Palliative care assistant
Palliative care assistants provide specialist care and support to people living with serious illness and those reaching the end of their life.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a palliative care assistant you could:
- apply simple wound dressings and give medication
- change medical equipment like catheters and make sure equipment is cleaned and stored correctly
- support the emotional wellbeing of a patient and their family
- care for the person's body after death
- update patient records
Working environment
You could work in an NHS or private hospital, at a hospice, at an adult care home or at a client's home.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Career path and progression
With experience and training, you could become a senior healthcare assistant.
You could also take additional training and move into other healthcare roles like:
- occupational therapy support worker
- physiotherapy assistant
- podiatry assistant
- radiography assistant
You could also train as a health professional like a midwife, nurse or physiotherapist.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- customer service skills
- knowledge of psychology
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
You could do a college course to learn some of the skills you'll need as a palliative care assistant.
You could do a Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support or a T Level in Health.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
More Information
You could do a Healthcare Support Worker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship which usually takes one year to complete.
You could also do the Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship which usually takes a year and 6 months to complete.
As an apprentice, you'll do training on the job and spend time at a college or training provider.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
More Information
You'll find it useful to get some work experience in healthcare.
You can also find volunteering opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Do IT.
You could apply directly to become a palliative care assistant.
You might not need any formal qualifications, but it could help your application if you have:
- GCSEs grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths
- a level 2 qualification in health and social care, like a certificate, diploma, GCSE or NVQ
- a good understanding of end of life care, or palliative care
Further information
You can find out more about careers in healthcare from Health Careers.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.