The Royal College of Nursing was set to decide this week whether to admit healthcare assistants to membership. The groundbreaking vote was due at the union's annual general meeting in Cardiff yesterday. The move to ballot on widening the college's membership follows more than a decade of debate and a growing consensus that healthcare assistants are key members of the nursing team. The RCN will also consider matters including altering the structure of the organisation in the light of devolution, and subscription rates for 2001.For the result of the ballot, see www.hsj.co.uk