Healthcare assistants (HCAs) are an integral part of the workforce in acute NHS hospitals. They carry out a variety of roles depending on the needs of the clinical area in which they work. However, there are no nationally agreed training standards for HCAs and consequently they work to varying levels of ability and skill. This article explores the education and training opportunities that are available to HCAs in acute NHS hospitals and the problems associated with accessing them. It also discusses how training HCAs to a uniform standard is an important requisite for the regulation of this workforce.