HSU To Validate Assistant Practitioner Foundation Degree Apprenticeships

Assistant Practitioners are staff working in support roles, alongside registered healthcare professionals. They work in a range of health and care services. Health Sciences University (HSU) are dedicated to supporting this role, with the development of a Foundation Degree (FDSc) Assistant Practitioner – Allied Health (Apprenticeship), delivered by Bournemouth and Poole College and validated by HSU.

The apprenticeship is aimed at people working in these support roles to the Allied Health Professions (AHPs) across the Health and Social Care sector and is in large demand from the NHS. Significant investment has been made by the NHS to the development of the Allied Health Profession support workforce.

There is widespread demand for this provision across the AHPs who become increasingly reliant on the support workforce to deliver outstanding patient care and progress their careers without barriers. This course offers the opportunity for them to develop people in the support workforce through to Band 4 roles through national occupational standards.

Assistant Practitioners work at a level above that of Healthcare Support Workers and have a more in-depth understanding about factors that influence health and ill-health. On a daily basis, Assistant Practitioners will assist registered healthcare professionals in total patient assessment, and in the coordination of care (including referrals to other practitioners) as well as undertaking clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic activities according to local population and service needs.

This course is mapped to the new Allied Health Profession Support Worker competency framework which enables employers, networks, integrated care systems (ICSs) and services to effectively plan, develop, and deploy their AHP support workforce.

It develops the skills and learning required by a wide range of Assistant Practitioners to provide patient care across primary and secondary care settings in Allied Health Professions. Learners will be able to choose units aligned to key clinical areas: Diagnostic Radiography, Therapeutic Radiography, Rehabilitation (Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy), Speech and Language Therapy, and Dietetics. Speaking on the role and the importance of this course, Professional Lead for Allied Health Professionals Rachel Christian-Edwards said:

“Workforce planning more than ever needs to consider the diversity of the workforce, and our support staff have a significant role to play in delivering high quality patient care. Having development opportunity such as the FdSc Assistant Practitioner (Allied Health) Apprenticeship locally in Dorset supports delivery patient care but also developing and retaining our support workforce.”

Applicants to this course must be working within a relevant Allied Health Professions role. Apprentices must also have evidence of English and maths at grade C/4 or above or equivalent. For further details, please get in touch with Angelique Atack from Bournemouth and Poole College. For further details, please see here.