Under the direction of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), NIPEC was commissioned to lead on a regional review of casting education and training requirements for practitioners in Northern Ireland (NI), in addition to reviewing the workforce model.

This work was undertaken in partnership with key stakeholders from the Department of Health, HSC Trusts and Education Providers. It was set against the contextual backdrop of “Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together”, (DoH, 2016); the “Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy 2026” (DoH, 2018), the “NI GIRFT Orthopaedic National Report” (2022); and “Shaping our Future: a 5-year Vision for Nursing and Midwifery in NI” (2023-2028). These documents focus on maximising the potential of the healthcare workforce to ensure that everyone delivering nursing and midwifery services can provide high quality care to meet the population health needs of those within NI.

The aim of the project was to develop a workforce delivery model and associated education/training programmes to support (i) excellence in care delivery and (ii) ongoing staff development. Therefore, a scoping exercise was undertaken of the existing model of service delivery; current education and training providers and the learning needs of staff. The report detailing the findings, key recommendations and a proposed service delivery model was endorsed by the CNO (2025) and can be accessed below.

NIPEC would like to thank the wide range of stakeholders who contributed to this review for their time, continued interest and commitment throughout the project.

Casting Report

The Senior Professional Officer for this Project was: Cathy McCusker