In this Issue…
- The Sound of the Student and Trainee Voice
- Leading Innovation through Diversity Summit and Leadership Recognition Awards
- Contract Review Cafe
- The Compassion Conversation
The Sound of the Student and Trainee Voice
Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HE KSS) is committed to working with students, trainees and stakeholders to gain feedback and develop proposals in order to meet the recommendations of reports such as the Francis Inquiry and the Berwick Review. These reports reiterate the vital importance of the NHS, social care and other organisations to pay heed to the voice of those in training when they comment on patient experiences.
The voice of student and trainee healthcare professionals in Kent, Surrey and Sussex was heard on 5 November 2013. This event provided a unique opportunity for HE KSS and its stakeholders to engage and hear directly from students and trainees about their experiences in education and training related to patient care.
Over 150 people attended with two thirds being made up of students and trainees. The students and trainees represented a wide range of healthcare professions including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, paramedics and health care assistants. Attending stakeholders included directors of medical education, learning and development staff, heads and deputy heads of schools from many organisations including universities, hospitals and foundation trusts
University of Greenwich student nurse Molly Case opened the event by reading her inspirational poem “Nursing the Nation” which recognised how much nurses care despite recent negative media coverage. Dr Keir Shiels, a paediatrics trainee at the Royal London Hospital who was featured on the BBC programme “Junior Doctors: Your Life in Their Hands,” challenged managers at all levels to listen to the concerns of trainees and students and to show they are listening by responding. Dr Krishna Chinthapalli, a neurology trainee at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and Leadership Fellow, encouraged delegates to speak up by stating how valuable their voice is and that they may have seen something no else has seen.
A variety of interactive breakout sessions led by experts in their respective fields enabled strong engagement with students and trainees whilst covering topics including technology enhanced learning, social media and patient safety.
The vast majority of delegates indicated via evaluation forms that the event was an outstanding success. Notable examples include that 82 per cent of trainees and students attending said they were more likely to speak out about patient care as a result of attending this event and 94 per cent of all attendees rated the event overall as excellent or good.
HE KSS has identified key action points and will engage its stakeholders to ensure momentum generated from the event is carried forward into tangible outcomes. Suggested examples include:
- Have more multi-professional meetings and forums for trainees and trainee representatives to help break down silos between different professions.
- Encourage organisations to provide opportunities and channels to enable students and trainees to provide feedback and raise concerns in a safe environment.
- Ensure there is a formalised handover between trainee representatives every year.
To read the full event summary which will be presented to the Governing Body on December 17 2013 please visit the HE KSS website. If you have any further queries please contact Sarah McGregor, Senior Communications and Engagement Lead.
Leading Innovation through Diversity Summit and Leadership Recognition Awards
On Friday 15 November 2013, 200 leaders representing almost 40 different NHS organisations gathered in Brighton for the inaugural summit of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Leadership Collaborative.
Delegates heard from a number of people and organisations including Dr Janet Williamson, Director of National Improvement Programmes at NHS Improving Quality, ARUP Group who shared insights into working across boundaries in a 21st century environment and Improwise, who re-energised attendees after lunch with a dynamic session on innovation through jazz music.
Delegates then split into breakout sessions on topics such as Clinical Leadership with George Binney from Ashridge Business School, Team Coaching with Katie Hesk from The Performance Coach and Board Assurance with Catherine Guelbert of The Waveney Partnership.
In the exhibition zone, 20 exhibitors including national NHS organisations, commercial partners and colleagues representative of Kent, Surrey and Sussex showcased work they were doing in the areas of leadership, innovation and diversity.
The day ended with the leadership recognition awards, a moment to celebrate the great leaders we have in our region. There were nine awards ranging from Innovator of the Year, Mentor of the Year and Inspirational Leader of the Year. Our awards were chaired by business woman and international speaker Frances Edmonds, who reflected on how leadership through compassion, valuing others and team work is vital to the success of the NHS in the future.
Our winners were as follows:
Board or Governing Body of the Year: Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Quality Champion: Karen Procter, Kent Community Health NHS Trust
Leader of Patient Inclusivity: Katie Nurse, Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust
Mentor of the Year: Dr Ghada Ramadan, Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Inspirational Leader: Kay Mackay, KSS Academic Health Science Network
Emerging Leader: Ben Knudson, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Development Champion: Sandi Drewett, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
Community Leader: Joanne Habben, Sussex Community NHS Trust
Partnership Leader: Joe McGilligan & Michael Gosling, East Surrey CCG and Surrey County Council
For information about the summit including presentations please visit the KSS Leadership Collaborative website. For other queries, please contact Nathaniel Johnston, Leadership Programme Manager.
ontract Review Café
On 20 November 2013, Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HE KSS) held a “Contract Review Café” with Local Education Providers (LEPs) in the region.
Contract Review is the annual quality management process which aims both to audit and to develop the quality of the learning environment in Local Education Provider organisations.
Based on the World Café Method, the event provided a powerful space for conversations to emerge. Ideas for improving the contract review process were collected and discussed as a group and ways forward were agreed at the end.
Key themes that emerged from the event were:
- Recognition that LEPs are providing similar data to a whole range of different organisations, including HE KSS. As a result, HE KSS will undertake a mapping exercise to review information sources, what is being collected and in what format. The aim will be for LEPs to validate data rather than generate data during the review process.
- The need to clearly define the role of the Executive Education Lead and to develop a way for boards to be involved in the review process.
- Looking at how HE KSS communicates to HEIs and LEPs to ensure better coordination of requests and taking a partnership approach throughout the process.
- There is a need to change the language we use and make the process truly multi-professional to ensure it is inclusive and understood by all.
- Making the review process less time consuming and complicated. As a result, the current quality manual and self-evaluation tool will be parked and HE KSS will focus on the mapping work with the aim of finding a more streamlined process.
Reflecting on the event Jo Woolgar, Head of Quality and Intelligence for HE KSS said “We were really delighted with the level of engagement and the open and candid feedback we received and would like to thank all who participated for their valuable contributions.”
A narrative of the event will be presented to the Governing Body at its next meeting on 17 December 2013. Once the mapping work is complete, HE KSS will arrange a further event to progress this work. If you have any questions, or wish to join the virtual group please contact Jo Woolgar.
The Compassion Conversation
On 14 November 2013, HE KSS colleagues and stakeholders met at the Holiday Inn Gatwick to discuss progressing work relating to the Compassion and Safety Strategic Priority. Participants endorsed the five programme objectives presented to the Governing Body in September 2013, which were;
- Promoting and sustaining values enshrined in the NHS Constitution;
- Developing the competence of the workforce in quality improvement techniques;
- Educating the workforce in the practical application of compassion and dignity;
- Creating capacity of directors and assurance bodies to rigorously confirm and challenge practice in relation to compassion and safety;
- Leadership and Governance development.
Colleagues discussed the importance of multi-professional education and learning in demonstrating the outcomes required for compassionate care; e.g., integrating teams across professions, organisations and specialities in order to provide safe, person centred care across patient pathways. Also, those attending the event wanted to see work that developed a culture that supports staff health and wellbeing.
A programme board is now being established and plans to meet formally for the first time on 19 December. To read the full event summary which will be presented to the Governing Body on December 17 please visit the HE KSS website. For more information, please contact Dr Elaine Maxwell, Programme Director for Integrated Education Framework.
In Closing…
Thank you again for your continued support. And as always, we welcome any feedback. Please forward your enquiries to heksscommunications@kss.hee.nhs.uk.
Best wishes,
Philippa Spicer
Managing Director
Health Education Kent, Surrey and Sussex
