Nursing activities following the introduction of health care assistants

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the work nature of nurses after the introduction of Health Care Assistants (HCAs). BACKGROUND: HCAs with a role similar to those adopted in the UK of assisting the nurse were piloted in a teaching hospital in Hong Kong. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the observed activities of HCAs and nurses in four wards of a teaching hospital, before and after the introduction of HCAs. As the amount of staff activity is influenced by the amount of work, patient dependency data were gained from record reviews and nurse interviews. FINDINGS: HCAs in orthopaedic and medical wards provided more basic care than those in surgical and gynaecological wards. Nurses in wards with HCAs performed significantly fewer activities than nurses in control wards. CONCLUSIONS: HCAs presence accounted for a reduction in both direct and indirect care provided by nurses. Overall, HCAs provided more basic than technical and indirect care.