Healthcare Assistant CV Example (UK)

A Healthcare Assistant on a hospital ward is hired by a ward manager who needs someone reliable on the rota from the first week: someone who can do a full set of observations, help patients wash, eat and move safely, and tell a nurse straight away when something looks wrong. Your CV should show those things in that order, with the type of ward, the shift pattern and the band you worked at.

The Sample CV below is for a Band 3 HCA on a busy respiratory and elderly care ward, with earlier experience as a Band 2 on a surgical ward and a spell in hospitality before that. Its bullets are about patients, not tasks, and it lists the Care Certificate and the clinical skills she has been signed off for, because those decide whether a trust places you at Band 2 or Band 3.

Tailor it to each advert on NHS Jobs or Trac. An emergency department wants pace, ECGs and bloods; a theatre recovery post wants post-operative observations; a maternity support worker role wants something else again. Read the person specification and use its words in your bullets. The US counterpart of this page is the medical assistant resume example, written for an American clinic role that is mostly administrative and outpatient; a UK HCA works on the ward at the bedside. The Civic template keeps the CV plain for NHS application systems.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in the UK; the page for applicants in the US is the medical assistant resume example.

Healthcare Assistant sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper a UK CV is printed on.

Kayleigh Dunstall

Healthcare Assistant (Band 3), Respiratory and Elderly Care, Care Certificate, signed off for venepuncture and ECGs

Norwich, NR4kayleigh.dunstall@example.com07700 900235

Summary

Band 3 Healthcare Assistant with four years on NHS wards, currently on a 30-bed respiratory and elderly care ward working days, nights and weekends. Confident with NEWS2 observations, personal care for patients with dementia, safe moving and handling and food and fluid monitoring, and signed off for venepuncture, ECGs and blood glucose. Known on the ward for spotting changes early and for keeping patients and families calm.

Experience

Healthcare Assistant (Band 3), Respiratory and Elderly Care Ward, Wensum Valley University Hospitals NHS Trust

– Present

Norwich

  • Care for up to eight patients a shift alongside a registered nurse, many with COPD, pneumonia or dementia, providing personal care, pressure area care, mouth care and help at mealtimes.
  • Record NEWS2 observations every four hours or more often as directed, and escalated a patient whose oxygen saturation dropped overnight, leading to an early review by the night team.
  • Take bloods, record ECGs and check blood glucose on the morning round, freeing the nurses for medicines and ward rounds.
  • Act as the ward's dementia champion, introducing a This Is Me board at each bedside and a box of activity items that reduced the need for one-to-one enhanced observation on some shifts.
Healthcare Assistant (Band 2), General Surgical Ward, Wensum Valley University Hospitals NHS Trust

–

Norwich

  • Helped post-operative patients wash, dress and mobilise for the first time after surgery, using frames, hoists and slide sheets safely.
  • Kept accurate fluid balance and stool charts and reported low urine output to the nurse in charge.
  • Completed the Care Certificate within twelve weeks and was put forward for Band 3 development after a year.
Front of House Supervisor, The Yare Kitchen

–

Norwich

  • Supervised a team of six on busy weekend shifts, handled complaints and trained new staff on food hygiene.
  • Covered extra shifts at short notice over the Christmas period and kept the floor calm during a fire alarm evacuation.

Education

Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support (in progress)

Broadland College of Further Education, Norwich

Funded through the trust's apprenticeship levy; first step towards a nursing associate or nursing degree apprenticeship.

GCSEs, including English and Maths at grade 5

Eaton Fields Academy, Norwich

Skills

  • NEWS2 observations
  • Personal and pressure area care
  • Dementia care
  • Moving and handling, hoists and slide sheets
  • Venepuncture
  • 12-lead ECG recording
  • Blood glucose monitoring
  • Food, fluid and stool charts
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Electronic observations on handheld devices

Certifications

  • Care Certificate, Wensum Valley University Hospitals NHS Trust,
  • Basic Life Support, Trust resuscitation team,
  • Enhanced DBS check (adult and child barred lists), Disclosure and Barring Service,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How a UK CV differs

A UK Healthcare Assistant CV reads differently from an American medical assistant one because the job is different: it is ward-based bedside care in an NHS or private hospital, banded on Agenda for Change, with no reception or billing work. Most posts are advertised on NHS Jobs or Trac, where the application form asks for your employment history and a statement against the person specification, and a short CV backs it up for agencies and private hospitals. Two pages of A4 is plenty, and one is fine if you are new to care.

For a healthcare assistant in the UK

  1. Band and ward type on every post

    Write Band 2 or Band 3 and the type of ward, such as respiratory, surgical or elderly care. It tells a manager the level of care you are used to and the patients you have looked after.

  2. Care Certificate near the top

    Trusts expect new HCAs to complete the Care Certificate within their first weeks. If you already have it, list it with the year so the trust can shorten your induction.

  3. Clinical skills listed one by one

    Venepuncture, ECGs, blood glucose, catheter care and cannulation are signed off separately and decide your band. Name each one rather than writing clinical duties.

  4. Shift pattern and flexibility

    Say whether you work days, nights, long days and weekends. Ward rotas are built around twelve-hour shifts, and availability is a real selection factor.

  5. Routes into nursing

    Many trusts fund HCAs into the Level 3 diploma, nursing associate or nursing degree apprenticeships. If that is your aim, say so; it shows commitment to the role and the trust.

Every CV in the UK

A4 paper
Set the page to A4, 210 by 297 millimetres. A Letter-sized PDF prints with odd margins on A4 and reads as imported from the US.
Two pages is normal
Most UK CVs run to two pages. One page suits a first job; three is rare and only for senior roles with a lot to show.
No photo, no date of birth
UK employers do not expect a photo, a date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV, and most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, and month and year for each role: "Mar 2022 – Present". Never the US month-first order.
British English
Organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise. A CV in American spelling reads as written for somewhere else.
Town and postcode area, not a street address
A line such as "Manchester, M4" is enough. A full postal address, and the US-style "City, ST 12345" line, are not expected.

More on applying in the UK, with every CV example for it, on the UK page.

Templates for the healthcare assistant CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same healthcare assistant CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Applicant for a first Band 2 Healthcare Assistant post, with two years of caring for a grandparent at home and a retail background, ready to complete the Care Certificate in the first weeks.

  • Helped a family member with washing, dressing, medicines prompts and hospital appointments for two years.
  • Worked weekend shifts in a busy supermarket, handling customers patiently and reliably.
  • Completed an online introduction to health and social care before applying.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Band 3 Healthcare Assistant in an emergency department, comfortable with pace, triage support and the clinical skills the department relies on.

  • Record ECGs, take bloods and cannulate in the majors area under the nurse in charge.
  • Support the resuscitation team by setting up equipment and recording observations.
  • Help keep patients in the corridor safe and comfortable on the busiest nights.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Band 4 Assistant Practitioner on an acute medical unit, working to a defined scope alongside registered nurses and training new HCAs.

  • Take a small group of stable patients under the delegation of a registered nurse.
  • Deliver the ward's induction for new Healthcare Assistants and check their competencies.
  • Completed the foundation degree for assistant practitioners through the trust.

Skills to put on the healthcare assistant CV

Hard skills

Observations and escalation
Ward managers rely on HCAs for most of the routine observations, so knowing NEWS2 and when to tell the nurse is the core of the job.
Personal care
Helping patients wash, dress and eat with dignity is the work you will do most, and the panel will ask how you do it.
Moving and handling
Safe use of hoists and slide sheets protects patients and staff, and trusts check it at induction.
Clinical skills such as bloods and ECGs
They are often what moves a post from Band 2 to Band 3, so list each one you have been signed off for.
Accurate charting
Food, fluid and stool charts feed directly into doctors' decisions, and missing entries are a common ward complaint.
Infection prevention
Hand hygiene and isolation precautions are audited on every ward and are part of every HCA person specification.

Soft skills

Reliability
A ward runs short when an HCA does not turn up, and managers value someone who covers nights and weekends without fuss.
Kindness and patience
Patients remember the person who helped them to the bathroom at three in the morning, and so do the ward's feedback cards.
Speaking up
An HCA is often first to notice a change in a patient, and a manager wants one who says so straight away.

Mistakes that cost healthcare assistant interviews

  1. Listing duties instead of patients

    Assisted nurses with patient care says nothing. Describe the ward, how many patients you look after with a nurse, and one moment where your care made a difference.

  2. Forgetting the clinical skills

    If you have been signed off for bloods or ECGs and do not say so, a trust may place you on a lower band. List every competency with the trust that signed it off.

  3. Hiding non-care work

    Hospitality, retail and call centre jobs show reliability, customer care and working under pressure. Keep them, briefly, and say what they taught you about people.

  4. Writing it like a medical assistant CV

    Scheduling, insurance and front desk tasks belong to an American clinic job. A UK ward HCA CV is about bedside care, observations and teamwork with nurses.

  5. Copying the person specification word for word

    Using its keywords is good; pasting it in is not. Give a real example against each point so the shortlister can see you have done the work.

Write bullets with the XYZ formula: what changed, the number that shows it, and how you did it, in one line.

Questions about the healthcare assistant CV

Do I need qualifications to become a Healthcare Assistant?

Usually not for a Band 2 post. Trusts look for good English and maths, care experience or the right values, and they train you through the Care Certificate. Band 3 posts usually ask for a Level 2 or 3 qualification or equivalent experience.

What is the difference between a Band 2 and a Band 3 HCA?

Band 3 posts include more clinical skills, such as taking bloods, recording ECGs and more complex observations, and usually expect previous experience or a Level 3 qualification. Put your band and skills clearly so the trust can place you correctly.

How long should a Healthcare Assistant CV be?

One or two pages of A4. A new starter fits one page; an HCA with several wards and clinical skills may need two. Keep your current post and your skills on the first page.

Should I include caring for a family member?

Yes. Unpaid care shows you can help someone wash, eat and take medicines with dignity. Describe it in a short entry with what you did and for how long.

What should I write in the supporting information?

Go through the person specification and give a short real example for each point, such as how you kept a confused patient safe or escalated a change in observations. Keep the examples consistent with your CV.

Can I move from care home work to a hospital HCA post?

Yes. Personal care, moving and handling and dementia care carry straight across. Add any observations you took and the Care Certificate, and say which ward types interest you. Paste the advert into Resume Master to tailor the CV to that ward.

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