It's a bit daft. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of the care certificate.
I started out working as a HCA on a private dialysis unit for 2+ years. I decided to move on from that but I also was not able to join NHSP without a care certificate or NVQ, even though I had a BTEC National Diploma in Health care (which included so many hours work placement etc). That qual ment nothing even though it's actually more in depth then the care cert.
So I applied for permanent job on a ward in an NHS hospital which I got and they have set me up to complete this care certificate.
They also set me up as a member of NHSP even though I haven't completed the care cert! In fact the NHSP recruiters were virtually begging all the new hcas to join.
So there you go! If you get a HCA job in the nhs you can join NHSP so long as your working on your care cert. And it is a lot of work! And for me, very tedious as it will probably be for you, because it is all basic stuff but just so much content which I have done before.
I was told you can use essays from other quals... but this has not worked out well for me because I did my BTEC so long ago, don't have paper copies of work and I lost all the digital files from a broken laptop so no good.
So all I can really suggest is, get a job in the nhs as a HCA (or theatre support and some other band 2 roles) and complete the care certificate that way and join nhsp at the same time. I know all the trusts differ however, and some won't recruit new hcas without a care certificate which is crazy because how are you really supposed to get one?
I'm also not sure what will happen if I hand in my notice on the ward and just work for nhsp which is what I want to do. Will there be a problem because I haven't finished my care certificate? I'm trying to get it done asap but I'm starting an access course in sept so need nhsp then to keep me earning!