Rachel Gowland, 17 May 2021
Key Messages and links to 14 May 2021
Welcome to Health Education England’s regular stakeholder bulletin.
In this bulletin we will provide:
- COVID-19 latest updates
- Overview of HEE education and training news
HEE COVID-19 LATEST UPDATES:
We have created a COVID-19 update webpage. It provides guidance and information from HEE, which applies to all students and trainees. This webpage also includes HEE COVID-19 Surge Guidance.
Post-graduate medical education training recovery
Following the major disruption to postgraduate medical education during the last year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Education England (HEE) is working with the Department of Health and Social Care, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the General Medical Council and NHS England and Improvement to support training recovery as an urgent priority. Many trainees were redeployed to COVID-facing settings or had elective learning opportunities cancelled, resulting in substantial impact on experiential learning and curriculum attainment.
Our focus is now on implementing a carefully developed collaborative training recovery plan. This will minimise the number of trainees with learning gaps significant enough to require training extensions, and will maintain the quality of training opportunities to ensure as many trainees as possible are able to safely progress and get their training back on track.
We accept that some trainees will still require an increase in training time; however, with successful recovery processes to support training outcomes, this will not be a universal requirement. Furthermore, without a robust recovery plan, extensions to training time alone are unlikely to lead to comprehensive acquisition of the required skills and knowledge.
This is a complex programme, and together we are working closely with partner organisations, employers, and educators to ensure training reset, recovery and reform remains at the heart of service recovery across the NHS in England.
Solutions for training recovery will vary between regions, providers and specialities and there will be a range of training recovery solutions, tailored to individual trainees’ needs, to support their wellbeing and ensure that quality remains at the heart of training and service delivery.
To help devise these individualised recovery plans, we are asking trainees to speak with their educational supervisor or training programme director in a one-to-one conversation. These conversations are an initial opportunity for trainees and educators to reflect on the past year, think about learning and wellbeing needs, and plan for their training recovery.
We recognise that these plans require significant investment both in time and resource at local level. To support this HEE has secured specific funding through the Department of Health and Social Care for the successful implementation of the recovery plan. This dedicated fund will support employers to deliver these training recovery conversations, collate trainees’ learning needs, support trainees with their individual training recovery plans and develop trust-level recovery solutions.
It is our shared aim that the combination of a robust plan and the resource to deliver it will effectively support trainees and allow postgraduate medical education to get back on track.
You can find more information to support one-to-one conversations and training recovery here.
We are ensuring core HEE work to support our NHS colleagues continues:
Delivering greater flexibility through less than full time training
HEE is working with partners to build greater flexibility in training and is committed to increasing flexibility in postgraduate medical training. As a part of HEE’s work to Enhance Junior Doctors Working Lives several initiatives have been developed with partners to increase flexibility within Post Graduate Medical Education. Feedback from trainees indicate that many trainees would appreciate the opportunity to pursue a more flexible approach to their training. Less Than Full Time (LTFT) Training Category 3 allows trainees to request the opportunity to undertake a period of less than full time training for personal choice and was initially made available in Emergency Medicine, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Find out more here.
Pharmacy update
We continue to work with system partners to implement the review of pharmacy education and training recommendations, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS People Plan.
A major reform programme is under way to start aligning pharmacists’ Initial Education and Training (IET) with newly revised learning outcomes. These will provide newly qualified pharmacists with the necessary consultation skills and confidence to provide the clinical services expected by patients and the NHS, working across health systems. You can find out more about the reforms and our role here.
The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2021 launched on 7 May. This aims to provide an up-to-date picture of the size and shape of the community pharmacy workforce (including locums). The survey will be conducted this spring, with the findings published in the autumn. Find out more on our website.
Registration for the Interim Foundation Pharmacist Programme (IFPP) is now closed. The programme will continue to support learners to develop their foundation practice. It will also continue to support learners working towards a summer registration assessment. Find out more about the programme on the IFPP website.
Virtual learning is here to stay – shape the support that will help you drive excellence
If you are involved in virtual learning then we need your help. HEE’s Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team is working on supporting educators to deliver best practice virtual learning, building on what we have already done.
The Virtual Instructor Led Learning (VILL) project aims to:
- Increase the confidence and capability of health and care educators when teaching virtually
- Support educators to apply best practice VILL principles when designing and delivering their teaching virtually
- Drive excellence as we move to a ‘Digital first’ future
We would like to understand your key issues, opportunities and priorities regarding delivering virtual learning so we can focus on providing a portfolio of solutions that will support the needs of the educators community.
Take the short (10-15 minute) survey which will close at midnight on Sunday 23 May 2021 to have your say, or get in touch directly with vicki.tinkler@hee.nhs.uk.
We are making sure all professions have the training they need to make a difference:
The Oliver McGowan mandatory training in learning disability and autism
HEE has recently produced a 20-minute video telling Oliver’s story which is told by Paula McGowan, Oliver’s mum. This video will form part of the partner trial training and explains why the training is so important and how Oliver died.
You can also find out more about Oliver’s campaign and story by visiting our HEE webpages. There is also an up-to-date frequently asked questions document which will tell you more.
We are planning to hold another stakeholder event on 6 July 2021 between 10am -12noon and the registration link will be live on our website this month for people to join. We will once again hear how our partners are progressing and an opportunity to ask questions. If you’d like to find out more, you can email information.team@skillsforcare.org.uk or on Twitter at #Oliverscampaign
Digital Futures Programme – “Using Education to Prepare the Clinical Workforce to Deliver the Digital Future”
Working in partnership with Yale University, USA, this international digital leadership programme will offer a unique and comprehensive learning experience that includes experiential learning, access to vast curricular resources, interaction with top-tier academic and practitioner faculty from both the UK and US, and culmination in a certificate from a world-class university.
Teams are made up of representatives from Health, Care and Local Government in each ICS/STP to expand thinking from local to global, explore and look for solutions to health and social care problems outside of the ‘local system,’ and broaden perspectives on the importance of digital. For more information and to apply for the programme see the HEE website.
New NHS Patient Safety Syllabus
HEE has published the first NHS-wide Patient Safety Syllabus which applies to all NHS employees and will result in all NHS employees receiving enhanced patient safety training.
The new National Patient Safety Syllabus, which was produced in partnership with NHS England and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, outlines a new approach to patient safety emphasising a proactive approach to identifying risks to safe care while also including systems thinking and human factors.
Level one and two learning materials will be available on the elearning for Health platform for staff to access and complete from August and September 2021.
To view the syllabus and find out more visit https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/patient-safety.
National Inclusivity and Diversity in Volunteering conference
On Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 June, during National Volunteers Week (1 – 7 June 2021), HEE will host a national conference to showcase and highlight the significance of volunteering within health and social care.
The conference will highlight, among other things, the importance of inclusive and diverse volunteering and discuss how barriers to taking part in volunteering opportunities and social action can be broken down. Additionally, the conference will focus on employer supported volunteering, the benefits, how we learn from other sectors and address the ‘big questions’ for the future of volunteering.
During the conference we will hear from volunteers about their experiences of inclusivity and diversity within volunteering, and how to create inclusive opportunities, offer a toolkit to genuine involvement and foster a culture of worthwhile, valuable experience.
To attend the conference, please register at: https://registration.volunteering2021.com/future-of-volunteering
FURTHER INFORMATION
By following @NHS_HealthEdEng you can keep up to date with new information and resources as they are published. Most importantly are the notifications of webinars being broadcast during the week.
Right now, making sure we are communicating properly is obviously incredibly important. If there’s any information you think is missing on HEE’s webpages, please let us know by submitting your question to the HEE Q&A helpdesk.
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