Welcome to the first quarterly update from the South West Advancing Practice Faculty within the new NHS England (Workforce Transformation and Education Directorate). Whilst the organisation has undergone some changes, work is continuing as usual to support advanced practice across the region.
South West Regional Update
2023-24 Annual Demand Scoping Survey Update
The NHS England South West Faculty for Advancing Practice would like to thank all of those who have taken the time to submit trainee Advanced Practitioners for funding. We have received a record number of eligible applications this year, and have been able to offer funding to trainees across Primary Care, NHS organisations, Community Interest Companies as well as Hospices.
The next available opportunity to apply for this funding will be in February 2024 through the annual demand scoping survey. As we have done previously, this will be sent to organisational Advanced Practice Leads (or other nominated individuals) and Training Hub Advanced Practice Leads (for Primary Care). Individuals looking to apply for funding must go via their organisation or training hub advanced practice lead. If you are unsure who this is, please contact the South West Faculty for Advancing Practice.
South West Advancing Practice Community Services Event
On the 14th June the South West Faculty ran a virtual Advancing Practice Community Services Event. The event was open to anyone working within community services with an interest in advanced practice. It aimed to give delegates the opportunity to network with colleagues, share lived experience and discuss potential areas for future development.
After a welcome from the South West Faculty, the day started with a keynote talk from Wiltshire Health and Care. They gave an overview of how advanced practice has been introduced and continues to evolve within their organisation. Using examples from patient journeys to illustrate how Advanced Practitioners support integrated care and pathways built around the needs of patients.
Attendees were then able to choose two out of three sessions and their follow up workshops.
- Addressing community service challenges: Advanced Practice as a potential solution.
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Community Assessment and Treatment Unit: Setting up a new service.
- Two Harbours Healthcare: Alternative Delivery of Care in Care Homes with Weymouth and Portland Frailty Team.
In the final keynote session the team at St Margaret’s Hospice Care talked about their journey to introduce the Advanced Practitioner role. They discussed the challenges, successes, learning & vision as their first Trainee Advanced Practitioner enters into her second year of apprenticeship. Showing how the Advanced Practitioner role is supporting Palliative & End of Life care at their inpatient unit in Somerset.
You can find a copy of the agenda and view presentations from the day here
South West Advancing Practice Podcast
Episode 12, Complex Nutrition Support
In this episode of our advanced practice podcast series we explore the development of advanced practice in complex nutrition support. We talk to a trainee advanced practitioner and service manager. Discussing the benefits and challenges of setting up the roles and implementation in practice.
Our host, Rachael Brandreth, NHS England, Advancing Practice Supervision and Assessment Lead for Speech & Language Therapy, Dietetics, Podiatry, Occupational Therapy, is joined by Raphaella Rookes, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics and Sarah Brownlie, Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner, Nutrition & Vascular Access Nurse Specialist from Yeovil District Hospital.
Find all our South West Podcasts here
South West Case Studies
Nutrition
Sarah Brownlie – Trainee Advanced Practitioner and Nutrition Vascular Access Specialist Nurse
Sarah is a Nutrition Vascular Access Specialist Nurse. She works in an Acute Hospital setting doing community visits, to prevent hospital admissions where possible. She has a dual role, covering Practical and Parental Nutrition, and is joint lead for the Vascular Access team. Sarah is currently doing the final year of her Level 7 Advanced Practice Apprenticeship.
Learning Disability
Simon Eddy – Trainee Advanced Practitioner in Learning Disability Services
Simon works as a trainee advanced practitioner across Learning Disability Services at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. He is a registered learning disabilities nurse and has been working in this field since he first started as a Health Care Assistant.
Emergency Care
Amy is a Physiotherapist by background and currently completing her Masters of Sciences (MSc) in Advanced Practice.
Find all our South West case studies here
South West Video
The Importance of Supervision in Advanced Practice
This video explores the importance of supervision in advanced practice. High quality supervision is crucial for all trainee advanced practitioners. It supports the development of their confidence and capability, and underpins patient and practitioner safety. In this film we visit a paediatric team in the southwest and discuss their experience of advanced practice supervision. We explore how effective supervision is essential for the trainee advanced practitioners to develop into an autonomous practitioner.
National Advancing Practice Update
Credential launches
Since the previous update, the National Centre for Advancing Practice have launched two more endorsed advanced practice credentials. These are in the Neurological rehabilitation (including stroke), and End-of-life care scopes of practice.
Centre-endorsed credential specifications are designed to develop multi-professional advanced practice capability and capacity. They help the Advanced Practice workforce meet high-priority population, patient care and service delivery needs. Credentials are developed by expert groups, informed by wider stakeholder input, and taken through the Centre’s independent review process.
ePortfolio (supported) Route update: Expression of Interest form open
The Centre for Advancing Practice has now re-opened to Expressions of Interest (EoI) to gauge the level of demand for future cohorts. We have continued to review and refine our processes from the feedback received. As a result, going forward, the EoI window will now remain open. This will enable practitioners, with support from their organisational advanced practice lead, to submit their EoI’s throughout the year. Prospective applicants will be contacted once dates for future cohorts’ are confirmed.
As stated, the ePortfolio (supported) Route was designed to enable current experienced advanced practitioners to gain recognition. The ePortfolio route is not a training pathway, therefore the Centre’s current intention is that this route will be closed from 2027 onwards. We will however continue to review this decision based on ongoing demand and national developments relating to the advanced practice agenda.
Read more about the ePortfolio route and find out how to submit an expression of interest here
Local Area Update: Devon
Establishing a Devon-wide Advanced Practice Steering Group: the Journey so Far
Health and social care organisations across One Devon work in collaborative arrangements at system, organisation, and neighbourhood levels to deliver care to 1.2 million people.
To bring partners together and form a collective approach to the advanced practice workforce agenda, in December 2022 we established a system-wide Advanced Practice Steering Group.
Facilitated by the ICS advanced practice workforce transformation lead, the group has successfully engaged the main providers across health, social care, hospices, and the ambulance service.
The group’s two main functions are to oversee:
- Workforce transformation with respect to advanced practice.
- The governance of the advanced practice workforce.
The steering group started its journey by identifying the priorities at the provider and system level. Priority areas of work include supervision capacity, system-wide workforce planning approaches, reliability and validity of workforce data sets and the advanced practice governance matrix (Health Education England, 2022).
From these priorities the group has developed an annual work plan and a system wide strategy. We created the Devon-wide strategy using information from providers, system priorities and areas for development identified following completion of the advanced practice governance matrix.
The steering group has held oversight of the recent scoping for new trainee advanced practice posts, which includes 35-40 new trainee posts commencing in September 2023. There has been a positive impact at provider level, as new scopes of practice and ways of working have come through the steering group. These include advanced practice posts in forensic mental health, trauma services and frailty.
The steering group has discussed ways of consistently developing advanced practice posts in new and emerging areas. Using the workshop developed by NHS England South West Faculty for Advancing Practice, the advanced practice system lead has with the support of the faculty at provider level, facilitated the development of new posts.
In a recent example of this we ran a workshop at a mental health Trust. The session looked to develop an advanced practice post in the urgent mental health pathway. Applying the workshop enabled the provider to explore where advanced practice could fit in the patient journey. It helped to examine their workforce needs over the long-term. Highlighting the benefits to patients and carers, and exploring how advanced practice could meet the priorities outlined in the national mental health strategy, standards for crisis resolution and home treatment teams and local priorities, including the Devon suicide prevention plan. This workshop approach has supported providers to plan workforce transformation and ensure governance structures are in place for training and development.
Feedback from the workshop was positive. The assistant director of workforce at Livewell Southwest, Nicky Varker, commented: “This was a really useful workshop. It enabled a multi professional discussion about the scope and remit of potential advanced practice roles for our services. Having protected time to consider the potential value of the role enabled us to identify additional benefits using the four pillars of the role.”
The journey of the advanced practice steering group has so far been successful. Engaging with partners across the system and the development of a system strategy. This work will ensure a shared direction of travel to develop and transform our advanced practice workforce.
Donna Pereira
ICS Advanced Practice Workforce Transformation Lead
Community of Practice: Surgery and Anaesthesia
The Advanced Practice community of practice for Surgery and Anaesthesia is an opportunity for trainee and qualified advanced practitioners, supervisors and department managers, from all surgical sub-specialities throughout the South West region to get together, share good practice and discuss topics of interest relating to advanced practice.
Although this group is relatively new, we have made a great start to exploring the surgical advanced practice role. For instance, highlighting the benefits of advanced practice and routes to role development. Focusing on development throughout a practitioner’s career, from completing an NHS England accredited MSc in advanced practice, right through to consultant level practice.
We are keen to share advanced practice roles and learn from one another within a variety of surgical sub-specialities. As such we have had two presentations from an orthopaedic advanced practitioner and an advanced practitioner in upper gastro-intestinal (GI) surgery. In addition to these clinically focussed sessions, we have discussed the wider topics of advanced practice, such as leadership and research and have planned a session to discuss the importance of supervision.
We decide on the upcoming agendas as a group, inviting everyone to present on any topics or projects they may wish to share. This is an opportunity for anyone interested in surgical advanced practice to keep up to date with developments from an NHS Engalnd perspective. As well as hear from others in similar roles across the region. Email us on advancingpractice.sw@hee.nhs.uk if you want to join our Surgical comminity of practice. We meet quarterly on MS Teams for forty-five minutes and our next meeting is on the 11th August at 9.00am.
Sharon Wade, Supervision and Assessment Lead: Surgery and Anaesthesia NHS England (WT&E)
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