HCA Accredited Courses YDH

Please find below details and information on HCA accredited courses available at Yeovil District Hospital.  If you are interested or would like to discuss further please contact:

Deb Matthewson

Head of Education and Development

Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

01935 384476

Debbie.Matthewson@YDH.NHS.UK

 

Level 3 QCF (old NVQ)

All HCA’s in general practice should be looking at doing a level 3 due to the clinical activities required for their role. It needs to be Clinical Healthcare Support and not Health and Social Care. If this is completed as an Apprenticeship the cost is minimal but will depend on who and where the learning is accessed from/the provider used.

 

Units should always be picked to meet the need of the employer, the role the person has been employed to do and, where able some units that are of interest to the learner but must be achievable. The predominance needs to be what the employer requires to enable the person to the do the job.

 

In most cases the majority of GP HCAs we see do the Mandatory units (includes Dementia, Mental Health understanding and others such as Health and Safety, Communication, Equality etc.) and then specific units such as –

  

·         Undertake physiological measurements

·         Conduct external ear examinations

·         Conduct hearing assessments

·         Perform routine Electrocardiograph (ECG) Procedures

·         Obtain and test capillary blood samples

·         Obtain venous blood samples

·         Obtain a client history

 

These are a sample of the units and most commonly picked, also a level 2 unit is added to include uranalysis.

 

We would advise attendance to some training sessions but this can be agreed at alternative venue if a number of learners. Observations will be carried out by qualified and clinically competent assessors, with witness testimonies and information gained from the employer/line manager/mentor, along with assignments, reflective accounts and work books.

 

Level 5 Diploma for Assistant Practitioners in Healthcare

The units are not optional with the exception of Safeguarding dependant on working predominately with children or adults. Although there are units that some may consider not suitable for Primary Care, extended feeding and nutrition being one, it is about their understanding of the impact on the patients and the care following as much as during. It enables health workers to get a wider picture of the treatments that patients have gone through and understand when obtaining history etc. All assignments should be based on their job roles and there are caveats to enable people from different roles to achieve all units.

 

This all goes towards supporting the registered professional and allows the HCA/AP to gather far more on their behalf, also administer certain care as defined under clear protocols.

 

This qualification is equivalent to a Foundation Degree and can be used to access nurse training (and other Professional Registered courses) with a number of Universities. The number excepting it are increasing and allows the person to step into the last 2 years of nurse training. At present if the organisation they presently are working for are happy to support their training, Health Education England are giving the individual £17k as a salary to get them through their training. They must then come back to the organisation to work for at least two years. They will not be able to apply for a bursary as well and still have to go through the selection process.

 

Many of our Managers and Clinical Leads have notice a significant change in the way the individual looks at the care they give, the way the collate the information and the increased depth of knowledge that has increased the support to registered staff.

 

This is an Academic qualification linked to practical work and the person will need to be employed. The individual will need to have study leave two days a month to access the study sessions. If there is a reasonable size cohort this could be carried out at a location most suitable to the group.

 

The qualification can be a standalone and is normally about £4k but can also be done as a Higher Apprenticeship and therefore minimal payment, if at all dependant on provider as level 3.

 

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