Fiona Bradley, Senior Professional Officer
Regional review of in-house education activities in HSC Trusts
Investment and development in Continuous Professional Development activities for nurses, midwives and support workers is essential not only for patient safety but to ensure that health and social care is fit for purpose.
The five Health & Social Care (HSC) Trusts access a range of post-registration education programmes from a variety of education providers. For the most part, these activities are commissioned by the Department of Health (DOH), Education Commissioning Group (ECG), through the education commissioning process. Education providers include the Approved Education Institutions (AEIs), the Clinical Education Centre (CEC) and independent education providers. To further meet the needs of the service, the HSC Trusts also provide a range of ‘in-house’ education programmes.
It is essential that all post registration education programmes not only provide value for money but will have a positive impact on improvements in professional practice and service development, whilst reflecting best practice standards in support of safe and effective care.
On behalf of the Chief Nursing Officer, NIPEC will lead a review of in-house education activities delivered to nurses, midwives, nursing assistants and maternity support workers seeking to scope the range, type, volume and delivery methods of these activities and the quality assurance processes that are in place across the five HSC Trusts. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this review will identify a set off core principles and present a range of recommendations for consideration.
Phase One
In May 2021, a Task and Finish Group was convened to explore and identify what a review of in-house education might usefully focus on, that would be of benefit to all stakeholders.
The Group agreed that the following was the most suitable method to proceed with the review:
a) Scope all programmes across all HSC Trusts meeting the agreed definition of in-house education activity and inclusion and exclusion criteria.
b) Select a subset of education programmes to bench mark against an agreed assessment criteria
The Project Initiation Document
View Task and Finish Group Documents – Agendas and Action Notes from the right hand menu
Phase Two
In February 2022, a Working Group was established to take forward the second phase of the review.
View the Working Group Documents from the right hand menu