Call for employers to help test controversial nursing associate role

Applications are being taken from hospitals in England interested in testing the new nursing associate role ahead of a full roll-out in two years’ time.

Heath Education England (HEE) is looking to create a number of partnership sites around the country where trusts and education providers will educate a minimum of 20 associates each from January 2017.

The move is the latest step in the training of 1,000 people for the controversial role, which the government first announced in November 2015.

Education providers

Every test site – created in each of the 44 new areas identified by NHS England to provide Local Sustainability Transformation plans – will be granted a maximum of £5,000 per student per year until December 2018, as well as an additional maximum of £1,750 to cover placement costs.

The education providers chosen by employers to form a partnership with must be Nursing and Midwifery Council accredited providers of pre-registration education, or expected to achieve NMC accreditation within the two years of the test site initiative.

Expert input

Following a request by the Department of Health, the NMC has already confirmed it will be providing expert input into the development of the role.

However, a spokesperson added the decision over whether the post will be registered with the NMC has not yet been made.

RCN general secretary Janet Davies has called the introduction of the band 4 position – intended to create a bridge between healthcare assistants and nurses – a ‘retrograde step’.

HEE describes nurse associates as: ‘A challenging, rewarding and valuable role in itself, that will provide a route into the registered nurse degree as part of the over-arching nursing career framework.’

Further information

The six-week period for applications to be received ends on 10 August.

HEE Nurse Associate Test Site Applications