We are keen to contribute

Consultation on the nursing associate (NA) role closes this month. We have been assured by Health Education England that the NA role will ‘integrate the science and art of nursing through work-based collaborative experience to assimilate academic knowledge and practical learning’.

The government’s commitment to providing a diverse and ageing population with high-quality care close to their homes is to be commended. However evidence for establishing a ‘new role’ between healthcare assistant and registered nurse is thin. More worryingly, the consultation has not referred to the care of children.

In contrast, a Nuffield Trust report makes clear why children’s services should be different from adult services, and makes a good case for change. The report, which draws partly on evidence that had been shelved and gathering dust, states that staff who work with children and young people need the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to provide high-quality, safe care and advice – as the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum recommended last year.

If there is a plan to develop a child-focused educational pathway for non-registrants, children’s nurses are keen to contribute to it

What we need is a consensus and evidence that staff who take up the NA role will have the training and education they need to enhance the care of children and their families. A generic programme of preparation would not be enough. Children’s nurses will welcome debate about what such a programme should involve.

There is concern that a decision on plugging potential workforce gaps caused by the removal of the bursary has already been made, and that consultation on the subject will be to little effect. However, if there is a serious plan to develop a more child-focused educational pathway for non-registrants, children’s nurses from practice and education are keen to contribute to it.

This month, we also look at the need for negotiation between nurses and parents about the care of children in hospital, and at strategies for parents whose children are slow to toilet train.