The Cavendish Review “An Independent Review into Healthcare Assistants and Support Workers in the NHS and social care settings” is published today.
2020health comments: We support the recommendations made and believe this is a first step towards improving the care received in hospitals, care homes and the patient’s own home. We must now make sure that these recommendations become reality and not wait for further lapses in standards. We are delighted to see that this review builds on a number of topics highlighted in our report ‘Too posh to wash? Reflections on the future of nursing’, published last year. The training and supervision of HCAs to a national standard with a recognised certificate is absolutely essential if we are to raise standards and improve care. The introduction of the ‘Certificate of Fundamental Care’ which links healthcare assistant training to nurse training for the first time is also welcome. 2020health particularly welcomes the recommendation on ending zero hours and the a recognition of the low pay this group of workers receive
Gail Beer, Director of Operations at 2020health and a nurse by training says “If we get the implementation of these recommendations right we will have something to build on in the future. This can only be seen as the start of the road to delivering a more responsive compassionate and skilled workforce. Care is only going to get more complicated, with more care being delivered from a variety of different settings with new types of staff, it is impossible to imagine a future health service where health care support workers are not regulated. It is unacceptable not to train them – it’s not fair on the patients or those who deliver care. It is crucial that we rebuild the public’s trust in nursing and take action now.”
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