The “invaluable” contribution of nursing support workers across health and social care has been celebrated today as part of the Royal College of Nursing’s third annual Nursing Support Workers Day.
This year the RCN has highlighted the critical role nursing support workers play by launching a new film, which showcases the variety of roles they undertake in all settings, with patients of all ages.
“Please use today to celebrate the importance of our work and the breadth of roles and settings we work in”
Kevin Morely
In the film, nursing and healthcare support workers explain how their role helps the nursing teams to give exceptional care to patients.
Nursing support workers describe how they are “the eyes and the ears” of their colleagues.
Meanwhile, nurses in the film expressed messages of thanks for their nursing support worker colleagues, with one nurse describing their presence as “sunshine to us all”.
Nursing support worker encompasses hundreds of different job roles, including healthcare assistants, healthcare support workers, assistant practitioners, trainee nursing associates and nursing associates.
The RCN has thousands of nursing support worker members who are employed across hospitals, GP surgeries, care homes, community services and social care settings.
Nursing support workers can work independently, alongside registered nurses and as part of a wider disciplinary team.
Kevin Morely, chair of the RCN UK Nursing Support Workers Committee, said: “Please use today to celebrate the importance of our work and the breadth of roles and settings we work in.
“This is our chance to tell our story as nursing support workers so please share our stories and encourage the wider nursing team to celebrate a nursing support worker they know.”
Meanwhile, RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said she would be celebrating Nursing Support Workers Day and “saying thank you for the essential care they provide patients across the UK”.
“Their work is invaluable and so appreciated,” she added.
Also launched today by the RCN Foundation is the LV= RCN Foundation Education Grants Programme.
“We know that things are not easy for healthcare support workers this year”
Deepa Korea
LV= General Insurance has given a £20,000 donation which will fund a two-year education grants programme to support healthcare support workers working across the UK.
The grants will provide training and education opportunities on a breadth of subjects including phlebotomy, cannulation, wound care and taking an ECG.
Deepa Korea, director of the RCN Foundation, said: “We know that things are not easy for healthcare support workers this year, and we are glad to be able to provide grants to make career development achievable.
“We hope that information about this grant will be shared far and wide, so that the healthcare support team can access training and education modules they might not have been able to consider otherwise.”
Applications for the grants close 23 January 2024.
