Have your say on compulsory training subjects for NHS staff
Consultation seeks views of nurses and the public, and feedback will inform revisions to Core Skills Training Framework to ensure training ‘helps to maintain high care standards’
Nurses in England and Wales are being asked to have their say on mandatory training subjects for NHS staff.
The Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), introduced by Skills for Health in 2013, has been adopted by 85% of NHS organisations in England and across the seven local health boards and three NHS trusts in Wales.
Its main aim is to promote consistency in the delivery of compulsory training that NHS staff undertake when they join the health service. It also allows staff to move between employers without needing to duplicate their training.
Consultation results will be ‘vital in ensuring training maintains high care standards’
The CSTF is now up for review and open to a public consultation, which nurses and nursing associates are being invited to participate in.
Health Education England deputy chief nurse Liz Fenton said: ‘This consultation is an important opportunity for members of the NHS workforce to have their say on statutory and mandatory training subjects.
‘We would urge nurses, midwives and nursing associates to take the time to participate, as the results will be vital in ensuring training is relevant, consistent and helps to maintain high standards of patient care.’
Feedback will be used to inform revisions to the content of the framework. Once it is published NHS organisations will be invited to check the training they offer to ensure it is aligned to the benchmark standards set out in the CSTF.
‘Workers on the front line know best what patients need’
Skills for Health head of consultancy and research Jon Czul said it is important that the review captures the ‘unique insight’ of nurses and midwives, who account for roughly a quarter of the NHS workforce.
He added: ‘Workers on the front line know best what patients need. They know from experience what statutory and mandatory training is required to deliver said care, which is why we are following a collaborative process which invites responses from across the workforce as a whole.’
Current CSTF subjects include:
- Conflict resolution (England)
- Equality, diversity and human rights
- Fire safety
- Health, safety and welfare
- Infection prevention and control
- Information governance and data security
- Preventing radicalisation
- Resuscitation
- Safeguarding adults
- Safeguarding children
- Violence and aggression (Wales)
Why consultation focuses on England and Wales
The CSTF is also adopted in Scotland and Northern Ireland but only by UK-wide organisations such as independent health providers rather than local health boards, according to Skills for Health.
The consultation is open until 16 October.
Find out more about the consultation and take part
Core Skills Training Framework Consultation 2023
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