Extending the scope of practice for experienced assistant practitioners in breast screening and the impact on service resilience

The Deployment and Utilization of the Allied Health Professions Support Workforce: A Scoping Review

“…These included a shorter length of stay for patients, 22 , 35 reduced costs due to SWAPs being cheaper to employ, 22 , 35 increased service capacity, 37 , 60 and the release of registered practitioners through role substitution. 22 , 33 , 35 , 49 Additionally, a clinically and statistically significant improvement in all dimensions of patient satisfaction was observed following the implementation of a nutritional SWAP role. 43 There was general agreement among some staff that this workforce contributes to a more cost-effective way of working, 25 , 45 whereas others showed more guarded perspectives.…”

“… 54 Time and experience lead to increased use of SWAPs 59 and successful extension of the scope of practice. 33 Uncertainty may be an element that contributes to registered practitioners’ reluctance to delegate, as lack of clarity around role boundaries was reported, 26 , 47 alongside ambiguity around the verification of SWAPs’ competence, and poor understanding of their qualifications. 26 One article, 24 however, described multidisciplinary SWAPs as demonstrating high-level reasoning and a thorough understanding of the rehabilitation process.…”

“…Several articles in this review also provided subtle evidence that role progression and relaxing of supervisory requirements is occurring. 22 , 33 , 35 , 52 Whilst this progression is promising, frustration with the limits to the scope of practice is still reported, as are limited career opportunities. 30 , 32 These national frameworks need to address these and other barriers to enable effective deployment of the SWAP workforce.…”

“…However, this is not the case for Assistant Practitioners (advanced-level support workers) in the UK who are more commonly aligned to a single allied health discipline. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]…”

Leadership in breast screening and the importance of appropriate communication during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…announcement in organisation-wide newsletter • Reassurance • The Need for Gentle Motivation • text messages or phone call sent ahead of forthcoming screening appointment • Reassurance • Building Better Together • recovery strategy and associated action plans services changed the programme invitation schedule into a more efficient mode i.e. ‘Next Test Due Date’ (NTDD)** • expanding the scope of practice for senior assistant practitioner in mammography 13 *Stress test involved screening staff including Mammographers, Breast Care Nurses, administrative colleagues as well as clients. Utilising staff knowledge and skills e.g.…”