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Case Study: Nursing Associates
March 28th saw HEE and stakeholders celebrate 6 years of the Nursing Associate Programme. We have seen over 28,900 individuals on or completed the Nursing Associate training with over 9000 now on the NMC register. We heard and experienced some amazing and moving personal stories and the impact they have on their colleagues and care areas they support across the NHS and Social Care. The nursing Associate programme has been challenging given the impact of the pandemic on training but the role and the individuals practicing as Nursing Associates have contributed significantly and for that we are eternally grateful.
James McLean, Deputy Chief Nurse Delivery
The Achievement
Health Education England has embedded the Nursing Associate role and Trainee Nursing Associate apprenticeship across the four fields of nursing. Nursing Associates are making a real difference to the teams they work in and the patients they treat and care for. The Nursing Associate role, while a NMC registered role in its own right, has also opened up a pathway for those who would like to progress to become a Registered Nurse.
Summary
Launched by HEE in 2017 Nursing Associates and Trainee Nursing Associates work across the four fields of nursing – adult, children’s, learning disabilities and mental health nursing. The Nursing Associate is a Nursing and Midwifery Council registered role which was put in place to help build the capacity of the nursing workforce and to aid in the delivery of high-quality care for patients.
Impact: the journey of our Trainee Nursing Associate programme
In January 2017, we launched the Trainee Nursing Associate programme, with the first two waves of trainees based at 35 partnerships that delivered a programme of education and training in academic and work-based settings. Employers included care homes, acute, community and mental health trusts and hospices, and General Practice (GPs), representing the variety of settings in which nursing associates will provide care for patients. Two thousand trainee nursing associates joined the programme within waves 1 and 2. Expansion of the role has continued, and since 2020 we have had over 10,000 starters.
HEE commissioned an independent evaluation of the first two years of the programme to June 2019, which was published in October 2019. Read the evaluation here.
To see the understand further the role of the Nursing Associate and the impact they are having on teams, organisations and patients visit: https://nursing-associates.hee.nhs.uk/case-studies/
Future direction
The Nursing Associates programme will continue to build on its success as the new NHS England takes the programme forward.