support staff | Inducts new team members. Participates in training and mentoring of less experienced support staff and students (including apprentices) in respect of tasks and responsibilities within scope of practice. | May manage staff and mentor less experienced staff and students, including apprentices. |
Personal and professional values and behaviours
The values required to work in health and social care, and personal learning and selfdevelopment.
| Compotence | Beginner | Intermediate | AP |
|---|
| 8.1 Ways of working | Demonstrates, through interactions with others, the core values of the NHS and Our NHS People Promise. |
| 8.2 Health and wellbeing | Understands and acts on own safety and health and wellbeing needs and supports the health and wellbeing of wider team members. |
| 8.3 Role of learning and development | Understands why learning is important and how it improves performance, practice and quality of care |
| 8.4 Self-development and learning | Participates in learning (including mandatory training) to ensure up-to-date knowledge, skills and behaviours to safely perform role. Actively seeks feedback | Actively participates in learning opportunities to maintain knowledge and inform practice. Actively seeks feedback. | Actively participates in learning opportunities and demonstrates self-improvement, for example by actively seeking feedback. |
| 8.5 Appraisals | Prepares for and participates in appraisals and agrees a Personal Development Plan |
| 8.6 Personal development plans | Records learning and personal development and is supported to identify areas for improvement. Undertakes | Records own learning and personal development. Identifies and articulates areas for self-improvement, including through self-reflection and evaluation of practice. | Records own learning and personal development. Identifies areas for self-improvement and actively participates in learning opportunities to maintain and extend knowledge and performance. |
