Nurses questioned whether there was space for the nursing associate role in the current nursing workforce at RCN Congress.
In a matter for discussion put forward by Lindsay Cardwell, from the RCN health practitioner committee, nurses debated what the impact of the nursing associate role would have. One of the key points that Ms Cardwell brought up was that there were already so many job titles for the nursing profession that already confused patients that it seemed unwise to introduce another. She raised topics such as their clinical remit and regulation and why 'there is a need to create another role when assistant practitioners are already in existence'.
Shane Byrne from the North West region said that he really disagreed with the new role, saying that it was just a 'rehash of the assistant practitioner role and we don't need it'.
Thomas Boyle from the Black Country agreed with this point, saying that the nursing associate role was very similar to the state enrolled nurses from 20 years ago.
Some speakers stated that some assistant practitioners already found it difficult to access training, calling it a 'postcode lottery' and so consistency across the board was required.
This was reiterated by Brenda McIlMurray, who said that healthcare assistant training was usually the first budget to be cut in local areas and so questioned why MPs are introducing 'a rushed poorly thought out role to excuse their poor workforce planning and the lack of respect for nurses'.
A breakout session hosted by the RCN's Education forum on Tuesday evening debated whether nursing associates were a cheap workforce fix or an innovative career pathway. The key message that emerged from the session was that nurses were still unaware of many of the finer details around the role such as regulation, training, duties and how it would slot into the current nursing workforce.
However, one of the attendees did say that she thought that nursing associates could have more of a role in the community working with patients with complex conditions.
Collette Ferguson, the director of nursing, midwifery and AHPs at NHS Education for Scotland, said that although the nursing associate role would only be introduced in England, if the role is regulated by the NMC, it could impact on all four countries as NMC regulation is UK-wide.