FdScHealth and Social Care (Health Care Assistant Practitioner)
Apply on UCAS
Why study a health and social care (health care assistant practitioner) degree at Solent
Working as part of the wider health and social care team, healthcare assistant practitioners provide care for service users within the healthcare industry.
- 0thin the UK for graduate prospects in social work studies (out of 68 institutions) (The Times Good University Guide 2025)
- Top0%for teaching quality, out of 131 institutions (Times Good University Guide, 2025)
- £0minvestment in our campus and state-of-the-art facilities
- Solent ranked in the UK’s top 15 for Graduate Prospect Outcomes — a key indicator of success in employability or further study for first-degree graduates (out of 68 institutions) (The Times Good University Guide 2025).
- Students learn from a variety of different skilled and experienced lecturers with a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise including acute and community practitioners.
- Students have access to state of the art technology and teaching spaces, including the nursing suite and human health lab.
- You will undertake real world learning on your practice placement working in a real health and social care team and caring for real patients.
- You’ll be assigned a personal tutor who can assist you with pastoral support to help you make the most of your learning.
Course overview
You will learn about the role of the healthcare assistant practitioner in a range of different health and social care settings and develop a highly-valued professional skill set that can be applied on practice placements, and in your eventual health and social care workplace.Â
Further your career and understanding of healthcare related topics such as communication, anatomy and physiology and public health.
Assistant practitioners work at a level above that of healthcare support workers and have a more in-depth understanding of factors that influence health and ill-health.
Any questions?
Contact international admissions
Email:Â Call:ÂHigher Technical Qualification
Course features
Specialist facilities
This course has access to specialist facilities
Built-in work experience placement
As part of your studies you will have the opportunity to undertake a work experience placement
Who is this course for?
This course is ideal for someone looking to start or further develop their career in healthcare, who does not want to train in a regulated health profession.
What does this course lead to?
Assistant practitioners work in a variety of roles in healthcare, including supportive roles in nursing, operating theatres, biomedical science laboratories, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, mental health, social care, rehabilitation services and radiology.
Meet the team
The University cannot guarantee any particular members of staff will teach specific aspects of the course in the future, but will endeavour to ensure the teaching team maintains their balance of experience and qualifications.
Facilities
We have a dedicated clinical skills suite with a six bed ward, GP consulting room, nurse’s treatment room, waiting area/break out space, care home bedroom and working kitchen and bathroom. There is a wide range of clinical equipment including simulation manikins to facilitate a number of simulated scenarios.
Our vibrant campus brings state-of-the-art facilities to enhance your learning and elevate your student experience. Our award-winning teaching building, The Spark is centred around students and offers a stimulating study environment with flexible learning spaces. Away from studying, why not try out the gyms, fitness studios and sports halls in our £28 million Sports Complex, or watch a blockbuster film at our student-run cinema with Dolby Atmos audio.
What you'll study
Core modules
Anatomy and Physiology to Support Practice
You will learn about the biology of the main body systems, focusing on anatomy, physiology and pathology. You will also explore how the body systems interact to maintain homeostasis and gain an understanding of cellular function within the human body.
Developing Professional Practice
The module will explore accountability within health and social care by examining lessons learned from public inquiries and critical practice incidents.
Foundation Skills to Support Practice
As a foundational introduction to higher education, this module provides an opportunity for you to develop skills in academic reading and critical writing. It also provides knowledge, and promotes understanding, of key concepts in health and social care practice such as effective communication and equality in care settings. This knowledge underpins your practice and helps with skills development to enable you to work in a wide range of health and social care settings.
Introduction to Public Health and Health Promotion
This module will explore contemporary approaches to public health and examine the historical origins of the discipline in Britain which lie in the 19th century industrial age and the movement of populations from countryside to crowded cities. Public health utilises epidemiological and demographic data, and you will be introduced to the calculation of simple public health measures. Understanding the social determinants of health and the contribution of these to health inequalities entails new ways of thinking about social and economic organisation and governance in Britain. Public health expertise is increasingly important in diverse and complex 21st century societies and this module will help you to develop this expertise and apply it to your workplace role.
Developing Practice-based Learning Year 1
This module aims to promote your understanding of the responsibilities, challenges and limitations of your professional role as a healthcare assistant practitioner (HCAP).
Long-Term Conditions
This module aims to support development of your knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours when caring for people with long-term conditions. You will explore the pathophysiology and aetiology of commonly occurring long-term conditions, the impact of the condition on an individual’s and family life, consider patient needs in community settings and explore patient transitions between different healthcare settings.
How you will learn and be assessed
You will learn by:
- Guided independent study
You will be assessed by:
- Practical activities
- Reflective accounts
- Essays
- Case studies
- Practical exams
- Written exams
Solent’s curriculum framework builds on our unique, creative and applied approach to teaching. The transformation of students’ lives is at the heart of our mission as a university, and our curriculum – informed by the latest theory – reflects this shared educational vision.
Find out more
Study support
The student achievement team are on hand to help you succeed during your studies at Solent. They aim to contact you at key times during your time here with personalised information, advice and guidance, by email or phone.
The disability advice team provides information, advice and guidance for disabled students.
All students can access Succeed@Solent, Solent's online guide to getting better grades. It offers extensive, practical information and advice on topics such as academic writing, research and presentations.
Why choose a career as an assistant practitioner?
Assistant practitioners work alongside registered healthcare professionals in providing high quality and person-centred compassionate healthcare and support to individuals. On a daily basis, assistant practitioners will assist registered healthcare professionals in total patient assessment, and in the coordination of care (including referrals to other practitioners), as well as undertaking clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic activities according to local population and service needs.
Assistant practitioners could work in hospitals, clinics or in the community, such as GP surgeries. You may visit patients in their homes or in residential care.Â
Solent Futures
The Solent Careers team is committed to getting students into great careers.
While you are studying, the team can help you with finding work experience or placements, link you with a mentor, check your CV, or offer one-to-one guidance.
If you're in your final year, we also have graduate job opportunities just for Solent graduates.
6th
UK uni for sustained employment
Longitudinal Educational Outcomes, 2022
Accreditations
Higher Technical Qualification
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year are:
- UK, EU (settled status) and Channel Island full-time fees: £9,250 per year
- International full-time fees: £17,750 per year
For further information, please visit our tuition fees page.
Extra course costs
While most course costs are covered by your tuition fees, some essential resources and optional extras may need to be paid for separately.
The 2025/26 other costs are not yet available. For guidance, the 2024/25 other costs were:
- Two uniforms will be provided, but if you require additional uniforms this will cost in the region of £30
- The University will pay for an occupational health assessment, however you may need to pay for immunisations if they are not covered by your GP
- You will need a pair of suitable comfortable shoes while on clinical placement and studying in our simulation settings (estimated cost £40-£60)
- You will need to purchase some of your own clinical items, for instance a fob watch (estimated cost £5)
- You will need to be able to travel to study at our partner NHS trusts and to your placement - travel costs will be associated with this
For advice on budgeting and managing your money, please contact student.funding@solent.ac.uk.
Bursaries, scholarships and financial support
Solent University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships that provide financial assistance or waive fees for tuition or accommodation. Each bursary or scholarship has specific eligibility criteria. Check out our bursaries and scholarships pages to find out more.
Cost of living support
At Solent, we understand that the cost of living crisis may be of some concern. To help, we've put together some detailed information to show what support is available and how to make your money go further.
Graduation costs
There is no charge to attend graduation, but you will be required to pay for the rental of your academic gown (approximately £45 per graduate, depending on your award). You may also wish to purchase official photography packages, which range in price from £15 to £200+. Graduation is not compulsory, so if you prefer to have your award sent to you, there is no cost. Extra guest tickets will go on sale after results publication and will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. The cost per ticket is currently £15. Please note, we do not guarantee there will be any extra tickets available to purchase.
Student finance videos
Student funding - the essentials Video transcript, with a description of visuals available.Student finance in under three minutes
Entry requirements
Please select an option below:
Key entry requirements
64-96 UCAS tariff points
- Grade 4 or above in GCSE English language and mathematics (previously grade C).
- Interview including values based discussion/interview.
- All students will be required to undertake a criminal convictions check through the Disclosure and Barring Service. This is organised by the University before enrolment.
- For further information about UK qualifications, please contact admissions.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about EU qualifications, please see our course entry requirements document.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about international qualifications, please see our course entry requirements document.
Note to all international students requiring a visa
All international applicants need to be aware that the English language requirements to attend Solent University, and the English language requirements to obtain a visa from the Home Office, may be different. This means that if you meet the Solent University language requirement to gain a place on the course, you may still have to meet additional requirements to be granted with a visa by the Home Office.
We strongly advise all applicants to visit the Home Office website which outlines all the requirements for a successful visa application.
Any questions?
Contact international admissions
Email:Â Call:ÂHow to apply
Full-time
Any student applying for the first year of a full-time/sandwich undergraduate course must apply through UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service). This includes mature, overseas and EU students.
Nearly all schools and colleges offer their students the facility of applying electronically through the UCAS website using 'Apply'; it may also be used by those applying independently in the UK and overseas. This facility and all course information can be found on the UCAS website: www.ucas.com.
Your application should reach UCAS by 31 January if you hope to enter a course the following autumn. Early application is advised for the most popular subject areas. Late applications may be made until the end of June. The UCAS Code for the University is S30, code name SOLNT.
Language requirements
Applicants who do not have English as their first language will be required to demonstrate an approved level of proficiency in the use of the English language. The agreed minimum requirements for this course are:
- IELTS minimum 6.5 overall with no component score below 5.5
- TOEFL IBT 92 with a minimum of 22 in writing and a minimum of 20 in reading, listening and speaking
- Duolingo English Language Test - 115 overall with minimum of 100 in each component or equivalent.
Qualifications are checked before enrolment, and international students must bring their original certificates or certified copies when coming to study at the University.
Pre-Sessional English programme
The University also offers a pre-sessional English programme for international students who wish to improve their level of English before starting a degree course.
Make your application
- 2 years full-time
