Effects of the care certificate on healthcare assistants' ability to identify and manage deteriorating patients

The Care Certificate, launched in England in 2015, safeguards patients by ensuring all new healthcare assistants (HCAs) undertake a structured educational programme so that they can provide appropriate, safe and high standards of care in clinical settings. This article describes a service evaluation that aimed to identify the effects of the Care Certificate on HCAs' confidence and ability to identify, and initiate management of, unwell patients independently.