With around 90% of initial patient interaction being with primary care services, ensuring those working in the sector maintain the correct competences and skills is crucial. Yet releasing professionals during their busy, and sometimes unpredictable schedules, can be a struggle. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that online learning is becoming very popular among this group.
The need for high quality training resources
As Candace Miller from the National Skills Academy for Health says: “Our primary care workforce has a major role to play within transformed health and care services. So it is vital that they have access to high quality training resources that are relevant to the contexts in which primary care is delivered. And, with a busy workload, having ready access to those resources at times that fit in with service pressures is really important. It is no surprise therefore that elearning is becoming an increasingly popular means of developing primary care staff, ensuring they have the knowledge and expertise to deliver great care.”
In order to ensure we meet the needs of our clients, Skills for Health, in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Health – which works with more than 340 small and medium sized employers – has recently developed a suite of statutory and mandatory elearning specifically for the primary care sector. The courses were developed by primary care experts to allow staff to undertake training anywhere they have an internet connection, thereby reducing the need for day releases. The courses comply with all the latest relevant legislation and guidance and are based on the core skills training framework learning outcomes.
Roland Gude, strategic director at Sentinel Healthcare Southwest CiC who was involved in the development of the courses, says: “The relevance of the courses and their ability to be completed in remote locations in the GP’s own time is definitely a unique offering.”
Primary care courses:
- Conflict resolution
- Equality, diversity and human rights
- Fire safety
- Infection, prevention and control (clinical)
- Infection, prevention and control (non-clinical)
- Health, safety and welfare
- Moving and handling
- Patient moving and handling
You can access all of these new contextualised programmes here Skills for Health primary care courses.
Elearning is an alternative to traditional training methods and has become a vital tool to continued education for primary care professionals. With elearning, users can take their time learning the information. Farzana Hussain, a GP principal, who took part in a trial of the elearning service, says: “I don’t usually respond well to elearning and find it a bit dry but with the videos and interactive topics the learning was brought to life and the information was really easy to digest.”
Coming soon …
As the number one provider of elearning to the NHS, Skills for Health is avidly working with and listening to experts to bring the latest elearning to you. A new look elearning platform and an immunisation update module will be launching soon. If you would like to speak with someone regarding your elearning needs, please click here.
Want to find out more?
Skills for Health, is a not-for-profit organisation committed to the development of an improved and sustainable healthcare workforce across the UK. Established in 2002 as the sector skills council for health for the UK health sector, Skills for Health helps to inform policy and standards focusing on health, education and improving the wider wellbeing of public health. Get in touch: contactus@skillsforhealth.org.uk
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