The first universities and Trusts to offer nursing associate training have been selected.
Out of 48 applicants, 11 lead partners were chosen to provide the first wave of training. This includes Kingston University and St George’s, University of London. Training will start in January 2017 and will run for two years.
Other employment partners include Kingston Hospital and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals. Wider placement partners include Central London Community Healthcare and Queens Court Care Home. Each partner will provide on the job training and student nursing associates will also be supported by teaching from the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education jointly run by Kingston University and St George's, University of London.
‘We've got some great partners and have a wide variety of outreach placements on offer for students, such as working with children and adults of all ages, with service users accessing mental health services, with vulnerable groups such as the homeless and refugees and with a wide range of community and specialist services,’ said Julia Gale, head of the school of nursing at St George’s University.
The new role was announced by the government in December 2015. Nurse associates will work alongside healthcare assistants and fully-qualified registered nurses, bridging the gap between the two roles.
According to Health Education England, this will allow nurses more time to use their specialist training to focus on clinical duties. ‘They will be focusing on prevention and well-being which will be good for individuals as it will also encourage them to look after their own health,' said Joanne Bosanquet, Public Health England's deputy chief nurse.