- Conference
- 2018 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 6 December 2017
- Decision
- Carried
The NHS nursing workforce is changing owing to the growing shortage of registered nurses. In an aging workforce, large numbers are retiring owing to the sheer pressure they are under trying to juggle staff shortages and more complex patient needs. They are worn out and demoralised and to add to this the intake has dropped for student nurses particularly in England owing to the withdrawal of the bursary.
To fill the gap Jeremy Hunt has come up with the new role of Nursing Associate. In England we have over 2000 Trainee Nursing Associates who have just completed their first year and the plan is for more. At the Conservative Party conference Jeremy Hunt made a speech in which he pledged to triple the number of Nursing Associates from the current 2,000 in the test sites, with a possible 5,000 Nursing Associates starting in 2018, and 7,500 per year thereafter.
This is the time we as a union need to focus on recruiting these new workers, comprising a group which is clearly in its infancy and will initially struggle for recognition in the workforce. We are the best union to support these workers and we need to be leading on this as we are the union for all our staff.
These Nursing Associates will be tested in many ways and not only that, they will be registered with the NMC who still have not sorted out the competencies or fees for regulation.
This motion is focused on the role in England as the devolved counties have yet to decide if there is a need for Nursing Associate roles, but they are watching as the nursing crisis is getting worse everywhere. By us as a union focusing on these workers now, we will be ready with the right tools and knowledge to support our colleagues in the devolved countries should it be needed.
Conference therefore calls upon the Health Service Group Executive to:
1)provide specific recruitment material to enable branches to engage with Trainee Nursing Associates;
2)collate as much data as possible on the pilot sites where the Trainee Nursing Associates are, so branches and regions will be able to focus on them for recruiting;
3)support the trainee Nursing Associates and ensure they are being given the time within their working day to do their studies;
4)provide bespoke training and support for the trainee Nursing Associates so when they step fully into the workforce they will not be used and abused;
5)continue to be fully involved with the NMC as they get further along the road to registration;
6)fight for fairness and equity when it comes to registration fees.