A new faculty to help develop NHS staff of today and inspire future recruits to join the health service has been launched in Teesside.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation has launched its faculty of leadership, learning and improvement.
It will provide a central hub for staff to get advice, guidance and support in areas like quality improvement, leadership development, training and education, innovations, equality diversity and inclusion and patient safety.
It will also give existing staff and college students opportunities to start apprenticeships to develop their careers and give them a foot into healthcare.
The faculty will also support those people who have never considered a career in healthcare before, offering advice around how to do so.
A clear route to improvement
Susy Cook, chief people officer, said: “The faculty is our way of giving our staff a clear route to improving themselves, their careers and, ultimately, the care that we provide to our patients.
“Working with training providers in our local colleges and universities, as well as with staff within the organisation acting as mentors, we have already set up these clear ways that staff can begin their journey.
“We also want to help existing staff looking to progress their careers while still working here, to get access to apprenticeships and other educational qualifications which will help them achieve this – adding to the 600 apprenticeship opportunities we have already given to people in the last six years.
“We also know that there are lots of people out there who may have never considered a career in healthcare before – there are roles out there for these people and the faculty is there to help them develop a really fantastic career in the NHS.”
The faculty will include a state-of-the-art health and social care academy in a former clinical ward at the University Hospital of Hartlepool, in partnership with the Hartlepool College of Further Education, which will include a simulation suite for the training of healthcare workers.
The Trust has also set up in-house leadership development training through an online platform and face-to-face training for all staff, covering areas like self-awareness, emotional intelligence and gaining a greater understanding behaviours and civility.
And the organisation also has a group of quality improvement leads supporting staff to gain the skills to implement, sustain and spread change as well as creating a culture of continuous improvement.
Susy added: “This is an exciting time of change for staff at the organisation as well as for those who are looking to work here.
“By helping our workforce of now and of the future to grow, we are ensuring we provide the very best care to our communities across the Tees Valley.”
The Trust has already held a launch event for staff at its hospital site at Hartlepool this month and will hold a similar event for those at the University Hospital of North Tees later this week.
Susy added: “This is an exciting time of change for staff at the organisation as well as for those who are looking to work here.
“By helping our workforce of now and of the future to grow, we are ensuring we provide the very best care to our communities across the Tees Valley.”
The Trust has already held a launch event for staff at its hospital site at Hartlepool this month and will hold a similar event for those at the University Hospital of North Tees next week.