Scheme to support healthcare assistants unveiled
Press Release: Department of Health
New measures to support the training standards of healthcare assistants were unveiled by Health Secretary 
Andrew Lansley.
Speaking at the NHS Employers conference in Liverpool, he set out plans to develop a code of conduct and minimum training standards for healthcare support workers and adult social care workers in England.
The project will be taken forward jointly by Skills for Health and Skills for Care – in partnership with unions, employers, regulators, educators and others It will focus on areas like communication, confidentiality, nutrition and hydration, and basic observations,
It will help nurses know which tasks they can delegate and which they shouldn’t. And it will bring clarity to the training assistants need where they deliver more advanced tasks.
Skills for Health and Skills for Care will present their recommendations to the Department by September next year. The findings will be used to during 2013 to establish a voluntary register(s) for healthcare support workers and adult social care workers in England as part of its standards for inclusion on a register.
Andrew Lansley said:
“Every day in England, hundreds of thousands of healthcare assistants aim to give the very highest quality of care to patients. The job they do can be rewarding but it can often be demanding too. It is essential they are supported to deliver the best care possible.
“Good local supervision offers support everyday. Distant national regulation can often only react after the event.
Employers must always take responsibility and be accountable for the staff they employ. But , we recognise that more can be done to support employers in this and a code of conduct and clear minimum training standards will provide important clarity in this area.
These measures will help employers to better consider the skills profile of potential employees and ensure that patients and service users get the care and support they need.
Chief Executive for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence Harry Caton said:
'It is right that employers lead the training and supervision of their staff and a national framework of skill and competence for HCAs will help them improve this Rea of care with confidence and consistency'.
Gail Adams, UNISON Head of Nursing, said:
“This new right to training and support for healthcare assistants is a welcome step in the right direction - for staff and for patients. Healthcare assistants are the backbone of our NHS – they work hard to deliver much of the direct, personal, and intimate bedside care that used to be delivered by nurses. But their access and right to training and development can be patchy, and their job roles and responsibilities can be unclear.
Bringing some consistency will help support the entire health team to give patients the best possible care. We should now take advantage of the great practice out there to get things moving.”
