Regulation

The RCN believes all health care assistants (HCAs) and assistant practitioners (APs) should be regulated in the interests of public safety and is committed to supporting steps towards mandatory regulation. This has been a major policy position for the RCN for many years and campaigning for regulation continues to be a priority for the organisation going forward.

On 20 March 2012 MPs approved the final amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill. The bill has now received Royal Assent and has become the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Baroness Audrey Emerton's proposed amendments in regard to statutory regulation and training of health care support workers were not included in the final leginslation.

What happens now?

The Department of Health has commissioned Skills for Health and Skills for Care, in consultation with unions, employers, support workers, regulators and education providers, to develop national minimum training standards and a code of conduct for health care support workers reporting to registered nurses, midwives and adult social care workers in England. This work will be completed by September 2012, and the standards and codes are expected to be delivered ahead of the establishment of a voluntary register for health care support workers and adult social care workers in England. The expectation is that they will be used as the basis for entry to any voluntary register(s).

A presentation (PDF 413KB) [how to access PDF files] gives an overview of the RCN's position on the regulation of health care support workers. The information contained in the presentation was accurate as of 30 March 2012.

We have also answered some commonly-asked questions about health care support worker regulation. If you would like to contribute your own views on the issue please contact hca@rcn.org.uk.

RCN work on regulation

The RCN has published various policy papers setting out its position on regulation. See the RCN work on regulation section for more information and details of member research about the perceived benefits of regulating health care assistants.  

Promoting good employment practice

In 2011 assurance codes have been developed in Scotland and Wales to promote high quality care for patients and good standards of practice for all staff. These codes can be accessed as examples of good practice wherever in the UK you are employed. Many organisations have developed similar codes and guidelines.

Scotland

Scotland have developed the health care support workers toolkit which includes a code of conduct for health care support workers and a code of practice for employers in Scotland. Mandatory induction standards have also been set up and they too are available on the health care support workers toolkit.  

Wales

Wales has developed a code of practice for NHS Wales employers and a code of conduct for health care support workers in Wales.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland the health and social care services are integrated. There is an independent health and social care regulatory body, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) who inspect and review all health and social care services providers. As yet there is no mandatory regulatory process for individual support workers. However, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council has a voluntary register for those providing social care. See more information.