HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING SPECIALIST TECHNICIAN

Occupation summary

This is a core and options apprenticeship standard. Apprentices must be trained and assessed against the core and one option. There are two options:  

• Option 1: Healthcare medical devices technician 

• Option 2: Healthcare estates technician 

The occupations are found in the engineering industry, working in the healthcare sector.  

They work in sites where healthcare engineering takes place. This includes hospitals, dental hospitals and practices, clinics, prisons, ambulance trusts, care centres, health centres, hospices, GP practices, and mental health hospitals and secure units.  

They work for NHS trusts, private healthcare providers, healthcare medical devices suppliers, healthcare estates suppliers and owners, or PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contractors.  

Healthcare medical devices technicians work on medical devices. Healthcare estates technician work on plant, building services and systems. Most technicians work across a wide range of healthcare devices or healthcare estates.  

They work in clinical settings and often have contact with patients. They may complete work where patients are present or where the medical device is connected to the patient. They witness patients in various stages of their illness or recovery.  

The broad purpose of the occupation is to ensure patient safety and service continuity for specialist healthcare medical devices or healthcare estates in a clinical setting. They conduct planned maintenance to prevent issues occurring and reactive maintenance. Other duties include acceptance testing, installation, decommissioning, and safety tests and checks. Conducting handovers is an important part of the role. This requires explaining complex technical information and regulatory advice on healthcare devices or healthcare estates to clinical staff. Completing documentation and reports, and keeping stakeholders informed of their work status is also part of their role. As part of a team, they contribute to continuous improvement. They may support and coach others.  

Healthcare medical devices technicians also conduct healthcare device audits, test, and calibrate equipment. Whereas healthcare estates technicians also manufacture parts, spares and components, and conduct site surveys.  

They may work as part of a team or alone. They may spend a day at one site or work across sites. A driving license may be needed. They may use a company vehicle. They may work shifts or unsociable hours and may be required to be on-call. 

In their daily work, they interact with other technicians, patients, healthcare staff and members of the public. Healthcare staff could include for example, consultants, doctors, nurses, dentists, pathology, and medical imaging staff. They may also have contact with suppliers and manufacturers. They typically report to a specialist engineering and estate managers. 

They are responsible for completing their duties in line with company procedures and priorities. They must ensure a safe and secure environment for patients, staff, and visitors. And ensure patient dignity, respect and Caldicott principles (patient confidentiality) are met. They must comply with health and safety, environmental, sustainability, and engineering regulations and standards including specific healthcare requirements. They must comply with medical protocols for infection prevention and biohazard control. This may include wearing specialist healthcare Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They work under limited direct supervision, ensuring the quality and accuracy of their own work and sometimes the work of others. They must ensure work is completed safely within agreed timescales, with minimal disruption to critical health services and within budgets. They must present a professional image of their employer and themselves.  

• Apprenticeship Standard
• Assessment Plan & EPA