Introduction
a word from the Chair and Chief Executive
Welcome to this summer issue of fOCUS, our first in its new electronic format. As always, we welcome your feedback on the content, our work and, particularly, our new look. We hope you will enjoy the clearer layout and content, and increased sign-posting. We think it makes for a dynamic read.
This issue focuses on timely cash savings that the NES Knowledge Services are leading, new online resources for support workers, a report on how we are helping meet the one year job guarantee for newly registered nurses and midwives as well as an updates on our work around newborn screening tests, and much more.
The new electronic, interactive design of fOCUS is a forerunner to the launch of our new website due in August. In the run-up to the launch, we consulted with a wide range of users, both outside our organisation as well as with staff, to be sure that we understood their needs clearly. We hope you enjoy browsing our new online presence and would welcome any feedback you might have.
The introduction of the new website will also mark our entry into social media. From then on, you will also be able to follow us on Facebook at NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Twitter @NHS_Education. Look out for more information in the next issue of fOCUS.
Web based technology is developing at lightning speed and it is right that we adopt the tools that enable us to communicate and interact with as many people as possible across a variety of channels. We will be keenly monitoring our online conversations in order to learn from those with an interest in the education and training of Scotlands healthcare workforce.
Dr Lindsay Burley
Chair
Malcolm Wright
Chief Executive
NES Knowledge Network delivers £750,000 savings for NHSScotland through new national knowledge resource
NES will deliver £750,000 savings annually for NHSScotland by managing the national provision of electronic journals, electronic books, databases and point of care knowledge services for Scotland’s health and social services.
This will involve the provision of 5000 full text journals, 12 key databases, 1500 e-books, and point of care knowledge sources for use in the clinical consultation. NES won the tendering process for this work based on a range of factors, including its use of the NES Knowledge Network as the existing, national platform for delivery of electronic knowledge.
NES has been able to fund national provision of the full range of resources from its existing subscriptions budget, allowing the Boards to make substantial savings on their local subscriptions.
Dr Ann Wales, Programme Director at NES for Knowledge Management, explained: “Until now, NES’s provision of national electronic resources via The Knowledge Network has operated in parallel with local NHS Boards purchasing their own hard-copy books and journals subscriptions, and building up their own local collections in print form.
“Analysis of collections and spend across NES and the Boards in 2010 revealed scope to achieve significant efficiencies by working in partnership to eliminate duplication and move to national online delivery through NES’s Knowledge Network.
“It was also clear that a coordinated national approach would improve equity of access, ensuring that all resources are available nationally across the whole system of health and social care, rather than restricted to individual organisations.”
The savings released through this national approach have enabled the provision of point of care knowledge sources for use in clinical consultation, helping clinicians make evidence-based decisions about patient care at the frontline.
This innovative model of national knowledge support has been welcomed by NHSScotland staff.
A Consultant Physician, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said:
"I am very impressed at the way that this has been done and that you have been able to accommodate our requests for key clinical resources which our health board could not fund on its own. I think the decision will be widely welcomed. Certainly we will use it a lot, ward rounds, in clinics, in the unit, at home and for teaching."
Michelle Kirkwood, Knowledge Services Manager, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, added: “Working together through NHS Education’s Knowledge Network means that we have a better range of resources… all our staff across NHSScotland have access to all journals, plus new knowledge sources for frontline decisions, AND we have made a cost saving. Thank you!”
Key benefits resulting from this collaborative national approach include:
· Major cost-savings for NHS Boards of £750k per annum. NES is now the central purchaser of subscriptions for NHSScotland.
· National equity of access – ie subscriptions formerly available only to staff of one Board are now available to all electronically through The Knowledge Network.
· Increase in the number of journals available across the system, to both health and social services.
· Point of care knowledge sources available to all clinicians, to support safe and effective decisions at the frontline.
· Journals available via The Knowledge Network are tailored to the needs of health and social care staff - selected through consultation and analysis of usage.
· More up to date knowledge for Scotland’s health and social care, with embargoes removed from the key journals identified through the needs analysis.
· Equitable access to Medicines Information sources across NHSScotland, for all NHS staff.
For further information, please contact
Dr Ann Wales
Telephone: 0141 352 2906
Email:
Supporting the Supporters
Two online resources for support workers launch this summer
In 2010, NES launched the Healthcare Support Workers’ Toolkit.
Designed by NES in partnership with colleagues from across NHSScotland, the toolkit provides a wide range of information and resources for healthcare support workers (HCSWs) and their managers. As well as being home to the learning materials which support the HCSW Induction Standards, the Toolkit also provides resources for managers who are supporting wider learning in the workplace.
The Healthcare Support Workers’ Toolkit was the first in a range of online resources designed to support the learning of support workers across NHSScotland. This summer sees the launch of two additional, interlinked web resources to help a wide range of support staff access the learning and development they need.
The Admin Centre
www.theadmincentre.nes.scot.nhs.uk
There are around 30,000 staff working in administrative roles in NHSScotland. These include patient-facing staff such as receptionists and medical secretaries, to those who keep the ‘business’ of the NHS working, such as HR and finance staff. Since 2008, the NES ACS Project has been working with partners across Scotland to provide resources and support for staff in administrative services.
Now, these resources have a home in The Admin Centre, a new website designed to help administrators access resources and learning to support their work. Designed to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ of resources for anyone working in administration in NHSScotland, The Admin Centre will provide access to:
· resources to support administrative work, such as guidance on national policies, and hints and tips to help in the everyday tasks
· learning materials and resources to support the skills needed by administrative staff
· a section on career development, helping individuals to identify the options which might be available to them as they progress in their career in NHSScotland
Deanne Gilbert, KSF Lead for NHS Western Isles, sees The Admin Centre as an important development: ‘Staff working in administrative roles have tended to have limited support when it comes to developing their career in NHSScotland. However, The Admin Centre should provide an important resource for individuals and their managers. It has the potential to inform KSF PDP and PDR discussions, providing resources which can support the individual to develop the knowledge and skills they need for their role, and for their future.’
NES SQA VFQ Finder
www.vqfinder.nes.scot.nhs.uk
Vocational qualifications provide essential tools to ensure that everyone working in support roles in the NHS in Scotland has the knowledge and skills required to support the delivery of high-quality patient care. From medical administrators to pharmacy technicians, and healthcare scientists to plumbers and electricians, all have an important role in supporting the health services the people of Scotland need. However, given the number and range of qualifications available in Scotland, how can individuals and their managers ensure that they are choosing the most appropriate learning for the job?
To help with this task, NES, in partnership with SQA, has launched the NES/SQA VQ Finder. Bringing together a database of more than 200 relevant qualifications with advice for learners, employers and learning providers, the VQ Finder provides an important guide through the learning landscape for individuals, their managers and for those responsible for planning learning at a strategic level.
The qualifications are grouped according to the job ‘families’ for which they are relevant, and by SCQF level. According to Alyson Barrie, the NES/SQA Project Development Officer tasked with gathering the information for the database, the SCQF has provided the framework necessary to let people see how they can progress between qualifications. “All the qualifications in the VQ Finder are listed by SCQF level, with most sitting between SCQF 5 and 8. For each job family, there is a qualifications map based on the SCQF framework, showing how an individual might move between different levels and types of qualifications. Each qualification is clickable, leading the user to a brief description of the qualification, and details such as where learners might progress to if they complete it.”
Importantly, the database is also supported by a range of information, designed to help individuals and managers make the most appropriate learning choices for their situation. Here are some examples of how the VQ Finder can be used:
Individual learners can use the VQ Finder to find out the level of the learning they have already achieved – their starting point - and to show possible options for the next stage in their learning journey. They can also access information in a number of areas, such as:
· What qualification is right for me?
· Where can I go to learn?
· How can I pay for my learning?
· How can I get recognition for learning I’ve undertaken in the workplace?
Managers can use the VQ Finder to find out what qualifications are right for their staff to ensure they have a well-qualified workforce. They can also access information in a number of areas
· What qualifications are right for my staff?
· How can staff get recognition for the learning they have undertaken in the workplace?
· Support for commissioning learning for the workplace using the NES resource, Testing for the Best: www.test4best.scot.nhs.uk
NHS staff working in recruitment and selection can use the VQ Finder to support their recruitment and selection processes. It can help them to ensure they attract the most appropriately-qualified applicants for vacancies with information in the following areas
· What levels of qualifications are appropriate at different levels of the NHS career famework?
· What type of learning can I expect applicants to have at different levels of the career framework?
· What qualifications are right for the organisation?
Learning providers can also use the VQ Finder to discuss learning provision with their local health board about the learning programmes they have to offer. They can also access information in the following areas:
· What qualifications are suitable for staff working in NHSScotland?
· Drivers for NHSScotland learning and development
· The role of SCQF in learning in the NHS in Scotland
All of these online tools will link closely with the Healthcare Support Workers’ Toolkit, ensuring a joined-up family of resources to support the learning of a large group of NHS staff.
The Admin Centre and the NES SQA VQ Finder will have a limited launch in May 2011, with a wider launch happening in the summer.
We will be sending out news of the formal launch of these new resources later in 2011. If you would like to register for more information, please email the ACS Team at:
Useful links
The Admin Centre
www.theadmincentre.nes.scot.nhs.uk%20
NES SQA VQ Finder
www.vqfinder.nes.scot.nhs.uk%20
The Healthcare Support Worker’s Toolkit
www.hcswtoolkit.nes.scot.nhs.uk%20
Supporting the NMAHP workforce across the career framework:
The role of the Skills Maximisation Toolkit
This second fOCUS update on supporting nurses and midwives across the career framework highlights the new volumes in the Skills Maximisation Toolkit.
The Toolkit assists teams in identifying the skill mix and roles across the career framework that are needed to deliver quality services.
It guides you through three stages:
· clarifying the patient journey
· capturing uniqueness
· creating improvement
Is your team:
· Considering including an assistant practitioner?
· Identifying if it is a support worker, a senior support worker or an assistant practitioner that your team needs?
· Deciding if there is a role for a newly qualified practitioner in your team?
· Exploring the need for an advanced or consultant practitioner?
The Skills Maximisation Toolkit is useful in all of these situations. The team can use the toolkit to reach agreement on the roles needed across the career framework. They can then identify the learning and education required by all members of the team.
Initially developed for and by AHPs, the new revised volumes can also be used for Nursing and Midwifery.
The new volumes are available at:
www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/disciplines/allied-health-professionals/current-projects/skills-maximisation-toolkit-
The Skills Maximisation Toolkit includes four separate publications, titled Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Volumes 5 and 6 are planned for 2012.
For more information contact:
Helen McFarlane, Programme Director
Telephone: 0141 223 1438
Email:
Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network Research and Development Conference
In early 2010 the Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network (CS MEN) invited proposals from across Scotland for grants to support research and development in clinical skills education that demonstrated a clear benefit to the patient experience and patient safety. Nine projects including two masters projects were awarded funding.