Covering all the essential components of healthcare assistant and assistant practitioner roles, this practical and comprehensive text will help to equip you with the necessary clinical skills and to explore the underlying issues such as accountability, communication skills, confidentiality and reflection. * Will enable you to provide safe and effective patient care * Evidence-based to ensure best practice and matched to the National Occupational Standards * Comprehensive coverage of both primary and secondary care settings * Written in a light-hearted and accessible style, with diagrams and a glossary to aid understanding This is an indespensable guide for all those training as healthcare assistants and assistant practitioners, as well as a useful reference for students embarking on a degree in nursing or health and social care.