“Care workers, healthcare assistant in uk and home care workers to become eligible for Health and Care Visa for 12 month period” announced the UK government on the 24th of December, 2021.
The UK government in their quest to meet the huge shortage created within the healthcare system due to the current hit of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country has launched this initiative which will take effect from early 2022 as stated by the UK government in their press release.
Read This: How To Apply For Senior Carers Visa
PAY AND BENEFITS OF HEALTH CARE ASSISTANT
These occupation has been added to the shortage occupation list (SOL) with a stipulated minimum annual salary of £20,480 (band 2) for those that qualify for the Health and Care visa (tier 2 visa).
These Health and Care visas will also allow your family e.g. your partner and children to migrate together with you by benefitting from some of these services such as reduced visa fee, you also get an offer of permanent residency after years of working should in case you want to settle in the UK afterward.
You will also have access to pension schemes, health service discounts, annual leave, bank holidays, and so on, depending on your organization.
With all being said, you might ask who is a healthcare assistant and what will be my duties and responsibilities if I want to be one?
Your questions will be answered shortly, read on!
WHO IS A HEALTHCARE ASSISTANT?
A healthcare assistant work in the hospital settings, nursing homes, residential care facility or a patient’s home to make the patient comfortable and their experience during their as stress-free as possible. Your duties include assisting patients with their daily activities, checking vital signs and assisting nursing staff when necessary.
As a healthcare assistant, you will have a lot of contact with patients and you will work under the supervision of healthcare professionals like a nurse, doctors, midwives, and your role may include the following;
HEALTHCARE ASSISTAN RESPONSIBILITIES
- Assisting the patients with self care needs such as bathing, dressing, feeding, elimination, and so on
- Help patients to move around independently or with assistive devices.
- Make beds for patients and keep their surroundings tidy
- Make patients feel comfortable
- Monitor patients’ vital signs by taking temperatures, pulse, respiration, and weight
- Talking to patients and reassuring them
- Attending meetings with other healthcare professionals
- Assisting nurses and other staff when needed.
In some settings like a health center, you may be involved in some roles such as;
- Performing health checks
- Take blood samples
- Sterilize equipment
- Restock consulting rooms
- Process lab samples
- Health promotion or health education work
SKILLS YOU NEED TO HAVE AS A HEALTHCARE ASSISTANT IN UK
To be a healthcare assistant, you’ll need to have some of the following skills such as;
- Caring and kindness
- Cheerfulness and friendliness
- Willing to do personal care tasks for patients such as (washing, toileting, etc)
- Teamwork
- Good listening and communication skills
- Organization skills
- Observational skills and so on
- Ability to handle multiple tasks safely and efficiently.
REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE ASSISTANT
So what is required of you to avail this opportunity and become a healthcare assistant in the UK?
The following are the requirements you need to become a healthcare assistant in the UK;
Get an international passport if you don’t have one yet.
Have proof of your knowledge of English through any of the following means
Pass your English Language Test from an approved provider such as IELTS UKVI, OET with the required score.
Have a GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English, gained through study at a UK school that you began when you were under 18.
To Have a degree-level academic qualification that was taught in English – if you studied abroad, you’ll need to apply through Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) for confirmation that your qualification is equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or Ph.D.
Have a job offer from Approved UK health and care sector employers with a certificate of sponsorship to apply for the visa.
Employers expect you to have some experience in healthcare or care work. This could be from paid or voluntary work.
They may ask for a healthcare qualification in the UK recognized courses such as BTEC or NVQ level 2 or 3 from a trusted provider or an equivalent qualification.
If you have all these, you can proceed to apply for jobs and be scheduled for interviews. Applying for jobs requires lots of effort as there are lots of people also applying, so you will need to put in your ‘A-game.
After getting your job offer, you can now proceed to apply for your visa, ensure that you have all that’s required to be issued a visa to work in the UK
For more Information
For more information on other documents needed, see here
https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa/documents-you-must-provide
To apply for a visa;
https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa/apply-from-outside-the-uk
Read on to know the website you can apply as a healthcare assistant on!
Get vaccinated if you haven’t, to protect yourself.
Read Also: how to prepare for Council Professional Exam
WEBSITES
The following are some of the websites you can apply for jobs as a healthcare assistant.
Disclaimer!
Kindly note that we do not have any link or contact with the following agencies, neither are we recruitment agencies, we have put up these for the benefit of those that need them, therefore, your activities or interaction with them is at your discretion.
Download: Free NMCN Marking Scheme Guide
https://www.hwhealthcare.co.uk/
https://www.theflamelily.co.uk/international-recruitment
https://ambition24hours.co.uk/international-nursing-recruitment
CONCLUSION
The offer to become a healthcare assistant is open to anyone willing to migrate and work in the UK with opportunities for career progressions such as becoming a senior healthcare assistant, an assistant practitioner or nursing associate, a nurse, podiatrist, midwife, or occupational therapist with the necessary qualification and training.
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