Posted 25 January 2024 - 09:00
Posted 25 January 2024 - 09:00
News
Nursing associates: risk of exploitation highlighted by job ads
Nurses criticise job adverts where employers apparently look for a ‘cheap, expendable’ workforce by expecting nursing associates to do registered nurses’ roles
Nurses criticise job adverts where employers apparently look for a ‘cheap, expendable’ workforce by expecting nursing associates to do registered nurses’ roles
Nurses have criticised a job advert that called for a nursing associate to ‘confidently assess risk and write care plans to a high standard’ for vulnerable young people at a care home.
Concern over nursing associate job ad asking for nurse-level skills
Associated Wellbeing, which offers mental healthcare to young people aged between eight and 25, advertised for a nursing associate in a standalone role to join its team at The Elms care home in Bradford for £27,000 a year.
London South Bank University professor of healthcare and workforce modelling Alison Leary shared the job advert on X (formerly Twitter) warning of employers looking for a ‘cheap, expendable’ workforce in a bid to recruit more staff.
Warnings over exploitation of nursing associates
Ms Leary told Nursing Standard: ‘There seems to be an expectation that nursing associates will do the work of a registered nurse. Having fewer registered nurses could have serious safety consequences and nursing associates also appear to be being exploited and asked to do a job that is outside their scope.
‘You’ve got the issue of “we don’t need registered nurses, we will put cheaper workers in”. The mass expansion of associate professionals in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is the biggest red flag. There’s no modelling done for these workforces that identifies gaps they would fill. The gap has always been in registered professionals.’
When the nursing associate role was first introduced in England in 2018 there were concerns they could be used to replace nurses and reduce staffing costs, ultimately putting patient safety at risk. Similar concerns have been raised by RCN Wales this month as the Welsh Government looks to introduce the role there.
As the Westminster government looks to expand the number of nursing associates as part of the long term workforce plan and as financially stretched trusts face ongoing staff shortages, these concerns have been raised again.
A similar nursing associate role was advertised at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. The advert specifies the successful candidate will ‘implement specialised packages of nursing of care to patients as the named nurse’.
NMC asked to clarify whether ads are out of the scope of practice
Dozens of nursing staff commented on Ms Leary’s post, with some asking if the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) was looking into the advertised roles being out of the scope of practice. Ms Leary said she had been told employers set the scope of practice.
NMC assistant director, strategy and insight Emma Westcott tweeted to say concerns could also be raised with the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care in England.
Queen’s nurse Leanne Patrick shared an incident of a registered nurse praising a trainee nursing associate for leading a shift on a paediatric intensive care unit due to staffing issues which is beyond the usual scope of work of a nursing associate.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Nursing associates help free up registered nurses to focus on more complex clinical care. They will not replace nurses and the government is taking steps to grow the nursing workforce, hitting the target to recruit 50,000 additional nurses six months early.’
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