© 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Institute for Healthcare Improvement
EDITORIAL
"Role drift"
"Role drift" to unlicensed assistants: risks to quality and safety
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor H P McKenna
Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Jordanstown BT37 0QB, UK; hp.mckenna@ulst.ac.uk
Health care assistants are increasingly filling the gaps in patient care
Keywords: health care assistants; nursing; role drift; patient safety
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Earlier this week I went to my local health centre for a routine blood test. I noticed that the uniformed woman approaching me with the needle drawn had the words "Health Care Assistant" on her badge. This is the first time I have had a sample of blood taken by a person who had no formally recognised training and whose role was unlicensed, unregulated and unsupervised. I proffered my arm—not without a little trepidation. The experience led me to wonder how many other health care assistants were practising in the health service, how many other invasive and non-invasive duties were they routinely undertaking, and how many members of the public were unaware that they were receiving care and treatment from such personnel. The answers to these questions raise further questions concerning quality and safety.
Modern health care is complex and hospitalised patients are often in the acute stage
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Qual. Saf. Health Care 2004 13: 455-460.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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