Researchers recommend clearer national guidance on the role of community nursing assistants

Posted on 11 June 2013

A pioneering study led by researchers from the University of York highlights the role and contribution of community nursing assistants and their potential impact on patient experience.

A pioneering study led by researchers from the University of York highlights the role and contribution of community nursing assistants and their potential impact on patient experience.

The study published today, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) Programme, concludes that while assistants provide flexibility to community nursing teams, allowing them to respond to changing demands, the development of the assistant role has been relatively neglected.

Based on their findings, the researchers recommend clearer national guidance on assistants’ roles and responsibilities, which they say will reduce local confusion and highlight areas where assistants can benefit organisations and patient care.

The results of the study, which researchers believe is the first to explore the roles of assistants in community nursing, are published in Health Services and Delivery Research, part of the NIHR Journals Library.

Community nursing is nursing care delivered in locations such as a patient’s home, a residential care home or health centre. Assistants work alongside and under the guidance of registered nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Lead researcher Professor Karen Spilsbury from York’s Department of Health Sciences, said: “As the disease burden shifts from acute to chronic conditions, community nursing services face the growing challenge of caring for increasingly dependent patients with complex care needs. This is further exacerbated by the emphasis on providing care and services closer to patients’ homes rather than in hospitals."

For more information visit www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2013/research/community-nursing/