HEE merger with NHS England and NHS Improvement
You may have come across news about Health Education England (HEE) merging with NHS E & I. The current and official HEE position on the proposed merger is as follows:
“The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced his intention to merge HEE with NHS England and NHS Improvement, along with NHS Digital and NHSX. Whilst this process is ongoing HEE continues its important work on priorities to deliver for learners and patients. Our work here in the School continues as normal.”
Festive period opening times at the School
Over the festive period the School’s opening times will be:
- Monday 27th December – Closed
- Tuesday 28th December – Closed
- Wednesday 29th December – Friday 31st December – Reduced staff so responses may take longer than usual
- Monday 3rd January – Closed
- Tuesday 4th January – Normal opening hours resume
We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and let’s hope we can look forward to a brighter 2022.
Click here to find out how to contact the National School.
Scientist Training Programme (STP) applications expected to open in January
We expect to open for applications in January 2022.
Click here to find our STP applicants section which includes useful information for anyone interested in applying
STP Quality Standards Committee
The School welcomes the independent committee members for the Scientist Training Programme (STP) Quality Standards Committee. Led by Mr. Grahame Pope as Chair, the Quality and Standards Committee (QSC) provides governance and oversight to the School to ensure the quality of the STP, enabling those successfully completing the programme to fulfil the requirements of the HCPC to register as a Clinical Scientist.
Committee members will serve a 2 -3 year term and meet quarterly to consider matters of governance and provide strategic support to the School’s senior management team.
Click here to meet the Quality Standards Committee members.
Healthcare Science Innovation Fellowship
Technological solutions are a key component to meeting the challenges facing the NHS and the changing society in which we live. Healthcare scientists need to be given the ‘tools to do the job’ in order to lead the development and implementation of evolving technologies and innovative solutions.
The Fellowship scheme will build system capacity to increase medical device regulatory and standards expertise and innovation capabilities for the introduction of appropriate technologies to benefit cancer patients in primary or secondary care settings. With prevalence of cancer forecast to increase, the Cancer Workforce Plan has recognised the potential for scientific and technological innovations to transform care.
Partnering the proven innovation expertise of the NIHR Devices for Dignity MedTech Co-operative with candidates keen to develop their innovation skillset, the Fellowship programme offers an experiential framework where skills are built and real-world examples are tested.
Applications for the Healthcare Science Innovation Fellowship are open until Tuesday 14 December 2021.
Click here to find out more about the fellowship and how to apply.
Topol Programme for Digital Fellowship
The Topol Programme for Digital Fellowships in Healthcare aims to support NHS organisations to invest in clinical staff to develop specialist digital skills and to learn about leading digital transformation, while giving clinicians enough time outside of clinical commitments to lead digital health improvements and innovations.
The fellowship programme will provide fellows with time and support to design and deliver digital health projects and initiatives in their organisations and a programme of workshops and mentoring to stimulate and support fellows to lead digital health transformations for NHS staff and patients. This will be an exciting opportunity for NHS clinical staff, including healthcare scientists, to shape and accelerate the NHS digital revolution.
A new cohort of Topol Digital Fellows will begin the programme in April 2022. To apply to join the next cohort of the programme, you need to complete and submit the online application form in full by 5pm on December 6, 2021.
Click here to find out more about the fellowship and how to apply.
STP Alumni wins IPEM and Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers essay prize
Edward Peake, an STP alumni who graduated from Newcastle University, has been awarded the 2021 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, IPEM, and the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers joint essay prize for his essay ‘Re-think of medical imaging: How could new methods, technologies and work practices impact the post Covid backlog and patient outcomes?’
Click here to read the essay on the IPEM website.
Resources
Opportunity to help design a new visual identity for healthcare science staff in NHS England
The Office of the Chief Scientific Officer and the Academy of Healthcare Science are working in collaboration to develop a suite of branding resources to help healthcare science staff to self-identify across the system, with colleagues and with patients.
75 places are available for five design workshops taking place in December 2021 to help design a new visual identity for healthcare science staff in NHS England.
Click here to sign up for one of the five design workshops taking place in December 2021.
Courses
Health literacy programme
Health literacy levels in England are very low. 43% of 16 to 65-year-olds struggle with text-based health information and 61% of 16 to 65-year-olds cannot understand health information that includes both text and numbers.
People working in health and social care need to be aware of health literacy and of the techniques that can help to increase understanding. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Health Education England (HEE) have collaborated to develop a new e-learning module to help you understand the role health literacy plays in making sure everyone has enough knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence to use health information, to be active partners in their care, and to navigate health and social care systems.
Click here to sign up to the health literacy programme.
Events
STP open days
Throughout December and January several hospital trusts hold open days for university students or graduates who are interested in a career in healthcare science to find out more about the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP).
- Tuesday 7th Dec 11:00am — 15:30pm Medical Physics STP Open Day at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre
- Friday 10th Dec 10:00am — 15:00pm Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering STP Open Day at Oxford University Hospitals Trust
- Friday 10th Dec 13:00pm — 16:00pm Genomic Counselling STP Open Day at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Monday 13th Dec 09:00am — 15:40pm Genomic Counselling, Genomics, Bioinformatic and Cancer Genomics STP Open Day Online event with West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory
- Friday 14th Jan 12:30pm — 16:30pm Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering STP Open Day at Northern Training Consortium
Click here to find out more about the STP open days.