Update from our Endpoint Assessment team on OFQUAL status
- Published on
- 15th March 2023
- Filed under
- EPA
Health Education England (HEE) will be coming together with NHS England (NHSE) to create a new organisation on 1 April 2023. This means that the new NHS England will take responsibility for HEE’s current activities, and the governance of the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) Endpoint Assessment Organisation (EPAO) will be transferred to NHS England.
Consequently, we as the EPAO, will have to re-apply for our OFQUAL status as we will form part of a different entity than the current registration held with OFQUAL. Due to the timing of the merger and the timeframe required by OFQUAL, there will a period where the EPAO may be unable to register new end-point assessments or conduct assessments. This will also result in the re-registration of the EPAO under its new NHS England governance structure.
We understand this may cause some concern and apologise that this information could not be shared sooner, unfortunately due to a number of legal protocols which had to be adhered to as a state registered body, this has been shared at the earliest opportunity.
We can reassure you that current contracts will be transferred without amendment to the new structure and there will be no change to EPA policies, procedures and protocols (subject to any new OFQUAL requirements as per their normal updates). The new NHS England will bring the NHS’s people, skills, digital, data and technology expertise together into one organisation. This offers a number of advantages and increased resources to support EPA work.
We appreciate this is a challenging period of change, however we would like to assure you that we are committed to working with you to make this transition as efficient as possible and are committed to being open and transparent throughout this process, updating you as soon as further information is available to share.
If you have any queries please contact Boota Singh (boota.singh@hee.nhs.uk) or Amrita Nanra (amrita.nanra@hee.nhs.uk).
Thank you for your ongoing support of the NSHCS EPAO.
