SSSC Compliance for Healthcare Assistants: What You Need to Know

Whether your organisation is a care home, medical centre, hospital, hospice, live-in care company or anything else besides, it’s vital to ensure that all healthcare assistants you recruit hold suitable qualifications and documentation to comply with current legislation.

In this article, we’ll explore SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants in Scotland, discuss why it is important for your team and lay out a simple way to ensure you always adhere to legal requirements.

What is SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants?

SSSC Compliance for healthcare assistants is a vital aspect of running any organisation within the medical or care fields.
Put simply, the term refers to the ongoing need for adherence to all current rules and regulations that are put in place by the government and authorities. These rules exist to ensure that all care specialists are:

• Properly trained and qualified

• Up to date with the most recent practices and processes

All companies and service providers within the healthcare sector must be fully compliant to avoid presenting a risk to the patients they serve and to protect themselves from legal action.

Different regions of the UK use different regulatory bodies to ensure that all care services in their jurisdiction are operating with properly trained, experienced and certified staff members. For example, the SSSC is the body in charge of social services in Scotland.

Is SSSC regulation important in compliance for healthcare assistants?

SSSC stands for Scottish Social Services Council – so, to achieve SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants in Scotland properly, particularly if you provide care in the community, you must adhere to their Codes of Practice.

According to the SSSC, these codes explain “the standards of practice and behaviour expected of everyone who works in social services in Scotland” and “the standards expected of employers of social service workers in Scotland”.

In short, the codes focus on proper recruitment processes, background checks and references and ensuring that workers are provided with up-to-date training, documentation and information.

How do authorities regulate SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants?

As well as setting the standards for quality care across Scotland, the SSSC partners with the Care Inspectorate to ensure that all relevant service providers remain compliant.

Members of the public can report concerns to the inspectorate, and their officers also visit registered care services regularly. The frequency with which they pay these visits depends on the perceived level of risk involved in the work they do. Upon each visit made by the Care Inspectorate, the service in question is graded from 1 to 6 in terms of quality of care and compliance with regulations, where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent.

If a service is found to be underperforming in any way, the inspectorate may lay out its requirements for relevant changes. They will then check whether these changes have been made within the timescale provided.

If nothing improves, the body can take enforcement action – and can even have the service closed down if it consistently fails to meet the goals that have been set, or if any failings are considered to be too significant.

How much does SSSC regulation cost?

To be registered with the SSSC, the amount an individual or their employer will need to pay varies based on the roles involved.

At the time of writing, the charge for students is £15, while support workers must pay £25, supervisors and practitioners £35 and managers and social workers £80. Once a worker is registered, their membership must be renewed annually, with a fee payable each year.

Do I need SSSC regulatory compliance for my healthcare assistants to work?

SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants is a requirement to continue working. However, this does not necessarily mean that you as an organisation must arrange for them to be registered and checked.

If you use Cucumber as a recruiter for your healthcare assistants – and any other care professionals within your team, for that matter – all personnel will come pre-registered, fully trained and with all documentation and paperwork up to date. Of course, you will need to manage these matters for any healthcare assistants that you hire yourself, which is why using Cucumber to handle your staffing can make things far simpler and more streamlined.

Hiring Cucumber’s pre-registered, SSSC-compliant staff members will also speed up your hiring process, as there will be no need to delay or liaise with regulatory bodies to make sure everything is in order.

Do I, as a healthcare provider, need to be compliant with the SSSC?

Absolutely. Failure to register and comply with the SSSC Codes of Practice as a Scottish healthcare provider may put your staff and patients at risk, and could lead to the Care Inspectorate investigating your service and even shutting it down. It is also very possible that legal action could be taken against you for negligence or other transgressions.

The agency staff from Cucumber

Cucumber’s healthcare staffing experts have access to a large database of care professionals who are located all across the UK, including Scotland.
From healthcare assistants to care support workers, nurses, practitioners and managers, we can help clients find individuals with the relevant specialisms and training, even at short notice.

We have workers available to cover both short-term and long-term positions and offer a range of in-house training provisions, including opportunities to study for the Care Certificate.

Cucumber will always communicate clearly with clients, offer flexible and competitive rates, pursue best practices at all times and assure high levels of attendance. When you hire through Cucumber, the first shift of your new staff member will be on us. We provide staffing solutions for temporary and permanent positions, specialist roles, mental health services and far more.

Find out more

To learn more about Cucumber, our staff recruitment process and our approach to SSSC compliance for healthcare assistants and the training we provide, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly and knowledgeable team today. Whatever your query, we’ll be happy to help you on your journey to high-quality healthcare staff.