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home Health and science
Assistant practitioner (health)

Assistant practitioner (health)

Health and science

Level 5 - Higher Technical Occupation

Providing, supervising and coordinating high-quality and compassionate health and social care for a wide range of people.

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Reference: OCC0215

Status: assignment_turned_inApproved occupation

Average (median) salary: £22,999 per year

SOC 2020 code: 6131 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants

SOC 2020 sub unit groups:

  • 6131/99 Nursing auxiliaries and assistants n.e.c.
  • 2229/07 Orthoptists
  • 2259/06 Mental health workers
  • 2259/99 Other health professionals n.e.c.
  • 3219/01 Antenatal teachers
  • 3229/07 Mental health project workers
  • 6131/06 Radiography assistants
  • 6131/09 Theatre assistants (excludes entertainment)

Technical Education Products

ST0215:

Assistant practitioner (health)

(Level 5)

Approved for delivery

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Skills for Health, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Devon & Exeter NHS FT, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, JESS TEST

Summary

This occupation is found in the health and care sector. Assistant Practitioners carry out their duties in a range of settings, such as hospitals, clinics or in the community (eg GP surgeries). They may visit individuals in their own homes or in residential care where their wider team may include workers from both health and social care. They work in a wide range of health and care services for example diagnostic services, rehabilitation, orthopaedics, oncology, end of life care, mental health and learning disabilities. Assistant Practitioners are often hybrid roles aligned to local population and service needs and cross traditional occupational boundaries.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to work alongside registered healthcare professionals in providing high quality and person-centred compassionate healthcare and support to individuals. On a daily basis, Assistant Practitioners will assist registered healthcare professionals in total patient assessment, and in the coordination of care (including referrals to other practitioners) as well as undertaking clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic activities according to local population and service needs.

For example:

  • Assistant Practitioners working in rehabilitation services will order, fit and review equipment prescribed by the Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist.
  • Assistant Practitioners working in radiography take diagnostic images and provide support to help to diagnose or treat a patient's illness.
  • Assistant Practitioners working in community mental health support adults or young people with mental health needs.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with

  • Patients, service users and carers.
  • Registered healthcare professionals, for example allied health professionals, doctors, registered   nurses, nursing associates, and healthcare support workers.
  • Social care staff including registered managers, care workers and social workers.
  • Administration, management and other non-clinical staff, such as porters, cleaners and receptionists.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for working within the limits of their competence and authority to provide high quality, evidence-based clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic care and holistic support as part of the wider healthcare team. Assistant Practitioners report to a registered healthcare practitioner and they may delegate to, supervise, teach and mentor others including healthcare support workers and students. They may manage their own caseload and normally require only indirect supervision. However, they are accountable for their actions and must alert the registered healthcare practitioner in situations where they do not have the necessary knowledge, skills or experience.

Assistant Practitioners must communicate effectively and be able to adhere to strict standards, including legislation, when handling sensitive information. They promote a safe and healthy working environment, assess and manage risk, continually develop their knowledge and skills and support others to do the same. Assistant Practitioners will provide leadership within the scope of their practice and contribute to quality improvement in services by participating in audit and research activities.

This apprenticeship has a mandated integrated foundation degree.

Employers involved in creating the standard:

Skills for Health, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Devon & Exeter NHS FT, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, JESS TEST

Typical job titles include:

Assistant practitioner

Keywords:

Care
Care Home
Health
Healthcare
Hospital
Medicine
Social
Support
Therapy

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: The legislation, policies, standards, local ways of working and codes of conduct that apply to own role
K2: The scope of own practice, limitations of own competence and who to ask for support
K3: The principles of equality, diversity and inclusion and providing person-centred care and support, including consent, active participation and choice
K4: The principles of a ‘duty of care’, ‘safeguarding’ and ‘protection’ as they apply to adults and children, the signs of harm and abuse and how to reduce the risk of harm and abuse
K5: The normal ranges expected when taking physiological, technical and psychological measurements and the significance of a variation from the normal range
K6: The types of assessment relevant to the individual’s physical and mental health and wellbeing and the factors that may influence and impact assessment
K7: The signs that an individual is in pain, distress or discomfort
K8: The signs of change in an individual’s health and wellbeing, including the indications of when to intervene within the scope of practice and when to escalate
K9: The principles of maintaining nutrition and fluid balance and the signs and symptoms of inadequate nutrition and fluid intake
K10: Clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions within the scope of own role and the underpinning principles to select equipment and tools in the context of the intervention
K11: The signs that an individual’s health and well-being is changing as a result of a clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic intervention
K12: Ways to record and store information securely, including the safe use of technology
K13: The principles of confidentiality, duty of confidence and disclosure
K14: The frameworks and principles of team working including delegation, accountability and supervision in the workplace
K15: The structural and strategic environment in which health and social care services operate and how these impact on own role
K16: Methods of communication to use in the workplace, including how to overcome barriers and challenges
K17: The benefits of digital solutions for improving communication systems and practices
K18: The meaning of ‘capacity’, the differences between mental illness, dementia and learning disability, and the impact of these conditions
K19: How to identify and evaluate own learning and development needs
K20: How to use feedback to create a personal development plan
K21: Models of reflective practices used in health and care and how reflection can be used to improve own practice
K22: The principles and styles of leadership in relation to own role and place of work and the relationship between leadership and management
K23: The tools and techniques used to identify learning needs and learning styles
K24: The relationship between teaching, coaching and mentoring, and how to evaluate if individuals’ learning needs have been met
K25: National and local strategies, priorities, and initiatives for promoting and improving public health
K26: The wider determinants of health such as the contribution of social influences, health literacy, individual circumstances, behaviours and lifestyle choices on health and wellbeing
K27: The principles of risk management and the hazards and risks associated with the scope of own practice
K28: The principles of a duty of candour, and techniques for managing challenging situations, unsafe work practices, addressing comments, compliments, conflict and complaints
K29: The principles of infection prevention and control, when and how to select the right personal protective equipment for self and others and how to handle hazardous materials and substances
K30: How to move and assist individuals safely and how to move and handle equipment and other objects safely
K31: Methods and indicators used to measure quality, their application in health and care and how they inform a quality improvement plan
K32: The rationale and ethical considerations for undertaking research activity and how to review literature and interrogate the existing evidence base
K33: Methods for collecting research data and how to interpret and apply findings to own and others’ practice
K34: The structure and function of human body systems and how they relate to and impact on each other
K35: The relationship between health and well-being and the principles and philosophy of the biomedical, sociological and psychological models in providing holistic health and care
K36: The stages and processes of human development and how health and wellbeing needs vary throughout the lifespan

S1: Work in line with legislation, policies, standards and codes of conduct that apply to own role
S2: Work within the scope of practice, the limits of own knowledge and skills, escalating and reporting to others when needed
S3: Work in partnership with others to champion safe, equitable, non-discriminatory person-centred care and support for individuals
S4: Promote and maintain the principles of a duty of care, safeguarding and protection, always acting in the best interest of individuals and working across organisations and with other agencies to ensure they do not come to harm
S5: Undertake and monitor physiological, technical and psychological measurements using the appropriate equipment and tools within scope of own practice
S6: Select and use the correct equipment and tools to undertake timely assessment of an individual's physical and mental healthcare status within own scope of practice
S7: Recognise and respond to an individual in pain, distress or discomfort
S8: Interpret results of assessment in the context of the individual’s health and wellbeing, making appropriate changes or recommendations to the care plan within scope of own practice or escalating in line with local protocol
S9: Support individuals with nutrition and fluids in line with their care needs, taking action as required
S10: Undertake evidence-based clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions delegated by a registered healthcare professional in line with scope of practice, and standard operating procedures
S11: Monitor and review the impact of clinical, diagnostic or therapeutic interventions on an individual’s health and well-being
S12: Record and store information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, including the safe use of technology
S13: Report and share information related to individuals securely and in line with local and national policies, maintaining confidentiality
S14: Delegate work to colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team and engage in supervision
S15: Liaise with the multidisciplinary team to prioritise and manage own workload
S16: Communicate with individuals, their families, carers and health and care professionals using techniques designed to maximise understanding
S17: Promote the use of digital solutions to improve communication systems and practices
S18: Recognise and respond to limitations in an individual’s mental capacity
S19: Participate in training and development activities and evaluate the impact of learning on own practice
S20: Seek out and respond to feedback and engage in appraisals
S21: Reflect on own practice to improve practice
S22: Provide leadership and act as a role model for others within the scope of own role
S23: Identify learning and development needs of others
S24: Teach, coach and mentor others and confirm that learning needs have been met
S25: Actively seek out and act on opportunities to support individuals to maximise their health and well-being within the scope of the role
S26: Promote preventative health behaviours and support individuals to make informed choices to improve their health and wellbeing within the scope of the role
S27: Conduct and record risk assessments relevant to the activity and scope of own practice
S28: Uphold the principles of duty of candour, identifying and managing challenging situations, unsafe work practices and addressing comments, compliments, conflict and complaints
S29: Maintain a safe and healthy working environment for self and others, using techniques for infection prevention and control, including the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supporting others to comply with policy and procedures
S30: Move and assist individuals, equipment and other items safely
S31: Participate in and support others in audit and quality improvement activities in the workplace
S32: Conduct research activity within the scope of own role and act on the findings
S33: Identify opportunities to improve quality in the workplace and contribute to local, regional and national quality improvement initiatives

B1: Treat people with dignity
B2: Show respect and empathy for those you work with
B3: Be adaptable, reliable and consistent

Duties

Duty D1

Act within the limits of own competence and within agreed ways of working, following relevant legislation, local and national standards, policies, standard operating procedures and protocols used in the workplace

Duty D2

Contribute to the on-going holistic assessment of individuals

Duty D3

Deliver evidence-based programmes of clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions within own scope of practice and monitor their impact

Duty D4

Promote inter-professional and multi-disciplinary team working with peers, colleagues and staff from other agencies

Duty D5

Communicate complex sensitive information effectively with individuals, their families, carers and health and care professionals

Duty D6

Maintain and further develop own knowledge and skills through recognised continuing professional development activities

Duty D7

Support the development of others through role-modelling, supervision, guidance and leadership

Duty D8

Promote the health and wellbeing of individuals, acting on opportunities to educate and empower individuals to maximise their own health and well-being

Duty D9

Contribute to the identification and management of risks to self and others to maintain a safe and healthy working environment

Duty D10

Promote an evidence-based approach to providing health and care services, participating in quality improvement and research activity

Occupational Progression

This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.

In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.

It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.

Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.

Technical Occupations

Levels 2-3

Higher Technical Occupations

Levels 4-5

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Health and science