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Level 2 Maternity Apprenticeship
Healthcare Support Worker
This occupation is found in the health and care sectors. Healthcare Support Workers work in a range of healthcare settings, for example in a hospital, General Practice, as part of a community team and in individuals’ homes where their wider team may include workers from both health and social care. They can also be found in social care settings where the scope of the role they carry out requires them to be responsible for a range of clinical tasks.
These roles are becoming more common as health and social care services in some areas become integrated or where residential and nursing homes are caring for residents who have health and care needs, are unwell or reaching the end of their life but have not been transferred to a hospital or primary care setting.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide high quality and compassionate person-centred care and support based on individual needs and setting. Daily activities for a Healthcare Support Worker will vary according to the workplace and will be determined by the needs of the individuals they are caring for. Healthcare Support Workers will check the overall comfort, wellbeing and progress of individuals in their care. They support individuals with their daily activities including eating, drinking, washing, dressing or going to the toilet.
They carry out clinical activities such as measuring and monitoring blood pressure, temperature or weight, checking wounds or applying dressings. They prepare individuals for healthcare activities carried out by other members of the healthcare team, looking after them before, during and/or after those activities in line with their care plan. They will also carry out non-clinical duties such as handling enquiries and signposting or escorting people, keeping records, making beds, tidying the work area, returning or cleaning equipment used during a clinical activity.
Level 3 Maternity Apprenticeship
Senior Healthcare Support Worker
Senior healthcare support workers work in a range of settings for example in a hospital, as part of a community team, in a day-case unit, birthing centre, individual’s homes, operating theatres, nursing or care homes, hospices and in general practice.
The broad purpose of the occupation is support registered healthcare professionals in the delivery of high quality and compassionate health and care services. A senior healthcare support worker will provide clinical, therapeutic or diagnostic care under the direct or indirect supervision of a registered healthcare professional. For this standard, one of the following occupational options will be completed:
1. Adult nursing support: Providing care and support for adults as part of the nursing team. Some of the individuals the adult nursing support worker cares for will have short-term needs for example, if they have a wound which requires dressing. Others may have long-term conditions which affect them every day, all their lives. Many individuals will have more than one condition, and some will need round the clock care for all their personal needs including feeding, washing, going to the toilet as well as for their clinical needs.
2. Maternity support: Providing care and support for women, babies and their families as part of the maternity team. The maternity support worker will contribute to the care of women antenatally and during birth, and care for women and babies postnatally. They support new parents to care for their baby and to develop confidence and bonding.
3. Theatre support: Providing care and support for individuals before, during and after operations as part of the multi-disciplinary theatre team. They will support individuals as they are preparing to go into theatre, reassuring them if they are anxious, and helping them move them back to recovery following their procedure. The theatre support worker will support the operating team by checking individuals into the theatre department, preparing equipment, counting swabs or other instruments and measuring fluids. They may be involved in routine, traumatic and emergency surgery.
4. Mental health support: Providing care and support for individuals with mental ill health as part of the multi-disciplinary mental health team. They will support individuals, and their families, at different stages of their recovery by listening, providing emotional support, collaboratively developing care plans, implementing them creatively and reviewing them to meet the needs of the individual. The mental health support worker observes and reports changes in mental and physical well-being, encouraging independence and enabling individuals to live their life and achieve their goals. Usually, they will have to work closely with carers and with other organisations for example in housing and social care.
5. Children and young people support: Providing care and support for babies, infants, children and young people as part of the children’s team. They work within guidelines and legislation designed to protect and support children and young people, recognising the different needs and rights they have at different ages and stages of their development. The children and young people support worker promotes person and family-centred care, including looked-after children, and working in partnership with parents, carers, families and other services and agencies.
6. Allied health profession therapy support: Providing care and support for individuals through therapeutic activities as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Illness, disability or a change in life circumstances often means that individuals have to learn or be supported to do things in new and different ways. This can change the pattern of a life-course, but individuals can often expect to regain and enjoy a quality of life with support and rehabilitation. Some individuals may have short-term needs, others may have long-term physical and/or mental ill health or a learning disability that affects their independence, function or way of living. The therapy support worker will be required to work with the individual either on their own or within a group setting. They may also work with others to support the individual eg training carers or working with families.
7. Diagnostic imaging support: Providing care and support for individuals through screening programmes, elective and emergency diagnostic imaging examinations including interventional procedures as part of a multi-disciplinary team within hospital and community sites. They will support individuals and help to manage the equipment used for imaging procedures. They support individuals and the team before and during the procedure, reassuring people if they are anxious and helping them with post-procedure care where necessary. Many individuals will have more than one condition, including serious traumatic injuries or life-changing diagnoses such as cancer. Diagnostic imaging support workers interact with patients, their carers and their families with various dependencies and ages. Diagnostic imaging support workers work within strict legislation and other guidelines designed to protect themselves and the individuals in their care.
Level 6 Maternity Apprenticeship
Midwifery Degree
In July 2018, midwifery leaders in NHS Trusts and in higher education in England came together to form a trailblazer group to draft the first Midwife Degree Apprenticeship Standard, which was approved in December 2018. In 2020, the standard was updated to meet the new NMC (2019) Future Midwife standards Midwife (2019 NMC standards) (Integrated degree) / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education All programmes approving a Midwife Apprenticeship route need to use the 2020 (Integrated Degree) Standard.
In 2021, Skills for Health published an article about developing both Midwife Standards, including interviews with the trailblazer chairs. 2021.01.28 Meet the Chairs - Midwife Trailblazer v2 (skillsforhealth.org.uk) The RCM was a stakeholder to both Trailblazer groups and helped shape how the Standard aims to grow our midwifery workforce.
The midwifery apprenticeship is a degree-level apprenticeship, meaning that as well as completing the apprenticeship training, a candidate will also have to satisfy the requirements of the university to get their degree before they can register with the NMC and begin to practise as a registered midwife. Employers and universities have designed their programmes so that apprentices can fulfil both these obligations at the same time.