Nottingham to lead the way in training Nursing Associates

Over 1,000 Nursing Associates will begin training this year in a new role that will sit alongside existing nursing care support workers and fully-qualified registered nurses to deliver hands-on care for patients.

Health Education England (HEE) has also announced that there will be a second wave of a further 1,000 Nursing Associate trainees following huge interest in the role and high demand from providers wanting to offer training places.

Eleven sites, including the East Midlands, have been chosen to deliver the first wave of training that will start in December. The sites bring together a wide range of organisations across the region, including Higher Education Institutions, care homes, acute, community and mental health trusts and hospices among others and represent the variety of places where Nursing Associates will provide care for patients.

The role will bridge the gap between health and care support workers, who have a care certificate and graduate registered nurses and offers opportunities for health care assistants to progress into nursing roles.

Professor Lisa Bayliss Pratt, Director of Nursing and Deputy Director of Education and Quality, HEE said:

I am delighted with the high level of interest and the quality of the applications received. It shows that there is a real appetite for helping to deliver this new role which we believe can provide a real benefit to the nursing and care workforce across a range of settings and play a key role in the delivery of patient care with safety at its heart.

I would like to express my personal thanks to everyone who has shown interest in becoming a test site.

Professor Ian Cumming, Chief Executive, HEE said:

We are at a pivotal point in determining what the future nursing and care workforce needs to look like for now and in the years to come. I passionately believe that this new role will help build the capacity and capability of the health and social care workforce and allow high quality care to be delivered to a diverse and ageing population. Over the last few months we’ve seen widespread support for such a role – we will now move swiftly to make this role a reality and a success.