Course summary

This programme is delivered for two days a week over two years. You will study the Healthcare Assistant Practitioner pathway. It is a full-time qualification offered through our partnership with Pearson. Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) are internationally recognized qualifications covering levels 4 and 5, equivalent to the first two years of a degree. The addition of the Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) quality mark signals that it has undertaken additional development with employers and aligned to Occupational Standards. Assistant practitioners work as part of the more comprehensive health and social care team and have direct contact with patients, service users or clients, providing high-quality and compassionate care. Assistant Practitioners work at a level above that of the healthcare support workers and have a more in-depth understanding of factors that influences health and ill health (e.g. anatomy and physiology). An assistant practitioner is a job title applied to a wide variety of roles that have been developed locally by employers to meet individual service needs. Upon successfully completing this qualification, individuals will have obtained the core skills, knowledge and values/behaviours to become an assistant practitioner. Examples of common work activities include assisting in total patient assessment, coordination of care (including referrals to other practitioners) and higher clinical skills such as catheterisation, wound care and discharge planning. Assistant practitioners can be found working in various areas such as cancer services, physiotherapy, genetic-urinary medicine, orthopaedics, hospice care, mental health, social care, community, occupational therapy, learning disabilities, and hybrid roles that cross traditional occupational areas. Assistant practitioners will therefore develop additional skills and knowledge based on their employer's requirements, depending on the clinical or professional area within which they work.

This Higher Technical Qualification is approved against occupational standards decided by employers. Learn more about Higher Technical Qualifications.