Quality Management Education and Training

NHS England Workforce, Training and Education is responsible for ensuring that there are high quality learning environments for all healthcare learners in England. It has a statutory duty to secure continuous improvements in the quality of education and training and to promote the skills and behaviours that upholds the NHS Constitution. In order to effectively deliver this responsibility and to secure the continuous improvements in quality, NHS England introduced the HEE Quality Strategy and HEE Quality Framework  The strategy and framework describes a multi-professional and risk-based approach to quality management. This multi professional framework enables us to support our system partners, education and placement providers by delivering a whole workforce quality perspective.

NHS England NE’s role in Quality Management and Assurance of the Clinical Learning Environment

NHS England NE is responsible for implementing the framework, on behalf of the Postgraduate Dean, across the North East and North Cumbria region and for ensuring compliance with other professional regulators such as the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).  NHS England quality standards have been mapped to other professional regulators’ education standards.

NHS England NE gains assurance through the scheduled programme-led monitoring of training placements including Quality Reporting, Visits, and Meetings, and through triangulation of data and information it shares with and receives from programmes managed at a regional or national level (e.g. Libraries, Pharmacy, Healthcare Science), other organisations including HEIs, other NHS Arm’s Length Bodies and Regulators. Where concerns arise, NHS England NE uses its escalation processes (ISF) to describe and monitor its concerns, based on the level at which it is having to work with an individual organisation, department, programme, or the wider system to ensure the appropriate steps are taken to clarify, improve and resolve the concerns raised.

The GMC have published a summary on how NHS England NE is meeting the GMC standards for medical education and training as detailed in Promoting excellence: standards for medical education and training. It provides an overview of the QA activities undertaken over the course of a year and an overview of findings including any areas of notable practice or requirements and recommendations we have set. The GMC consider that NHS England NE is meeting the standards set out.  The Summary can be found here.

Contact us:  quality.ne@hee.nhs.uk