Stakeholder Briefing – Issue 31

Key Messages and links to 4 March 2021

Welcome to Health Education England’s stakeholder bulletin.

In this bulletin we will provide:

• Messages from our Chief Executive’s Office
• COVID-19 latest updates
• Overview of HEE education and training news

Weekly messages from HEE:

Read recent messages from Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive, HEE.

Last week Navina Evans welcomed the proposed legislation contained in the Government’s white paper. Read Navina’s full statement on the recently published government white paper on our website.

HEE COVID-19 LATEST UPDATES:

We have created a COVID-19 update webpage for October 2020 onwards. It will provide guidance and information from HEE, which applies to all students and trainees. This webpage also includes HEE COVID-19 Surge Guidance.

Nursing student support guidance has now been updated

Nursing student support guidance during COVID-19 has been updated. This clarifies that healthcare students are included on the list of eligible individuals covered by the NHS & Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme. Read the full document here.

HEE’s elfh COVID-19 vaccination programme passes 2 million

HEE’s elfh COVID-19 vaccination programme has passed the milestone of 2 million session launches since going live.  The programme continues to be an essential part of the vaccination recruitment and training process and health and care colleagues are using the resource to develop the knowledge needed to confidently promote high uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine and deliver the vaccination programme effectively.

The programme consists of a core knowledge session, the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech session, the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca session and accompanying assessment sessions for each.  New elearning sessions will be added as each new vaccine becomes available.

Since the COVID-19 vaccination programme went live, the content has been updated and amended as more information about the vaccines and the vaccine programme has become available. Further details about the recent updates can be found on the elfh news page. More details about the vaccination content can be found on the elfh COVID-19 vaccination programme page.

 

We are supporting all professions to rapidly grow to meet the needs of patients by:

Video updates for medical and dental trainees

We have created a series of videos for medical and dental trainees during the current pandemic. In the latest update, Professor Jane Mamelok, Regional Postgraduate Dean for North West, gives an update on assessment and progression.

Record increase in applications for nursing degrees

New figures out last week showed a record rise in the number of university applications to become nurses. By 29 January – the deadline to start degrees this autumn – a total of 60,130 people across the UK had applied for nursing courses. This was up 32% on last year. Read more about the record increase in applications for nursing degrees on our website.

Recruitment webinar for dental trainees

A webinar is being held on Thursday 11 March at 7pm on recruitment for dental trainees. The webinar will include updates on recruitment into core and specialty.

We are taking questions in advance of the webinar, which will be answered on the night.

Link to ask questions in advance

Link to join the webinar on the night

HEE launches new roadmap for paramedic careers

HEE has developed a new pathway to help paramedics advance their careers.

The ‘roadmap to practice’ outlines the skills and attributes needed to help paramedics become first contact practitioners or advanced practitioners. Read more about the new roadmap for paramedic careers on our website.

Career Change to AHP

HEE recently released a video aimed at people who may consider changing their current role to that of one of the many allied health professions. Read more about the Career Change to AHP video on our website.

Second anniversary of Nursing Associates joining the NMC register

In the two years since the role of Nursing Associate was introduced, over 2,700 have joined the NMC register. Read more about the second anniversary of Nursing Associates on our website.

Supporting recruitment to primary care

Guidance and tools to support the planning for, recruiting and embedding of new roles under the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) are continuously being uploaded to a dedicated space on FutureNHS. This includes information about each of the roles, job descriptions and case studies.

It has recently been updated with guidance on alternative employment models and an example SLA, and support for PCNs on providing clinical supervision. If you are not a member of the workspace you can join by emailing P_C_N-manager@future.nhs.uk using an NHS or similar work email address.

 

We are ensuring core HEE work to support our NHS colleagues continues:

NHS Education Contract implementation 

As planned, regional teams are now working hard to carry out their implementation plans for the new NHS Education Contract by the 1 April introduction date. Due to the volume of activity required to introduce the contract for all our education and healthcare service partners, and the complexities for certain categories of provider, HEE regional teams may have chosen to stagger the introduction for primary care, private, independent and voluntary organisations over a longer period (to continue after 1 April 2021).

The HEE website now includes a copy of the final standard NHS Education Contract, approved for use and including all the standard template Schedules and Tri-Partite Agreements that sit under it (including the new Tri-Partite Agreement for Undergraduate Medical Education). The webpage also hosts a new ‘Supporting Guide’ to help inform partners who are entering into the new contract with HEE, as a well as a Frequently Asked Questions document (now version 3).

Assuming responsibility for Healthcare Education and Training Tariff

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has requested HEE assume responsibility for the development and implementation of the Healthcare Education and Training Tariff payment mechanism from April 2021. In total, the tariff system paid £2bn to placement providers in the 2019/20 financial year (placement tariff and postgraduate salary support). Historically the development of proposed changes to the tariffs (including price changes, extensions to scope etc.) has been undertaken annually by DHSC, who confirm any changes as part of their annual tariff guidance document.

The new Education Funding Function (Hazel Smith) will be responsible for the work as part of wider Funding policy development. For any initial discussions about HEE’s new responsibilities, any issues around the current tariffs, including guidance queries and operational issues, or for further information on tariffs and their coverage please contact educationfunding@hee.nhs.uk.

New tri-partite agreement for undergraduate medical funding

From April 2021, HEE will be introducing an Undergraduate Medical Education Tri-Partite Agreement (UGME TPA) as a schedule of the new NHS Education Contract. The TPA will provide a consistent, nationwide framework for managing the financial arrangements for providing undergraduate medical education between Medical Schools, NHS placement providers (secondary care and GP) and HEE. It will also align to governance structures that HEE has already introduced comprising of Regional and Local Medical School Liaison Committees. For more information about this work, please contact Diane Hart, Senior Education Commissioner Undergraduate Medicine and Dental, at diane.hart@hee.nhs.uk.

HEE welcomes publication of new training standards for pharmacists

HEE has welcomed new education and training standards for pharmacists, published this week by the General Pharmaceutical Council. Read more about the new training standards for pharmacists on our website.

The Topol Review two years on: Roundtable discussions

In February 2019 Health Education England published the Topol Review which underpins the innovative and transformational change needed across health education. Dr Eric Topol brought together a remarkable cross-disciplinary team of experts, including clinicians, educators, engineers, ethicists, and economists alongside leaders in digital healthcare development.

We have gathered some of the original authors who played a key role in delivering this ground-breaking report to discuss progress on the findings two years on including their thoughts on AI and robotics, genomics, digital medicine, and medical education. Watch now on the HEE website.

The first session takes place with some of the Topol Review Board members, chaired by Professor Lionel Tarassenko with Professor Berne Ferry, Professor Rose Luckin, Elizabeth Manero, Harpreet Sood, Patrick Mitchell and Henrietta Mbeah-Bankas.

In the second session members of the project team and Clinical Fellows carry on the conversation, chaired by Sue Lacey Bryant with Henrietta Mbeah-Bankas, Dr Jes Maimaris, Dr David Cox, Dr Matt Hammerton and Dr Sangeetha Sornalinga. The films are also available on YouTube

 

We are making sure all professions have the training they need to make a difference:

The Learning Hub – Rapid training and education resources for critical care

To support staff being redeployed into critical care during the pandemic, the London Transformation and Learning Collaborative (LTLC) has worked in partnership with HEE to develop a range of resources. As part of this work the LTLC has created a toolkit, compiling guidance and resources to support interprofessional cross-skilling and safe, rapid redeployment of the workforce.  The toolkit has been added to the Learning Hub to make it easily accessible to members of the health and care workforce throughout the UK: A Toolkit for rapid cross-skilling, supporting safe redeployment.

The toolkit has been developed to highlight the most important skills for non-registered support staff to hold before starting work on a critical care unit, as identified by senior critical care nurses and educators across London.  The resources in the toolkit are also relevant for registered support clinicians, healthcare scientists and paediatric staff. More detail is available on the LTLC page on the elfh website.

It only takes a few minutes to contribute a resource to the Learning Hub. You can sign into the Learning Hub either using an elearning for healthcare username and password or NHS OpenAthens user account details. For more information about the Learning Hub follow us on Twitter: @HEE_TEL and visit the Learning Hub website to read about our journey so far.

Interim Foundation Pharmacist Programme update – Getting ‘exam ready’

With the delayed GPhC registration assessment taking place on 17 and 18 March, the Interim Foundation Pharmacist Programme continues to help learners to develop their practice. The focus right now is on getting ‘exam ready’.

Three video sessions are now available via the Learning Hub to help learners to create a good study plan and to manage their nerves. A new video by Pharmacist Support includes a range of tips and techniques to help manage feelings of unease, to help learners overcome feelings of stress, pressure and anxiety.

Learners will also find an updated section on the IFPP website, called ‘Getting ready for the GPhC registration assessment’. This is intended to help them find the right information quickly and signpost them to sources of help, including the new resources highlighted above.

We encourage all provisionally registered pharmacists to sign up for the programme to benefit from all the support available. The closing deadline has been extended until 10 May 2021 and you can find out more on the IFPP website.

Those working in community pharmacy, primary care and Health in Justice can further benefit by joining the Foundation Pharmacist Pathway 2020/21 as part of the programme. Find out more on the CPPE website.

New video group clinics elearning programme available

HEE, in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, ELC Works and Redmoor Health have launched the new Video Group Clinics (VGC) programme which includes new elearning resources and a toolkit developed for GPs, practice nurses, health and care professionals in community settings and care homes.

The elearning resources support the introduction of in different settings by providing learners with an overview and working knowledge of video group clinics and consultations: including the benefits, delivery principles and outcomes of introducing this practice.

Leading Effective Teams webinar

Join our interactive webinar Leading Effective Teams on Wednesday, 3 March 2021 from 1pm to 3pm.

This is the fourth instalment of the Learning to Lead in Health and Care series, run by NHS England and NHS Improvement, in partnership with the Council of Deans of Health, to support university and clinical educators in delivering leadership learning.

In this session you will be introduced to the latest thinking on team leadership in healthcare and have the opportunity to hear about innovative practice in the teaching of team leadership at Keele University, the University of Huddersfield and the University of Dundee – to help you get fresh ideas and perspectives for teaching leadership and teamwork.

The webinar will be delivered on Microsoft Teams and you can register here.

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.