Accountability, delegation and professional issues

Accountability and delegation

Health care teams include a range of registered professionals, health care assistants (HCAs), assistant
practitioners (APs) and students. It is vital that each member of the team is clear about their level of
accountability and that the registered staff are confident when delegating tasks to their colleagues.

The RCN has produced a film with accompanying resources addressing these important subjects, and
explaining key principles around accountability and delegation. The scenarios are as relevant to
registered nurses and HCAs as they are to students and APs.

Regulation and related issues

The RCN believes all HCAs and APs should be regulated in the interests of public safety, and is
committed to supporting steps towards mandatory regulation. This has been a major policy position
for the RCN for many years and campaigning for regulation continues to be a priority for the
organisation going forward.

Visit our regulation pages for the various policy papers the RCN has published, setting out its position
on the issue. There is information here about the progress towards the Care Certificate.

Record keeping

As a member of the wider health care team, the HCA, AP or nursing student takes personal
accountability for good record keeping. They must keep clear, accurate and timely records of care they
provide to their patients to support communication, continuity and decision making. This includes all
forms of patient records, such as anything that is documented about a patient and his/her care and
treatment.

Please see our record keeping pages for RCN guidance and principles regarding record keeping and
countersigning.