12 Jun The Importance of Skills Checks in UK Healthcare Industry
Why is it beneficial to your organisation to have the right candidates with the right skills? High-quality, compassionate care is about people, not institutions. With the right people, you could make any medical institution worthy to your patients and to the surrounding community. The importance of skills checks should not be overlooked when hiring a healthcare professional.
By making use of the Health and Care Professionals Council, it becomes evident if the candidate is qualified or not. High-quality care is encompassed by three aspects, care that is safe, care that is clinically effective, and care that provides a positive experience for the patient. We also take into consideration that care is delivered in a variety of settings, such as wards, departments, as well as clinical- and community settings. The candidate’s capability encompasses terms such as skills, experience, knowledge, and training of the staff present that provides care to patients. Another aspect of care in the healthcare industry is ‘care staff’. All staff needs to have the appropriate skill set for a healthcare organization to function effectively, thus establishing the importance of skills checks.
This includes assistant/associate practitioners, healthcare support workers, healthcare assistants, nursing assistants, auxiliary nurses, and maternity support workers. It is, therefore, important to hire the person who is most qualified for the position, who has the best soft skills, the most knowledge of technological advancements and who thoroughly understands the healthcare industry. If a person lacks in any capacity, your institution’s reputation is potentially at risk. This is why a skills check is important. You do not want a candidate whose skills look good on their resume but who cannot perform the actions required for successful healthcare.
Vetting is an important part of checking the candidates’ skills. The correct qualifications can determine if your overall healthcare institution is successful in providing care or not. Healthcare has many opportunities for mishaps when candidates are not properly qualified, which could lead to legal actions by patients or family members of the patients. This leads to not only a loss in finances but also a loss in community and medical trust. As you can see, the importance of skills checks could not undermined at all!
Conducting a skills check is an absolute must for any healthcare institution and should be done with meticulous care. This is for the benefit of your healthcare team, your organization’s reputation, and financial stability, and most important of all, to the benefit of your patients.