ABSTRACT
Healthcare assistants (HCA) are increasingly at the front line of healthcare. Support workers and HCAs can be found as far back as the Crimean War, and the role of the auxiliary nurse was then established in 1955. The Royal College of Nursing has recognised the importance of support workers as providing a large proportion of hands-on care in the many different settings, and describes them as ‘hugely valued members of the nursing team’. The role of assistant practitioner, also known as associate practitioner, was developed to plug the gap that existed between the HCAs and registered nurses, and involved completing a foundation degree at level 4. The nursing associate (NA) and trainee NA are new healthcare roles that were introduced by the Department of Health in England in 2017. The NA role has only been introduced in England, and there are no plans to introduce them in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
