Introduction
Healthcare assistants (HCAs) play a crucial role in the Irish healthcare system by offering patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and community care settings critical assistance and care. HCAs support nurses and other healthcare workers in assisting patients with activities of daily living including movement, clothing, eating, and bathing. Patients receive social and emotional support from them as well, which helps them feel safe and at ease while they are in the hospital.
Being a healthcare assistant in Ireland is a well-liked career choice since it provides professional advancement chances. This role also provides high compensation and work stability. You must be driven to serve others, have strong communication skills, and be open to learning new things in order to succeed as an HCA. Also, you will need to fulfill certain qualifications and standards. In this post, we discuss all you need to know about becoming a healthcare assistant in Ireland, including the requirements, qualifications, rates of pay, and career opportunities available in this field.
The Need for Healthcare Assistants
The healthcare sector has recently surmounted many obstacles including the effects of the Coronavirus and a staffing deficit. Several EU states have an aging health staff as a result of a lack of new workers to replace those who retire. According to the EU SANCO Report, Europe continually expects a shortage of healthcare workers. Addressing the personnel issues in Ireland’s healthcare industry is crucial if service needs are to be met. The role of the healthcare assistant bridges the gap in the staff and is essential to both the current and future healthcare workforce.
The Role of a Healthcare Assistant
Communicating
The Health Care Assistant employs a variety of communication techniques to share information with nursing staff while displaying a range of listening abilities suited to the context of patient, visitor, and ward settings.
Breathing
They must report any signs of distress or change in patients’ breathing patterns to the staff nurse immediately. The Health Care Assistant assists staff nurses in positioning the patient to assist breathing.
Eating and Drinking
The Health Care Assistant has a significant contribution to make in helping patients meet their needs for food and drink.
Intimate Care – Elimination of Waste
HCAs also offer assistance in this area as it is a function of the nursing team to assist patients in these areas of living when required.
Controlling Body Temperature
Another primary task is assisting in the monitoring of the patient’s body temperature and reporting accordingly to the nurse in order to ensure that this important function of patient care is fulfilled.
Intimate Care – Personal Cleansing and Dressing
The HCA will contribute to patient comfort and maintenance of personal dignity by assisting them, when necessary with personal cleansing and dressing activities.
Mobilising
They will, in consultation with nursing staff, establish the optimum mobilisation assistance required by patients and provide the agreed assistance.
Death and Dying
The HCA fulfils an important role in supporting dignity in death for the patient and compassion for the bereaved family.
Collaboration in Other Ward Activities
Being key members of the ward team, they may on occasion be requested to undertake some activities that are indirectly related to patient care.
Maintaining a Safe Environment
The HCA will assist in maintaining a safe environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
Qualifications Needed to be a Healthcare Assistant
- Professional Qualifications
- The relevant health skills FETAC level 5 qualification or
- An equivalent relevant health care qualifications or
- Be currently employed as a Health Care Assistant or a comparable role AND
- Candidates must have the personal competence and capacity to properly discharge the duties of the role.
- After finishing your training, you must register with the appropriate regulating organization, such as the Health and Social Care Professionals Council (CORU), and receive Garda (police) clearance before working with vulnerable persons. You may begin applying for HCA positions in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities after you’ve registered.
If you wish to work as a home care assistant and have less than 1 year of paid experience, you have to have a certificate in both QQI Level 5 Modules – 5N2770 Care Skills and 5N2706 Care of the Older Person.
If you have paid home care industry experience of more than 1 year in the last 3 years, but you do not hold a recognised relevant qualification, you will have to commit to obtaining at a minimum QQI Level 5 Modules – 5N2770 Care Skills and 5N2706 Care of the Older Person within 11 months
Qualifications needed to work as a Homecare Assistant in Ireland
Become a Healthcare Assistant with Forus Training
Forus Training offers the following major awards for those interested in getting into healthcare:
- 5M4339 Healthcare Support Major Award
- 6M4978 Health Services Supervisory Management Skills Major Award
These major awards include modules that cover a range of areas within healthcare such as Infection Prevention And Control , Care Skills, Care Of The Older Person, Mental Health Awareness, Safety Management, etc.
Employment Opportunities for Healthcare Assistants
As there is a severe staffing shortfall in the Irish healthcare system, healthcare workers are in high demand. The manpower shortage caused incomes for workers in the industry to increase on average by 3 to 8 percent annually. Healthcare assistants with three or more years of experience working during the daytime now make €14.20 per hour, up from €13.50 in 2022. The annual salary of HCAs may start from 31,000 and go up to 39,000 based on experience.
Find more about current healthcare assistants vacancies:
Sources:
https://assets.hse.ie/media/documents/Pay_scales_for_2.2.22_and_1.10.22_adjustments_V2.pdf
