01 Mar 2011
Dressing, going to the toilet, eating and drinking – these are some of the daily activities a healthy person does without thinking. But how should a person be helped to perform these tasks if he is too ill to do them by himself?
An important member of the patient care team in hospitals and nursing homes is the healthcare assistant, who is trained to help patients with their daily activities:
An understanding of how best to do this can make a big difference to the patient’s care and comfort.
Healthcare assistants and other support service workers pretty much pick up their skills on the job, but SingHealth’s Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing saw the need for an industry standard.
With its long history as a school for nursing, the institute worked with Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to develop a curriculum that ensures people providing support services understand their roles and responsibilities, and have the right skills and knowledge.
WDA recently appointed the institute a Continuing Education and Train-ing Centre – the first of such centres to train people in healthcare support services.
Because the institute is part of Singapore General Hospital (SGH), trainees will also be able to go for their practical training there. Hospital placements are critical to their training, without which they cannot graduate.
“With the relevant skills and competencies healthcare support workers can be trained to become healthcare assistants, patient service clerks and patient care assistants, delivering safe and quality care to patients,” said Associate Professor Lim Swee Hia, Group Director of Nursing, SingHealth and SGH.
“The training will equip them with skills that are applicable in the workplace and help them remain employable in the healthcare industry,” said Assoc Prof Lim.
The demand for such workers is increasing, as a growing and ageing population makes greater demands on the healthcare system. The institute is looking to train about 700 healthcare support workers over the next three years.
Click here for jpeg format
« Back to previous
page
back to top