TRAINING
Michael Ell, Medical Gas Portfolio manager at Eastwood Park, said: “A significant part focuses on gaps in current knowledge, and inevitably skills need to move on during a three-year period – the recommended timeframe for refresher training in the case of HTM 02. Refreshers are sometimes perceived as ‘just a re-run’. This is not the case with us; rather they are an opportunity for learners to practise skills and competencies, and to look in greater depth at aspects of the HTM they personally need to know about and how they then apply this in the working environment. It is important to remember that recommended timeframes for refresher training do vary between the HTMs.”
Graduate with Eastwood Park It has always been a passion of mine to create more comprehensive career pathways within engineering. After apprenticeships, those skilled tradesmen and estates officers who may not have gained a degree at the start of their career haven’t had a dedicated healthcare qualification available to them. With degrees often now a prerequisite to progress up payscales, we started to offer two foundation degrees and an option of a third year to gain a BSc (Hons) degree. We are delighted to see approaching 50 engineers on the programme by the end of the first year. Geared specifically towards the needs of engineers in healthcare, our degree programmes develop core skills for progression in a hospital engineering or estates career. Steven Palmer, head of Operational Estates at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, was one of the first managers to support the programme, and enrolled two of his managers. Having worked in the NHS for over 40 years, and both an Incorporated Engineer and a Fellow of IHEEM, he is keen to focus on the development of tomorrow’s healthcare engineers, as he explains: “When I heard about Eastwood Park’s hospital engineering degree, I immediately recognised the positive development opportunity this presented to two of my Estates Operation engineers, Andrew Walch and Warren Duffy, as well as the Trust, with the potential to give them much broader skills and knowledge. I also felt it would equip them well for the future, starting them on their way to gaining not only a foundation degree, but potentially a BSc, and eventually Incorporated Engineer status.
Study leave around the job “We agreed half a day a week as study leave on the condition that time is flexible around the needs of the job. The great thing is that Warren and Andrew work closely together both within their day-to- day roles, and in studying for the degree.
They have also been able to tap into the skillset surrounding them in the department. I would say that they have found the maths element the most challenging aspect of the degree, particularly to start with, but I know they benefited from the additional teaching support at Eastwood Park, which has been excellent.”
Warren Duffy was an apprentice electrician originally working for AMEC. He spent quite a bit of his career in London before moving to Stepping Hill Hospital as an electrician. His progression once he joined the NHS was fast; within six months he became a site supervisor, before two years later moving to a new training post at Pennine Care. He started the Foundation Degree last April. “I soon realised that in working towards a degree we have to work for ourselves, and we do have to squeeze in the study to an already busy work schedule,” he explained. “There was a bit of a wake-up call after the first residential weekend when we realised just how much it is about independent work, with no ‘spoon feeding’. Yes, the tutors are there to help and support you, but you have to be self-motivated to get through the work, but once you’ve cracked it, it feels good. I have certainly found the learning has enhanced my day-to-day role already. For example, when reviewing reports from external consultants I now have sufficient knowledge and confidence to challenge and ask the right questions.
Career stagnating
Prior to joining the NHS, Andrew Walch was an electrician, and worked with Lorne Stewart for 10 years; his career has included various contract work, and a period where he was self-employed in an agency position. He felt his career had started to stagnate a little when the opportunity to work in the NHS presented itself. He was six months in a supervisory role, and was then promoted after just a year. He said: “The time between finding out about the degree to enrolment was very short, and before I knew it I was in the classroom at Eastwood Park’s first residential weekend. The 24-hour learning resource – Moodle – was a little overwhelming at first; with the year’s work there in front of us it was hard to know where to start. However, we are certainly well guided and supported through the programme, which is stimulating in itself, and involves learning about broad aspects of hospital engineering. It’s going to stand me in good stead for the future.”
Adopting UK standards abroad It is great when we see the development of our students in this way, and we are keen to get this message out to as many Trusts and other relevant employers as we can, as this is helping to raise
standards of managers of the future. Our training programmes take us into most UK acute Trusts, as well as hospitals and clinics worldwide. Working alongside several significant hospital groups in the Middle East we have replicated our work delivering UK and international safety standards, as many want to adopt safety guidance that is well respected and recognised within the NHS. Many countries are keen to adopt the engineering Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) that provide best practice and guidance adhered to in the UK, supported by European and international best practice/guidance.
On-site training’s benefits Training budgets will always remain under pressure in the NHS in this country, but with statutory guidance the driver for the majority of training, we want to do what we can to help accommodate budget constraints. We offer training on site at hospitals, and also make special arrangements for larger groups. In the past several Trusts have pooled resources, enabling us to deliver bespoke training geared to their specific needs.
New estates training
Over recent years we have also developed our suite of estates courses that have addressed the needs of developing young estates officers, helping to enhance the development of aspiring managers/directors. On our new training calendar this year we have three new training opportunities unique to Eastwood Park, addressing PFI, PAM, CQC, and energy management. In short, the healthcare sector needs to continue to ensure that there is a well- equipped workforce that can support advances in technologies and the increasing demands for high levels of service. Our challenge at Eastwood Park remains to work alongside UK and international healthcare markets in developing staff competence, and to continue to develop training strategies that support best practice and continue to raise safety standards across the board. hej
About the author
As CEO and training director, John Thatcher has led Eastwood Park for over 20 years, both from within the NHS and since a management buy-out in 2003, as a private limited company. He has been active in driving the development of the training offered, and in broadening Eastwood Park’s customer base to the wide-ranging portfolio and international market is serves today.
March 2017 Health Estate Journal 55
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