Healthcare assistants in general practice: a qualitative study of their experiences

Abstract

Although HCAs appear to be satisfied overall, the elements of dissatisfaction relate to status, pay, and career progression, which may limit the retention of individuals in this role. Practices should consider the importance of recognising and valuing the work of HCAs and of providing protected time and resources for mentorship and career progression.

Practice assistants in primary care in Germany – associations with organizational attributes on job satisfaction

“…All of the respondents from these previous studies were members of general practices participating in a quality management program. In a study conducted by Vail et al it was also shown that, despite a high overall satisfaction, practice assistants were dissatisfied with their income, status and career progression [19]. Practice assistants in Australia indeed showed higher scores for overall job satisfaction than in our study, but were also less satisfied with their ‘income’ and ‘recognition for their work’ [20].…”

Healthcare assistants in EU Member States: an overview

“…in free format. Two researchers independently listed the answers on all relevant questionnaire items under one of the three key EQF descriptors [1] knowledge [2], skills or [3] competences [10]. Disagreements were resolved through consensus.…”

“…To further explore the differences in the position of HCAs across EU Member States, we checked whether the groups of MSs with [1] no regulation [2], education regulation only and [3] both education and profession regulation, differ in terms of the educational frameworks in place for HCAs (as presented in Table 2). The expectation was that in countries without regulation, the criteria applied in educational frameworks would be less strict compared to the other groups of countrieswith a lower minimum age to enter the education, a shorter duration of education and a less extensive training period in practice.…”

“…With many European countries facing health workforce shortages, especially in nursing, as well as a growing number of chronically ill patients and an increasing demand for healthcare [1], the importance of healthcare assistants (HCAs) in modern healthcare systems is expected to grow strongly. HCAs now comprise a significant part of healthcare teams, working closely with registered nurses and other health professionals [2,3]. Their positions are proliferating across all healthcare settings [4] and they are undertaking a substantial number of tasks, as acknowledged by other health workers, including nurses [5].…”

The future role of receptionists in primary care

“…British Journal of General Practice, November 2017 523 "The receptionist's physical isolation at the front desk means that many of their colleagues remain unaware of the complex reality of the various roles they fulfil …" Some practices are attempting to more overtly embed the role in the primary healthcare service; for example, by renaming them 'medical receptionists' and extending responsibilities beyond managing clinical appointment schedules to undertaking clinical tasks such as phlebotomy, which were previously the domain of healthcare assistants or phlebotomists. 13 Receptionists frequently live in the locale of their surgery 7 and this local knowledge has been harnessed to offer effective reassurance to patients, 5 and drawn on by GPs to inform their decision making. 7 Guidance for receptionists is also emerging around triage, and, although countries such as Australia have already produced standards that offer direction on negotiations of urgency and managing patient appointments, 14 in the UK initiatives have tended to be confined to recognising patients with specific conditions such as stroke.…”