Review calls for basic training for healthcare assistants

All healthcare assistants in England should undergo basic training before they can care for patients unsupervised, an independent review has concluded.1

The Cavendish review was carried out in the wake of Robert Francis QC’s inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and reports of failings in other hospitals and care homes such as Winterbourne View.2

It says that more than 1.3 million unregistered healthcare assistants and support workers carry out the bulk of hands-on care in hospitals, nursing …