- Conference
- 2004 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 2 January 2004
- Decision
- Carried
We call on the Government as a matter of urgency to publish its consultation on an effective system of regulation for Healthcare Assistants, which recognises the essential contribution they make to patient care. This important issue is not being prioritised sufficiently by ministers. The lack of such proposals does nothing to ensure patient or client safety, which is UNISON’s concern.
Such proposals should include the widest possible consultation and acknowledge the weight of UNISON’s role in this process. We are the largest union with 90,000 Healthcare Assistants in membership. We call on the Government to look particularly at the funding of such a scheme and acknowledge that the majority of Healthcare Assistants are low paid with many working part time. The introduction of such a system, should take account of the diverse needs of this vital group of staff, a number of whom through no fault of their own have had little or no access to educational support from their employer to develop their role and expertise.
This conference calls for: –
1.The Government to publish their proposals as a matter of urgency and build in a meaningful consultation period;
2.For the Nursing sector to hold a series of regional events to ensure the widest possible involvement of Healthcare Assistants in the consultative process;
3.That a system of regulation must be meaningful to patient safety and consistent with other regulators.