Become a support worker
Do you have a passion to make a difference?
Support workers are at the heart of patient care. Whether you’re helping someone get back on their feet, welcoming a new baby into the world, or just being there for a chat, in this role you can make a difference every single day.
There are lots of different types of support worker roles, depending on where you'd like to work and who you'd like to support. You could be:
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A healthcare support worker (HCSW) – working on a ward or in the community, helping with things like washing, dressing, meals, and basic health checks.
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A clinical support worker (CSW) – working under the supervision of a nurse, assisting with basic procedures, observations, and day-to-day patient care.
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A maternity support worker (MSW) – supporting women, babies and families during pregnancy, birth, and after. You might help with feeding, baby care and offering reassurance when it's needed most.
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A support worker or technical instructor with Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) – working alongside physios, occupational therapists, speech therapists and more to help people recover.
It's a great way to start your career in healthcare and the opportunities to progress are endless; you can choose to specialise in a particular setting, or train to qualify as a nursing associate, nurse, midwife, AHP and lots more.
View our support worker vacancies
You can find out more about being a support worker at Mid Yorks by browsing the information provided below.
Healthcare support worker
Our healthcare support workers play a key role in caring for our patients. It's a band 2 role and is ideal for people who want to work in a care setting but do not have any prior healthcare experience or relevant qualifications.
You will be on your feet for most of the day and will work shifts, which can mean starting early, finishing late, and working weekends. You will work under the supervision of a healthcare professional (nurse) and help patients on their journey back to health.
The first three weeks will be spent completing the Care Certificate and essential training in our healthcare academy.
Tasks could include:
- Helping patients move around
- Washing and dressing patients
- Serving meals and helping to feed patients
- Keeping an eye on a patient’s condition and reporting to the nursing team
With further education and training you could progress to clinical support worker all the way to a becoming a nurse.
Apprentice clinical support worker
Our apprentice clinical support workers work under the supervision of a healthcare professional (nurse) and help patients on their journey back to health.
It's a band 3 role (apprenticeship pay in accordance with Annex 21) and is ideal for someone who wants to start a career in healthcare whilst gaining a qualification but is unsure where to begin. You'll pick up useful skills and knowledge that you can take with you on your journey in healthcare.
Entry requirements
- GCSEs in English and maths at grades 4-9 (A-C) or Functional Skills level 2
- Candidates must not have previously started an apprenticeship in the same field
What does the role involve?
Tasks could include h elping patients with basic care needs including:
- serving meals
- washing
- dressing
- helping them move around
You will also learn a range of core skills including:
- Venepuncture
- Blood pressure
- Cannula insertion and removal
- Catheter removal and insertion
- Completing an electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Temperature checks
- Wound care and dressing
- Swabbing and samples such as urine dip
- Pregnancy tests
- Recording patients observations including:
- blood pressure
- pulse
- temperature
- respirations
- oxygen saturations
- blood sugar monitoring
Progression opportunities
It’s an excellent stepping stone for future opportunities in nursing.
You could progress to a trainee nurse associate and then continue to a registered nurse. We support our staff with in-house training opportunities, including apprenticeships.
Clinical support worker
Our clinical support workers work under the supervision of a healthcare professional (nurse) and help patients on their journey back to health.
It's a band 3 role and is ideal for someone who has experience working in a health and care setting. You'll pick up useful skills and knowledge that you can take with you on your journey in healthcare.
Entry requirements
- Experience in a health and care setting in a band 2 role
- Level 3 health related qualification
- Completed Care Certificate
What does the role involve?
Tasks could include helping patients with basic care needs including:
- serving meals
- washing
- dressing
- helping them move around
You will also learn a range of core skills including:
- Venepuncture
- Blood pressure
- Cannula insertion and removal
- Catheter removal and insertion
- Completing an electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Temperature checks
- Wound care and dressing
- Swabbing and samples such as urine dip
- Pregnancy tests
- Recording patients observations including:
- blood pressure
- pulse
- temperature
- respirations
- oxygen saturations
- blood sugar monitoring
Progression opportunities
It’s an excellent stepping stone for future opportunities in nursing.
You could progress to a trainee nurse associate and then continue to a registered nurse. We support our staff with in-house training opportunities, including apprenticeships.
What is the care certificate?
The Care Certificate
The Care Certificate is delivered monthly at Dewsbury to new starters and is part of the induction process.
It’s a two-week programme with classroom learning and hands-on activities to help new staff build their skills, knowledge, and behaviours so they can support patient care.
The 15 standards
Healthcare support workers will need to demonstrate they are meeting the following standards in their work:
- Understand your role
- Your personal development
- Duty of care
- Equality and diversity
- Work in a person centred way
- Communication
- Privacy and dignity
- Fluids and nutrition
- Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disabilities
- Safeguarding adults
- Safeguarding children
- Basic life support
- Health and safety
- Handling information
- Infection prevention and control
Assistant practice educators
We’ve got a team of assistant practice educators who deliver the certificate and make sure our support workers have a great experience. They’re there to offer advice and guidance to help everyone get off to the best possible start.
They also support the Trust’s apprentice clinical support workers and help out with training and any other needs on the wards.
If you’d like more info about what the assistant practice educators do, please drop them an email at: midyorks.pdeuteam@nhs.net
Hear from our Healthcare Support Workers
Learn about life as a healthcare support worker from our brilliant colleagues.
Video transcript: Mid Yorkshire – Be Part of MY Team – MY Story.docx[docx] 16KB