Clinical Support Worker

Clinical Support Workers work directly with patients on a ward or department under the supervision of a health care professional.

The types of tasks that you will be involved in will depend upon the ward you work on. Tasks may include helping patients with their meals, helping patients to wash, dress and use toilet facilities, helping move patients in and out of bed and making them feel comfortable. Other daily tasks may include collecting and delivering things between departments, answering the telephone and passing on messages. Your patients will be at the centre of everything you will do, no two days will be the same.

You can be sure you will be a valued member of the health and care team and will really make a difference to your patient’s lives whilst they are in care.

Clinical Support Worker is also known as Clinical Assistant, healthcare assistant, care assistant.

Role Characteristics

Talk and listen to patients and their families
Work with other health and care professionals
Help patients with daily living activities such as eating, washing and dressing
Keep the areas you work in clean and tidy
Complete paperwork with a high attention to detail
Take patients to their appointments in different areas of the hospital

Skills

Active listening
Attention to detail
Communication
Empathy
Organisation
Observation

Day in the life

Find out more about Rachel's role as a Clinical Support Worker at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Routes into this role

Here are some example routes that can lead into this role.

Pre-employment Programmes

GCSEs

T-Level

An apprenticeship

How to become

There are many routes into becoming a Clinical Support Worker; these include an apprenticeship, pre-employment programme or a college course.

If you have GCSE's in English and Maths (C or above or 9-4) you could apply direct to complete an apprenticeship. You may want to complete a Clinical Support Worker apprenticeship at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust & Leeds City College, where you'll learn how to provide patients with essential care, helping them with washing, dressing, eating, moving around or using the toilet. Over the 15-month programme, you will make the patient's time in hospital more comfortable and will become a valued part of the nursing team.

If you don't have any GCSE's you could come through a Pre-employment programme where they will assess your Maths and English through a Functional skills assessment. If successful you would start in the hospital as a Trainee Clinical Support Worker or could still go onto an apprenticeship if your assessment results are high enough.

Where can this role lead

No matter what role you start in or where you are in your career path, there are always opportunities to develop and progress in health and care.

You could move into Care Assistant role, focusing on care for the elderly in a care home or in the community.

This is a great pathway to becoming a registered Nurse by taking up a Trainee Nursing Apprenticeship, you could look specialise in Adult Nursing, Children's Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, or Learning and Disability Nursing. With experience, you could develop to become a Ward Manager or a Sister.