AIBU to ask whether healthcare assistant roles in hospitals are worthwhile?

They rota for 3 months at a time so people have their shifts in advance

Our trust has people on a full long day 7am to 8pm or
7am to 1pm or 12-8
lots of people apply and want to work 10-3

childcare is problematic from 7am as childminders/wraparound is usually 7:30/45 and then you have to get to work and lots of people with young children don’t want to work until 8pm.

Hospital HCA here, worked on wards and outpatients, currently on ward. It's hard work, the 12 hour shifts and nights are brutal but I like having more days off. It's the most exhausting job for the least amount of money I've ever done. Hard work but I like the team and patients and there's always the opportunity to do bank shifts if you need extra cash. There's always the opportunity to do extra training and progress if you want to. Every day's a school day which keeps it interesting.

To what end? What's your long term career plan?

HCA work is really important to get a good grounding in healthcare if you are wanting to get into a qualified or graduate role. Lots of young people work in these sorts of roles to get the experience to train as physios, OTs, or to see if they want to do nursing.

For super competitive pathways like clinical psychology, they are a great role to do as an undergrad, or new graduate to get some clinical experience to get graduate psychology roles.

I'm sure they can't be managed without doing absolute drudgery for low pay. Makes me sick

Bloody hell, 28k steps and that level of exhaustion sounds absolutely brutal. It's a proper catch-22 when the money is good but it just completely drains you, isn't it? Does she ever manage to properly switch off?

Our maternity support workers have a busy but varied job depending on the setting they work in. Postnatal ward they're supporting new mums in their early recovery, feeding support etc and stripping rooms ready for the housekeepers to go in. Delivery suite is mostly cleaning and stocking rooms and being an extra pair of hands in emergencies. Community they're doing home visits and running clinics, weighing babies etc. Birth centre it's very varied - tours for expectant couples, supporting families and scribing for births, calling ambulance etc if a woman needs to be transferred, making tea and toast after births, feeding support etc. Many use the role as a step into the midwifery apprenticeship as they get train with a band 3 wage and come out without student debt.

The pay is pretty rubbish, they get band 3, but we couldn't manage without them. Those who have come to us from other parts of the hospital as CSWs say the job satisfaction in maternity is higher

You can be a HCA in. GP surgery. Ours did bloods, blood pressure, dressings some injections. The HCAs in GP in Scotland were usually employed by the health board but worked in the surgeries which meant their training was more hospital based and the managers couldn't get their head round the fact they needed to change the training to be more GP orientated.
We had a brilliant lady who was a real favourite with the patients.
We had another HCA that we trained up from receptionist to HCA then she went and did a nursing degree!

In GP you would work Monday to Friday days.

I friend does this job, it’s now called a nursing assistant where I live. The shifts are long, the money is very good, she does 28k steps per shift and says the next day is right off as she’s so exhausted. It’s extremely flexible, where I live only people that have previously done the job are employed as a nursing assistants. She doesn’t enjoy 1:1 with a lot of patients as time drags and it can be dangerous.

Healthcare assistants can work hard! Dependant on what kind of ward you work on. You could be trained to do observations, bloods, Ecgs but also daily cares like washing and turning, dressing/assessing pressure sores. 1:1 patients with dementia/mental health.Running items to path lab or pharmacy. Cleaning beds/organising the ward. Sometimes housekeepers do some of this though hospital dependant.

It can be paid at band 2/3 role dependant but it’s not much more than minimum wage. Weekends, evenings and nights can top it up. Not sure how flexible though as you mostly work on a rota with holidays booked around other staff members. Varies from areas and trusts. This is why people work bank.

Outpatient areas the role is different less anti social hours.

I worked with HCAs before I retired. Good but busy. You can work in outpatient clinics if you want daytime hours and the work is less onerous. Some of our HCAs went on to do further qualifications and became assistant practitioners at band 4 level. One is now doing an apprenticeship degree paid for by the hospital. It’s a good way to get into healthcare if you don’t have a relevant degree.

in what sense?

hospitals would fall apart without them.

some wards are good places to work others not so much