| 2 November 2026
The National Clinical Homecare Association (NCHA) and Skills for Health have updated the UK’s first career and competence framework for clinical and nursing roles in clinical homecare services. In line with NHS plans to move care closer to patients, currently, over 740,000 people in the UK benefit from clinical homecare, which enables patients to live more independently while receiving high-quality care in their own homes.
Clinical homecare patients receive consultant-led care in community settings, often ensuring optimum use of high cost drug treatments. Clinical homecare includes specialist clinical and nursing services delivered in community settings. Many patients prefer receiving treatment at home rather than in hospitals or outpatient settings, driving a growing demand for clinical homecare services, which also optimises NHS resource use.
The updated career and competence framework incorporates learnings from the implementation project and maps to the recently updated National Occupational Standards. The structured career pathways for clinical homecare professionals ensure they develop transferable skills and support recruitment which is essential for the longer-term stability of the workforce.
Rosemarie Simpson, Senior Consultant at Skills for Health commented:
“The updated framework gives clinical homecare employers and professionals a clear, consistent approach to developing skills and supporting career progression. By aligning with the latest National Occupational Standards, it will help ensure the workforce continues to develop in line with the changing needs of patients and services.”
This career and competence framework outlines structured career pathways enabling employers to deliver high-quality clinical homecare services, and support the development and progression of employees, and the growth of clinical homecare services.
The framework was commissioned by NCHA which represents the UK’s clinical homecare providers and has been positively received across the healthcare sector. It enhances service quality, stability, and resilience, fostering skills development across the sector.
Elaine Neil, Head of Operational Excellence, Patient Solutions UK and Ireland at Inizio Engage led NCHA’s engagement and commented:
“Standardising job roles and career progression is key to expanding clinical homecare services and meeting the growing demand. This update maps to the freshly updated clinical skills within the Health National Occupational Standards and supports implementation whilst enhancing consistency for career progression using the Generic Role Templates. We look forward to the practical benefits that can be achieved by homecare providers and commissioners using this framework as it supports robust commissioning of high-quality clinical homecare services.”