Developing the role of the generic healthcare support worker: phase 1 of an action research study

This paper reports on the first phase of an action research practice development project to explore, develop and evaluate the role of the generic healthcare support worker in a high dependency rehabilitation service. The project is being jointly conducted by staff from the University of Southampton, the University of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust and phase 1 is supported by a grant from the NHS Executive (South and West). The aim of phase 1 of the project is to explore the attitudes of staff towards the implementation of the role of the generic healthcare support worker, particularly regarding the practical, professional and ethico-legal problems of the role. Professional and support staff from different parts of the service were interviewed in groups and the interviews were tape recorded, transcribed and subjected to a simple thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the data relating to the challenge to professional boundaries, being a generic worker, outcomes for service and patients and implementing the role. As an action research project, the aim was not to produce findings that are generalizable beyond the practice areas in which they were generated, but it is nevertheless hoped that the reader might be able to apply some of the conclusions to his or her own setting.