Ward Medicines Assistants: a new role to support nurses with medication-related tasks

Abstract

Background: More people use more medications than ever before, which increases demands on the healthcare workforce to complete medication-related tasks. Nursing shortages are a challenge for many hospitals, therefore alternative roles are needed to create capacity within clinical teams to meet demands. Pharmacy assistants work in stores and dispensaries but with additional training can be redeployed as Ward Medicines Assistants (WMAs) to work in clinical settings to complete medication-related tasks. However, little is known about how much time WMAs spend on medication-related tasks or the impact this may have on productivity of nursing staff.