Person-centred care and the diverse array of contexts within which healthcare assistants work necessitate a commitment to being conscientious, self-aware and willing to raise issues of concern about vulnerable and sick patients and their families and carers. Tacit knowledge cannot be readily articulated, but its implementation in practice lies at the heart of every human interaction. The article raises awareness of tacit knowledge and its implications for the context of healthcare provision.

Catherine Hayes - Reader in Pedagogic Practice, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Sunderland, Visiting Professor of Higher Education, University of Cumbria

Ann Fox - Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety, Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group

Jeanette Scott-Thomas - Director of Nursing, Quality and Safety, South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group

Yitka Graham - Senior Lecturer in Public Health, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Sunderland and Honorary Speciality Lead, Health Services Research, City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust