A genuine partnership to raise the status of support workers

Abstract

In response to the Francis Report, the Government commissioned Camilla Cavendish to undertake a wide-ranging review of support worker development. Cavendish recommended a compulsory certificate of fundamental care be obtained by all support workers before they can give care. This article focuses on one question, ‘How do we effectively develop healthcare support workers in a way that improves the quality of care?’ There are 6 critical things to consider: workforce planning, clarity about role boundaries, awareness of support worker roles, good-quality education and training that promotes employee self-efficacy (confidence to learn), team working, more research and, finally, quality assurance.