A healthcare worker is someone who works in places like your local doctors, a hospital or a care home. This could be someone like a nurse or physiotherapist. Healthcare workers have lots of training and follow rules on how to give someone care and treatment.
As part of their role, a healthcare worker might do things like:
- take your blood pressure
- help you with your diabetes
- change a bandage if you have a cut
Sometimes it might be better if a carer could do some of these jobs. When we say carer, we mean someone who is paid to give care and support. Delegating healthcare is when a healthcare worker trains and supports a carer to do these jobs. It is important that delegating healthcare is done properly and safely.
Skills for Care have worked with the Department of Health and Social Care. Together, they wrote some rules about delegating healthcare jobs in May 2023. They used what people told them to make changes to make the rules and hope this will make the rules better. The rules will make sure that delegating healthcare is done in the best way.
Why carers might do healthcare jobs
Carers can sometimes be the best people to do healthcare jobs. They know the person they support well and understand what is important to them.
If a carer does a healthcare job, this might mean people can have:
- more choice and control over their care and treatment
- care and support when they want it
- care that meets their needs and can fit their life better
Deciding if a carer will do a healthcare job
People who need care must be involved in any decisions about who does healthcare jobs. The person and others involved can say no if it is not the right thing to do. Everyone involved in a person’s care must work together. They must all agree that delegated healthcare is the right thing to do. If everyone agrees with delegated healthcare, healthcare workers and carers should follow these rules.
Our 4 rules about delegating healthcare
Rule 1: Person-centred care
Person-centred care means putting the person first. It is important to listen to what matters to the person and what they want from their care. Carers should only do healthcare jobs if it is right for the person. A care plan says what care and support a person wants and needs. Carers can only do healthcare jobs that have been agreed in a healthcare plan.
The plan should say:
- what jobs the carer and healthcare staff will do
- who the carer can contact for advice or if there are any problems
- if there are any risks to the person. A risk is a chance that someone might be harmed
The plan should say what a carer should do if anything goes wrong.
Rule 2: Making sure everyone understands the rules they have to follow and How to check everyone is following the rules.
There can be lots of people or organisations involved in delegated healthcare. For example:
- Nurses
- Carers
- Care providers
Care providers are services that have carers who can support people. If a carer is asked to do a healthcare job there are rules to follow. Everyone involved must be clear about what they have to do. There must be agreements that clearly show who is responsible for which job.
All of the people and organisations involved have rules to follow. They must follow those rules when they do their work. Other organisations might check how well healthcare workers, care providers and carers do their jobs. For example, nurses are checked by The Nursing and Midwifery Council. Hospitals and care providers are checked by the Care Quality Commission.
A healthcare worker and the care provider are responsible for making sure a carer:
- has all the information they need
- has all the training they need
- knows what to do if something goes wrong
- is doing the job in the right way
Rule 3: Learning, skills and training for carers
Carers need to have proper training to do any healthcare jobs. Carers cannot do a healthcare job until they fully understand how to do it. All carers should:
- feel confident to do the job as part of their job role
- know what jobs they will do and what healthcare staff will do
- know who to ask for advice and help if there are any problems
- not make any decisions about a person’s healthcare or treatment
Keeping up to date
Managers must check if their staff need any extra support or training. Rules and ways of working can change. For example, the way a job needs to be done might change. Or a person’s needs might change. It is really important that carers keep their training up to date. It is everyone’s job to speak up if they feel carers need more training or support.
Rule 4: Making sure things are going well
Healthcare staff should check the healthcare plan is working. Healthcare staff might come and watch carers doing the jobs. This is a good time for a person and their carers to ask any questions and get advice. It is important that healthcare staff and carers build up trust with each other. Managers should also check carers are happy and confident doing jobs.
More information
There is more information to help people understand the rules. Things like videos showing how to help and support carers to do healthcare jobs. You can find the videos on the website www.skillsforcare.org.uk/ delegatedhealthcare
All of the information in this booklet was right when written.