What are the HCSW Induction Standards and Code of Conduct
All new team members or internal staff transfers, working in a Healthcare Support Worker (HCSW) role, are expected to meet the NHS Scotland Healthcare Support Worker Mandatory Induction Standards and HCSW Code of Conduct after 3 months in post (or part-time equivalent up to a maximum of six months).
Together, the induction standards and code of conduct focus on the promotion of patient safety and protection of the public with the aim of ensuring that all HCSWs know what is expected from them early in their employment and that they are able to deliver their role in a competent and professional manner.
The standards reflect many of the areas which a new member of staff can be expected to learn about during an induction period, which will include both corporate and on-the-job induction. They cover vital aspects in both clinical and non-clinical healthcare support worker roles, in relation to protecting the public.
They focus on the basic knowledge and skills required for a new member of staff to work safely and contribute to the delivery of high-quality patient care and services. By working through the standards, new healthcare support workers will actively engage in learning and development in key areas, for example health and safety and confidentiality, which will continue through the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework.
HCSW Induction Standards Workbook
The new HCSW Workbook offers you guidance on how to use your workbook and suggests examples of evidence that will show how you have met the required standards.
Where do I get the evidence to complete my HCSW Workbook?
If this is your first post with NHSGGC, your manager will have already received an email from us explaining the induction process and they will be supporting your through all the steps of the induction process. At this stage you will have covered some of the knowledge and tasks that will help you to complete your workbook and your manager will support you through each part of the workbook until you have completed it.
If you are an existing team member and you have recently been successful in gaining another post in the NHS (e.g. promotion/ transfer), the evidence for completing the HCSW Workbook will come from your previous experience and any training that you have undertaken. There may be some questions in the HCSW Workbook that may require you to update your knowledge. You can do this by either completing the appropriate e-module/training or by visiting Step 2 of the induction portal which will contain all the necessary resources/policies which you need to be aware of. Step 2 of the portal is constantly updated to include up to date information on key changes in the organisation.
How do I update and complete my HCSW workbook?
There is an electronic version of the workbook which will allow you to type directly into it and save it as an electronic file on your personal drive or you may use a paper version which can be printed out and completed on paper. Which ever format you use you will refer to the evidence you have gathered and how this support the parts of the workbook.
The completed workbook must be signed off by your designated reviewer and kept on file. The reviewer may be your line manager, KSF reviewer or another member of staff who has been delegated this task by your departmental manager. Once you have met all of the induction standards and committed to the Code of Conduct, your manager/reviewer will send email confirmation to the HCSW Project Officer. This part of your induction journey will then be complete.
Don’t forget, your workbook provides a great place to store all the activities you have undertaken in your first weeks in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. You may choose to come back to your workbook at a later date when you are preparing for your first annual personal development planning and review meeting. This meeting is with your manager/ reviewer and will reflect on your first year in post, identify what you have achieved in your role so far and plan for your next year looking at your objectives and personal development plan. The workbook may help you to look back at the initial tasks and training you undertook as your started out in your new role.
HCSW Code of Conduct
As a Health Care Support Worker, you know from your HCSW Induction Standards workbook that you play a vital role in:
- Helping the NHS deliver its services
- Protecting patients and the public from harm
- Valuing all aspects of equality and diversity.
What you do has a big impact on the quality of healthcare for people who use our services. The NHS Scotland Health Care Support Worker Code of Conduct is necessary because the work you do as a member of the healthcare team is very important. The Code is a list of statements that set the standard for how you should work on a day-to-day basis.
The Code is here to help you, your employer and the patients and the public you work with. It is based on the basic principle of protecting the public, and mirrors what is required of all the ‘regulated’ healthcare professionals you may work alongside.
To sign up to the Code of Conduct, please complete the ELearning module GGC:057 on LearnPro.
Once you have signed up to the Code your manager/reviewer will discuss this with you and check your understanding. This will form part of the completion of your workbook.
If you do not have access to a computer , a hard copy can be downloaded. Click here to access the full version of the NHS Scotland Health Care Support Worker Code of Conduct.
Guidance and Information for managers/reviewers
A range of support material is available to support managers (reviewers) through the mandatory induction standards and in understanding and committing to the Code of Conduct. These have been developed by NHS Education for Scotland in partnership with all NHS boards.
A summary of the key documents and a link are provided below:
The framework for learning and review
The Framework for Learning and Review has been developed to promote a consistent approach to supporting new healthcare support workers meet the standards. This framework document alongside the new HCSW Workbook and Reviewer Guidance are the core documents which should be used by reviewers and new healthcare support workers to guide and record achievement of meeting the Induction Standards. It provides an explanation of the criteria within each standard, outlines how staff demonstrate meeting the standard, where the required knowledge may come from and an indication of the evidence required.
Guidance for reviewers
The Guidance for Reviewers document explains the background to the Mandatory Induction Standards and sets out the role of the reviewer in more detail. Reviewers play a vital role in making sure that new staff members know what is expected of them in the first three months of employment. Reviewers should introduce the Induction Standards as part the overall induction activity and explain how the evidence that the Standards have been met will fit into the KSF development review process.