Royal College Of Nursing / MORI Poll Fuels Debate Around Definition Of Nursing Care
Eight out of ten (83%) registered nurses support the view that much of what health care assistants (HCAs) do is actually nursing care.
The MORI(1) survey on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing comes in the week that the RCN has sent ballot papers to its members for a landmark vote on a raft of modernisation proposals which include whether to amend its rules so that it can extend associate membership to health care assistants and nurse cadets. Voting closes at the RCN's AGM on 18 October 2000 in Cardiff.
Christine Hancock, General Secretary, Royal College of Nursing said: "The debate about whether or not health care assistants should join the RCN has been going on over ten years, and RCN Council feel that the time is right for the RCN to seek the views of all members which is why we are holding the ballot. The recent RCN/MORI survey of over 1000 of our members showed that the majority would like to extend membership to healthcare assistants."
Key findings of the survey showed that:
- There is overwhelming support for the view that much of what HCAs do is actually 'nursing care'. Over eight in ten (83%) nurses agree with the statement while fewer than one in ten disagree. Of all those interviewed a third strongly agreed.
- A similarly high proportion agree that HCAs provide good patient care (79%), a view more prominent among nurses aged under 34 years (85%), and those living in Scotland (87%).
- Eight in ten members feel that the workload of HCAs has become more complex over the last 5 years.
Christine Hancock said: "This survey supports our view that nursing care is not provided by registered nurses alone. This is particularly illustrated in relation to long term care where we have argued that the approach in the NHS Plan for England would create an artificial divide between nursing and personal care based on whether this was provided by a registered nurse or a health care assistant. A large amount of hands-on nursing care is delegated to health care assistants."
On providing education and professional development for HCAs, the survey found that:
- Around half (49%) of RCN members feel that the RCN should play a significant and active role in the education and professional development of HCAs.
- Almost nine in ten members (87%) agree that the RCN would be able to offer HCAs leadership, education and support, while almost eight in ten (76%) feel that the RCN should speak up for all nursing staff.
Christine Hancock said: "By offering health care assistants a form of associate membership we can offer them the professional support they, and our registered nurse members, need to deliver a better service to the people they care for. We also believe that the current regulatory arrangements to protect patients should include health care assistants and it makes sense to adapt our own structures to reflect this view."
On extending a form of associate membership to HCAs, the survey found:
- The majority of RCN members (82%) are supportive of the idea of extending RCN membership to HCAs.
- More members are inclined to want HCAs to have associate rather than full membership of the RCN (59% versus 23%). Those most inclined to support associate membership are nurses aged 45-54 years (68%). Full membership is supported by around one in five of all members. Support for this view is, higher among nurses aged less than 34 years (34%).
Technical details
- MORI carried out 1,061 'in-home' telephone interviews among a representative sample of RCN members, aged 18+, throughout the UK. Interviews were conducted between 14 and 22 June 2000. In order to ensure that the sample reflects the UK profile of RCN members, members' names were drawn randomly from the RCN membership database after stratification, and quotas were set for nursing sector (acute, practice, community and independent) and nation/region (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Final results are weighted to precisely match the profile of the RCN's membership base.
- For the summary RCN/MORI report or a full background briefing on all the key issues in the RCN ballot contact the RCN press office on 020-7647 3633.
- The ballot is a vote on principle and if passed the RCN will have to apply to the Privy Council to amend its charter. A two-thirds majority of those voting is needed for the ballot to be passed.
- With a membership of 325,000 registered nurses and nursing students, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing in the UK. It is the largest professional association of nurses in the UK and one of the largest in the world.
