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How delegated healthcare activities are unlocking new career opportunities in adult social care

Joanna Barton, National Workforce Delivery Lead and Rachel Yates Hoyles, National Practice Innovation Lead at 小黄片app discuss how delegated healthcare activities are providing an opportunity for progression in social care.

As the health and social care landscape continues to evolve, delegated healthcare activities are emerging as one of the most transformative developments shaping the future of the adult social care workforce. A delegated healthcare activity is an activity that a regulated healthcare professional, such as a nurse, nursing associate, occupational therapist or speech and language therapist, delegates to a care worker or personal assistant. When delivered safely and effectively, delegated healthcare activities are strengthening personalised care, reshaping career pathways, influencing professional identity, and creating new opportunities for integration across adult health and social care.

Delegated healthcare activities are specific person-centred activities that would normally be carried out by a regulated professional but can safely and competently be undertaken by a trained care worker or personal assistant. These activities may include advanced diabetes monitoring, catheter care, PEG feeding, wound and skin integrity care, and bowel or stoma support. Delegation doesn’t transfer clinical decision-making or accountability, which remains with the delegating professional, but it does open the door for care workers to gain advanced skills that were previously out of reach.

Building new skills, confidence and professional identity

One of the most significant benefits of delegated healthcare activities is the way it builds confidence and competence among care workers. Feedback we’ve gathered from care workers demonstrates that working with healthcare professionals builds a trusting relationship and creates opportunity for confidence to grow, increases sense of purpose and enhances professional pride, alongside delivering person-centred care.

This positive impact on professional identity mirrors wider sector research, which shows that well鈥憇upported delegation of healthcare activities can improve job satisfaction and help staff see social care as a long鈥憈erm career, rather than a short鈥憈erm role. Our case studies highlight how care workers involved in delegated healthcare activities report feeling more valued, trusted and confident in their role, with clearer opportunities to develop and progress within the sector.

Delegated healthcare activities offer meaningful opportunities for care workers to deepen and advance their understanding of long-term conditions, clinical monitoring, risk management, and person-centred care. Care workers develop practical expertise and confidence while remaining supported through structured training and supervision. The national Guiding Principles for Delegated Healthcare Activities, refreshed in 2024, emphasise robust learning and competency frameworks to ensure staff feel prepared, supported, and safe in undertaking clinical activities.

Career progression through the enhanced care worker role

Delegated healthcare activities are also a gateway to one of the most important new roles in the Care Workforce Pathway - the ‘enhanced care worker. This role sits between entry-level care roles and more senior or specialist positions. Enhanced care workers provide person-centred delegated healthcare support, undertake specialist condition-specific activities, and receive ongoing competency assessments and training.

When staff are trained and supported to carry out delegated healthcare activities, it can contribute to improved retention by increasing role satisfaction and strengthening professional identity. It can also act as a catalyst for further learning and development, encouraging care workers to continue building their skills and progress into future roles. This includes senior care roles - such as lead adult care worker or lead practitioner; registered manager, or health鈥慴ased apprenticeships (including the nursing associate programme) aligned with the Care Workforce Pathway. When delegation is done well, it results in a more skilled and confident workforce and can be intentionally built into an organisation’s operational workforce plan, rather than happening informally or by chance.

Delegation supports care workers to develop the evidence, experience and confidence needed to succeed in these pathways. Carrying out delegated healthcare activities, with appropriate training and professional oversight, enables care workers to demonstrate competence, take on greater responsibility and build a professional portfolio that supports long-term career development.

Crucially, this reinforces care workers as skilled professionals in their own right. Their role is not simply to support, but to apply knowledge, judgement and person鈥憀ed practice within clearly defined frameworks. This aligns directly with the Government’s Care Workforce Pathway, which recognises delegated healthcare activities as key building blocks for professional growth, progression and parity of esteem across adult social care and health.

The role of managers in enabling career growth

Managers play a pivotal role in enabling the career opportunities created by delegated healthcare. Their leadership helps create safe learning environments where staff are encouraged to grow, ask questions, and build confidence.

Good governance is also essential. Managers must establish clear communication with healthcare professionals, maintain oversight of competency and learning, and promote a culture where delegation is voluntary, supported, and person-centred. This aligns with the national guiding principles, which provide frameworks for accountability, supervision, and skills development. When managers model strong professional practice and value the contributions of care staff, they help create workplaces where career growth is not only possible but expected.

Strengthening the workforce of the future

Delegated healthcare activities are also helping shape future strategy. Data is now being collected through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) to better understand how delegated activities are used across the sector. This will help national bodies and employers design more robust pathways, align training with real-world practice, and promote safe and effective delegation across integrated care systems.

With increasing recognition of the enhanced care worker role, alongside the push for greater adoption of delegated healthcare activities, the sector is moving toward a more skilled, confident, and professionalised workforce. Delegation is not simply a tool for service delivery, it’s a commitment to improving people’s lives while supporting staff to build meaningful, rewarding careers.

Delegated healthcare activities are reshaping the future of adult social care by creating exciting new career opportunities, strengthening professional identity, and enabling care workers to take on advanced clinical tasks safely and confidently. Supported by strong management, clear governance, and national workforce pathways such as the enhanced care worker role, delegation empowers staff, improves outcomes for people drawing on care, and builds a more resilient, skilled sector for years to come.

Learn more about delegated healthcare activities.

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