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Health Care Assistants (health + care_assistant)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Patient safety and quality of care: the role of the health care assistant

JOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2004
AdvDipEd, DipN (Lond), FEANS, FRCN, FRCSI, Hugh P. McKenna BSc (Hons)
The role of the Health Care Assistant emerged primarily to support the professional nurse and to undertake perceived ,non-nursing' duties under the direction and supervision of qualified nurses. Health Care Assistants are employed in a variety of clinical settings and carry out a range of tasks and procedures. While they represent a substantial proportion of the health care workforce, the growth of their role has taken place without regulation, clear boundaries, or systematic education and training. This has raised serious concerns, especially with regard to the issues of patient safety and quality of care. For health professionals, regulations, role clarity and validated education and training are key elements of ensuring the safety of the public. This paper explores these issues with regard to the Health Care Assistant role and finds them wanting. [source]

Health care assistants' role, function and development: results of a national survey

NURSING IN CRITICAL CARE, Issue 4 2003
The British Association of Critical Care NursesArticle first published online: 31 JUL 200
Summary ,,Intensive care has developed as a speciality since the 1950s; during this time there have been major technological advances in health care provision leading to a rapid expansion of all areas of critical care ,,The ongoing problem of recruiting appropriately qualified nurses has affected staffing levels in many units and continues to be a national problem. For many, the answer lies in employing health care assistants to support the work of registered nurses ,,A key aim of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses is to promote the art and science of critical care nursing by providing representation for its members, by responding to political and professional change and by producing and publishing position statements ,,A primary component of the work surrounding the development of this second position statement was the gathering of contemporary information in relation to the role of health care assistants within critical care units throughout the UK, through a survey of 645 critical care units within the UK ,,At present the impact upon the role of the critical care nurse is not fully understood, with research in this area suggesting that although there is a role for the health care assistant in the critical care environment, this should only be undertaken with a full analysis of this impact upon the work of the registered nurse [source]

Position statement on the role of health care assistants who are involved in direct patient care activities within critical care areas

NURSING IN CRITICAL CARE, Issue 1 2003
The British Association of Critical Care Nurses
Summary ,Intensive care has developed as a speciality since the 1950s, and during this time, there have been major technological advances in health care provision, leading to a rapid expansion of all areas of critical care ,The ongoing problem in recruiting qualified nurses in general has affected, and continues to be a problem for, all aspects of critical care areas ,During the past decade, nursing practice has evolved, as qualified nurses have expanded their own scope of practice to develop a more responsive approach to the complex care needs of the critically ill patient ,The aim of this paper is to present the British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN) position statement on the role of health care assistants involved in direct patient care activities, and to address some of the key work used to inform the development of the position statement [source]