Clinical support workers and senior clinical support workers enable effective patient care and undertake important clerical, administrative and housekeeping duties to support the delivery of diagnostic imaging or radiotherapy services.
The Care Certificate in England is an identified set of standards that health and social care workers adhere to in their daily working life and new NHS staff will have the opportunity to achieve the certificate.
All support workers should have the opportunity to achieve the required education, knowledge and training for their role (see the CoR Education and Career framework). Senior clinical support workers provide some aspects of clinical care before, during and after imaging examinations and radiotherapy treatments.
The support workforce provides care as part of the multidisciplinary team under the direction and supervision of radiographers and associated professionals such as nuclear medicine technologists and sonographers.
As part of the career pathway, the radiographer support worker role can be a route to a registered radiographer.
The clinical support worker roles are crucial in the overall radiography workforce structure. They can provide an alternative entry route into assistant practitioner or registered practitioner roles and are generally recruited from the local population, supporting local communities with local staff.
Education and Career Framework for the Radiography Workforce
Further info on the career structure and the role of clinical support workers
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Developing career pathways for diagnostic imaging support worker roles
Guidance on the roles and responsibilities of diagnostic imaging support workers
For a wider view of the NHS support and assistant workforce and supporting material visit:
Additional information and useful links:
- The Radiography Support and Assistant Workforce: regulatory compliance, governance arrangements, supervision and delegation
- Radiography Careers
- Code of conduct for healthcare support workers adult social care workers
- Care certificate
- Higher development award
- Senior healthcare support worker apprenticeship standard (England)
- Healthcare support worker apprenticeship standard (England)