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| Towards a New Way of Working |
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| Section 3 - Education and
Training |
| 29. Against the background of change set out
in the White Paper and the desire within the Service to implement change in a planned and
coordinated way, the time is right to develop an integrated Education, Training and
Lifelong Learning Strategy which supports Government policies in education and training. |
30. Consideration is being given to:
- broader access to education, training and development across the NHS in Scotland;
- development of targets to support Government objectives in vocational education;
- the requirements of Continuing Professional Education and Development;
- the implementation of the Government’s Welfare to Work Programme for the NHS in
Scotland;
- the use of information technology and open learning.
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| 31. The purpose of the Education, Training
and Lifelong Learning Strategy is to extend the existing education, training and
development culture within the NHS in Scotland and to encourage planned investment in
people. The Strategy, which will be produced as a separate document by August 1998, will
provide a focus around which all education, training and development activities can take
place. |
| 32. If we are to make advances in patient
care and realise the potential of the NHS in Scotland and those who work in it, we must
develop, in line with Government policy, a more proactive approach to learning - across
the whole of the organisation. We should not view education, training and development as
episodic but as a continuing activity for life. |
| 33. The White Paper indicates a commitment to
examine opportunities to further develop the role of The Scottish Council for Postgraduate
Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE). The statutory framework for the nursing professions
is also being reviewed including the function of the National Board for Nursing, Midwifery
and Health Visiting for Scotland (NBS). This will have implications for education and
training. |
| 34. In addition, the White Paper makes a
commitment to the establishment of a Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit. The
Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Human Resources have received support from the
Service to take forward work on a competency approach to clinical career progression.
This, coupled with the Nursing Practice and Development Unit, forms the basis of
supporting the development of the nursing and midwifery professions in Scotland. |
35. Trusts and Health Boards are already
engaged in the development of specific Education and Training Plans as part of their
Health Improvement Programmes and Trust Implementation Plans. In building such plans
specific attention should be given to the following:
- the development of a framework to support Continuing Medical Education and Continuing
Professional Development;
- the development of the use of occupational standards and Scottish Vocational
Qualifications to ensure a common framework, in partnership with the Scottish
Qualification Authority;
- the development and support of programmes such as Unison’s ‘Return to
Learn’, allowing access for staff not usually given the opportunity of learning;
- the education and training required when there is service change as part of the HIP;
- management development to support line managers in delivering service changes and to
fulfil their role in managing people;
- enabling individuals to access more widely, opportunities for learning.
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36. For the financial year commencing April
1998 Health Boards’ Education and Training Plans will form part of the Accountability
Review. Trusts will, in future, be asked to report on specific Education and Training
Plans as part of their Annual Report.
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