Professional development
for support workers
Tanis Hand HCA Adviser
Having a
voice
Accountability
& delegation
Education
& Training
Regulation
Key
issues for
support
workers
Role
clarity
Role clarity
What is the
fundamental
difference between a
registered nurse and
an HCA or AP?
RNs
Make clinical
judgements and
provide nursing
care
Delegate and
supervise
nursing care
APs
May transcend
professional
boundaries
Work is guided by
standard protocols
Patients /
clients
www.rcn.org.uk/publications
HCAs
Are delegated
nursing tasks
Work is
supervised by
registered
professionals
Common goals,
different roles:
briefing paper
RCN 2012
From the client’s perspective
What do clients want
to know about the
people caring for
them?
 Service users, their families and society expect
high levels of care and support for vulnerable
people.
 Support staff make up a significant element of
the workforce that care for people who have a
learning disability and they must be trained and
competent to provide high quality care.
 When individuals are cared for in environments
which do not respond well to their needs,
challenging behaviour is likely to develop.
Appropriate delegation
 First line managers must know the level of skill
across the team and delegate work
appropriately.
 Their role is to keep the service on track and
they do this by monitoring how the whole team
works, how support staff work with individuals
and what additional CPD is required.
Why is CPD so important?

It enables support workers to:
– Understand their accountability
– Protect and promote human rights
– Respond to both general and mental health
needs effectively
– Understand and use total communication
approaches
– Deliver positive behaviour support
i.e. It safeguards the service users
Training the team
 CPD
for support workers is central to
success as they are vital members of the
team.
 Everyone needs to understand lines of
accountability and the significance of
implementing care plans in a consistent
manner.
 All members of the team need to
understand the team goals.
Developing the support worker role within the nursing team
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Focus on QUALITY
Accessible, competence based training
Right people doing the right tasks at the
right time
Appropriate delegation
Working to standards
Understanding and valuing each role
Common client-centred goals!
HCSW regulation - update
Standards and codes – work in progress
Resources and materials
Dedicated HCA and AP website
www.rcn.org.uk/hca