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4. Induction standards for healthcare support workers
4.1 This section provides detail on the anticipated standards expected of HCSWs on completion of a generic induction programme. Achievement of the standards will provide HCSWs with the competence required to fulfil
responsibilities intrinsic to a role that provides a service to the public. The tool that will be used to support achievement of the standards is inherent within the Knowledge and Skills strand of Agenda for Change.
4.2 The focus of the standards is primarily on public protection and safety. Relevant core dimensions contained within the Knowledge and Skills Framework ( KSF) are linked to public protection standards such as equality and diversity, confidentiality, and recognition of and protection from abuse. These concepts are considered to be essential for public protection. Other specific dimensions relating to particular occupational roles or, for example, particular clinical skills are not covered here. These are considered to be out with the scope of a generic induction programme that focuses on the common public protection standards required of all HCSWs, irrespective of role.
4.3 This consultation document does not prescribe how induction standards should be met. Nor does it set out to identify what mode of training delivery should be employed, or indeed what the induction curriculum should contain. Instead, it seeks to ensure that the draft standards identified in the document are fit for the purpose of public protection and are comprehensive and easy to understand. Feedback from the consultation will be used to modify the draft standards where appropriate.
4.4 The draft standards, including anticipated performance criteria, are presented at Annex 3. Previous work has mapped these across to KSF dimensions and to the anticipated content of the NHS Scotland core induction programme, a pilot of which is due to be completed in June 2006.
4.5 It is anticipated that many local service providers will already be inducting HCSWs against the draft standards identified in Annex 3 through existing local induction or staff development programmes. It is not the intention, therefore, that the final standards be considered separately from existing provision, but rather that they should be complementary to and/or an inherent part of that provision. Local matching should take place to demonstrate, through staff and clinical governance monitoring activities, that the standards finally agreed for NHS Scotland are being met by HCSWs.
4.6 In light of the implementation of the KSF and the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF), performance criteria have been identified to enable the achievement of competence to be evidenced by individuals. It is anticipated that this process will inform personal development planning and review processes intrinsic within the KSF. The potential for SCQF credit rating or credit transfer may also exist in future, but this is not the primary purpose of the standards.
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