Assistant Practitioners in the NHS: drivers, deployment, development

In early 2011 Skills for Health published The role of Assistant Practitioners in the NHS: factors affecting evolution and development of the role.

The paper reported the background to the introduction of these posts and the qualification requirements that were being established at that time. It discussed the factors that had contributed to the introduction of these roles, and the challenges and debates that were underway at that time. It concluded by identifying the main current issues that would need to be addressed and resolved.

This Working Paper is a follow-up to that earlier publication. Assistant Practitioner posts were widely introduced in the intervening period as part of the Workforce Modernisation Strategy.

The paper therefore reviews the situation, examines the types of education and training being offered to individuals prior to taking on these roles and the progression pathways available and considers the extent to which the issues identified in the earlier report have been addressed and/or resolved.