Outputs for Workforce Transformation Projects 2021-2022
2021-22 Workforce Transformation Projects
To support the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan and ‘We are the NHS: People Plan 2020/21 action for us’, the HEE mandate is focused around developing a 21st century workforce with the right skills, values and behaviours to ensure high quality care for patients. Central to this support is also the opportunity for HEE to work with stakeholders to act as an enabler for local workforce transformation initiatives.
System wide and individual partnership projects were welcomed to support:
The initial launch of a specific project or programme of work
Scale and spread of an already established project or programme of work
Robust evaluation of a current project or programme of work
To read more about each of the current projects, please click on each of the tabs below
Organisations and systems were given the opportunity to bid for funding to support one of the following workforce transformation initiatives through a formal procurement process with focus on:
Mental Health Simulation Training For Pharmacy Workforce In Secondary Care
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Background
There is a well-known gap from undergraduate to clinical practice in pharmacy around interactions with people living with mental illness. NHS Long Term plan highlights the need to develop services and workforce in different sectors to provide the right level of care for people with mental illness (integrated care). Therefore, pharmacy staff must gain confidence and competence to support people with mental illness. Simulation training provides invaluable opportunities for participants to reflect on how they interact with mental health patients and MDT, providing the skills to manage potentially stressful and emotive situations they are likely to encounter in healthcare settings.
Project Aim
ELFT is leading this project and specialises in mental health and community health services. Neighbouring acute trust-Barts Health NHS is part of North East London integrated care systems (ICS). Participants will include pharmacists and technicians from both Trusts.
The primary focus is to increase the pharmacy workforce’s confidence in supporting and caring for patients with mental health illnesses by being inclusive. The focus will be on soft skills, values, and behaviours such as communication skills when supporting people with mental illness or their carers. Additionally, it also reduces stigmas and empowers team members to provide a safe, effective, and equitable service.
Project Objectives
To be more familiar with mental health conditions including within a substance misuse & learning disabilities context
To build confidence in formulating treatment plans in mental health
To be able to have effective communication (verbal and non-verbal) when interacting with people with mental illness
To gain confidence in talking to patients in distress
To gain confidence in taking appropriate history
Outputs
The aim is to develop a minimum of 5 scenarios via collaborative co-production with service users and multi-disciplinary team members. The next step would be to pilot and then run these scenarios around mental health, including learning disabilities and substance misuse. Our learners would include pharmacists and medicines management technicians from ELFT and Barts and the training would take place in person at ELFT’s experiential learning centre. The evaluation to highlight the expected outcomes will be via a pre-and post survey that would explore the learning objectives and aims.
Project Team
Name
Organisation
Role
Andrea Okoloekwe
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Accountable Officer
Simmy Daniel
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Project Lead
Development and Evaluation of Simulation Training for PRP and PTPTs
Kings Health Partners, Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust, Day Lewis Group
Background
The NHS Long Term Plan sets out how pharmacy professionals will provide increasing levels of clinical care to patients. With these evolving roles, there is a need for innovative training models to enhance individual and team performance. Simulation training is widely used in other health professions, giving learners opportunities for deliberate practice in safe environments. Evidence suggests it provides trainees with powerful and transformative learning experiences that influence behaviour and fill knowledge gaps.
This proposal builds on the successful and recently completed HEE sponsored "Development of Simulation Training for PRP and PTPTs” project.
Project Aim
Our aim is to develop an educational infrastructure across both primary and secondary care to support simulation training for trainees in both sectors of practice.
Project Objectives
Develop a blended learning programme to train new simulation facilitators from both primary and secondary care to support simulation training
Deliver simulation training events for trainee pharmacists from primary care and where possible have mixed sessions with both primary care and secondary care trainees
Expand the existing pharmacy simulation training curriculum by developing additional simulation scenarios which explore new areas such as responding to symptoms, clinical assessment and duty of candour
Outputs
We will develop 6 more simulation scenarios and deliver simulation training events to 50 trainee pharmacists from primary care. As well as this we will train new simulation facilitators from both primary and secondary care and aspire for this training package to be shared and used more widely across the region.
Each training event will include a pre and post course survey of learners and facilitators followed by a follow-up survey, and we will use these for ongoing faculty and curriculum development as well as overall evaluation of the project.
Project Team
Name
Organisation
Role
David Taylor
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Accountable Officer
Kai-Loke Chan
Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Project Lead
Richard Pudney
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust
Project Lead
Implementation Plan To Enhance The DMS Service And Improve Clinical Competencies Of Our Ward Based Pharmacy Technicians
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Background
The NHS Long Term Plan
Part of the NHS long term plan is to ensure better treatment for cardiovascular patients and prevent premature deaths for people with heart problems. In order to ensure these specialist patients are optimally cared for we need to enhance the clinical service our MMTs provide through training and education.
At Kingston we are keen to expand the use of the Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) beyond the referrals to community pharmacy we currently make for patients discharged with compliance aids e.g., Monitored Dose Systems (MDS). Our Trust was one of the first in the Southwest London area to implement PharmOutcomes to make these referrals and we believe there are significant benefits to our patients in expanding the referral service we can offer. Currently Pharmacy Technicians are not involved in making DMS referrals. We propose that our Pharmacy Technician workforce is further integrated into a clinical setting by training them to identify specific patients and making referrals.
Our initial focus will be referrals for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and heart failure patients that are newly started on cardiac drugs. Cardiac patients require regular monitoring such as up titration, amendment of doses and are also started on several drugs with a polypharmacy risk due to harmful effects and interactions. Feedback from the medical admissions team has highlighted multiple cardiac readmissions that would benefit from Pharmacy Technician input and community referrals on discharge.
Project Aim
The aim of this project is to expand the use of the DMS service for cardiac patients newly started on ACS or heart failure medicines and enhance the clinical competencies of our MMT workforce.
Project Objectives
Design and develop guidance and training programmes to ensure the ward-based pharmacy technicians are appropriately trained to provide the DMS service patients newly started on heart failure or ACS medicines
For ward-based pharmacy technicians to appropriately refer patients newly started on ACS or heart failure medicines via PharmOutcomes to their nominated community pharmacy
To deliver training and learning
Outputs
The expected outputs from this project are:
Patients on newly started ACS or heart failure medicines will be counselled and referred to primary care on discharge. This will increase compliance and patient safety which will reduce hospital re-admissions due to medication related harm. Patients /relatives will be asked to complete a patient satisfaction survey after counselling has been given, to confirm how useful they have found the information provided to them on discharge.
By enhancing our DMS service this will support the smooth transition of care between secondary and primary care.
Advancing the training for our pharmacy technicians will expand their clinical roles and will allow them to provide greater support in a patient facing roles, which will provide increased job satisfaction.
Project Team
Name
Organisation
Role
Judith Foy
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Accountable Officer
Roshni Thoppil
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Accountable Officer
Kunali Patel
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Project Lead
Sima Pankhania
Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Project Lead
Developing A Mental Health Training Programme For Community Pharmacy
Maudsley Learning, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Background
This project’s key focus is on developing the Pharmacy workforce, which strongly aligns with the HEE LaSE Pharmacy team 2021/22 business priorities, NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24, the NHS People Plan and NHS Long Term Plan priorities for pharmacy workforce, education, and training across London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Pharmacists have been identified as harbouring huge potential in aiding the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/2020, however remain neglected in training provision, unsure exactly how to connect with the wider healthcare system, and often not supported directly to work with mental health
Project Aim
A key aim of this project is to provide added value by developing a mental health training programme of complementary resources to support the treatment, prevention and promotion of skills for the pharmacy workforce and meet learners’ needs through online simulation training, masterclass, and digital resources. We aim to encourage collaboration and sharing of best practice to fit with local organisations and ICS level priorities through an innovative approach.
The project represents a unique collaboration between an NHS Trust, Kings Health Partner trusts, Academic Health Science Centre, SE and SW London ICS’s, and a Local Pharmaceutical Committee.
Project Objectives
Develop the current pharmacy workforce to meet the changing skills requirements of new service models by delivering high-quality education, supporting trainees to gain skills and awareness for adults with mental illness, severe mental illness and those at risk of suicide
Support quality and outcomes improvement throughout the programme, involving Senior Consultants, Subject Matter Experts and established pharmacy networks to design and deliver the programme, ensuring that evaluations allow continuous improvement
Encourage increased understanding through multi-disciplinary and peer learning to contextualise the role that pharmacists can play in providing mental healthcare
Foster sustainability by encouraging continued learning through our virtual learning hub
Outputs
By the end of the project, we aim to have developed and delivered 4 Simulation training courses and 4 Masterclass sessions to around 208 pharmacists across London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex. An evaluation of the programme and full report will explore learner experience, impact and sustainability. In addition, we are looking to disseminate our work in the form of a submission to a relevant conference or journal once the project comes to a close.
Information about the simulation and masterclass courses available can be found below.
Project Team
Name
Organisation
Role
Tom Gray
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Accountable Officer
Soumitra Burman-Roy
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Project Lead
Olivia Scott
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Project Team
Tom Gray
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Project Team