Home Based Personal Care Assistant

The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Home Based Care Assistant. Home Based Care Assistants provide basic physical and emotional support to patients and their families/household members within a home-based care environment. They work under the direct supervision of a professional supervisor. A qualified learner will be able to: • Assess, plan and provide holistic (physical, spiritual, emotional and social) care and support for patients and household members. • Capacitate patient and household/family members as participants in the patient care team.

This qualification will equip learners with the necessary skills and competence to operate as Home-Based Carer Assistant. The benefits of Home Based Care (HBC) to the patient, to the family, to the community and to the broader health care system are well documented. Evidence from many countries suggests that home and community-based health services are critical to good health outcomes (WHO 2007). The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines HBC as the provisioning of health services by formal and informal care givers in the patient's home to promote, restore and maintain a person's maximum level of comfort, function and health, including care, towards a dignified death. The national Department of Health Guidelines on Home-Based Care and Community-Based Carer suggests that HBC addresses several problems within the health care system including: shortage of hospital beds; inadequate number of medical, nursing and allied health professionals; lack of resources; overcrowded hospitals and overburdened staff which can result in an environment that is unsuitable for managing patients with terminal diseases and increase costs of institutional care. The National Department of Health (NDOH) Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases calls for patients with advanced progressive illness to receive care in appropriate settings, including HBC. Research commissioned by the NDoH found that 628,000 admissions to public hospitals were for AIDS-related illnesses. The cost of hospitalising Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients at public facilities was likely to be at least R3.6 billion, or 12.5% of the total public health budget. Discharging patients into the care of an HBC programme allows for a shorter hospital stay, making more beds available for other patients and reducing costs. HBC provides the health care system with additional cost-effective beds, at home. The NDoH Re-engineering of Primary Health Care (PHC) Strategy makes a distinction between the need for Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Home-Based Caregivers (HBCs). The strategy estimates that approximately 65,000 CHWs and 25,000 HBCs are required by the South African Primary Health Care (PHC) system. The draft Municipal Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Team (WBPHCOT) National Policy Framework and Strategy calls for the deployment of HBCs alongside CHWs within the Ward Based Outreach Teams (WBOTs). A NDoH Audit Report estimated that approximately 72 000 homes/community-based care givers were employed by Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs) in South Africa at an estimated cost of R2.4 billion per annum. This part qualification is therefore essential in supporting the National strategies for providing quality and affordable health care to all the citizens of South Africa.

RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result or certifying a work experience record. RPL for access to the qualification: Accredited providers and approved workplaces may Recognise Prior Learning against the relevant access requirements. Entry Requirements: Level 1.

• Provide holistic care and support to patients and household members.
• Communicate effectively with patients and household members to provide care and support.
• Operate effectively within a multi-disciplinary team context.