Welcome to our first South West Faculty update of 2024! We have a packed schedule of advanced practice activity coming up over the next 12 months, which includes supporting our existing trainees and the pleasure of welcoming a new cohort later in the year.
Annual Demand Scoping for 2024-2025
The 2024-2025 annual demand scoping for organisations opened on the 1st February, and will close on 4th April 2024. This is the opportunity for organisational advanced practice leads across the South West to submit their expressions of interest for new NHS England Advanced Practice funding support. This funding supports trainee advanced practitioners who are or will be undertaking NHS England accredited MSc advanced practice programmes. The annual scoping process is for new starter trainees only, trainees with funding agreements already in place do not need to be resubmitted for their ongoing funding to be continued.
We look forward to reviewing all the expressions of interest, and aim to issue provisional offers of funding during May. This process is the funding support application only. Please note, all new trainees will need to apply separately for their place with their chosen education provider. For NHS England WT&E funding to be confirmed they then need to complete their trainee data collection survey, and return a completed commitment statement. This will all be detailed through email as and when these documents are required.
From an education providers perspective, we will share the number of trainees looking to access their programmes, to support their planning and ensure adequate capacity.
The South West Advanced Practice handbook has been updated for 2024-2025, and a copy of this has been shared with Integrated Care System Advanced Practice Leads, Organisational Advanced Practice Leads and Training Hub Advanced Practice Leads.
If you have any questions regarding the annual demand scoping, please do contact your Organisational or Training Hub Advanced Practice lead. If you are not sure who to contact, then please email us england.advancingpractice.sw@nhs.net
South West Advanced Practice Virtual Event
Come and join us on Thursday, 16 May 2024, 09:00 – 13:00
We are delighted to announce that the South West Faculty for Advanced Practice will be hosting a virtual networking event with the theme highlighting the importance of advanced practice workforce planning. The event will take place on our online platform, on Thursday 16th May from 9am-1pm. The event is an opportunity to engage with organisations and colleagues who have an interest in advanced practice from across the region.
Sign up here to attend our networking event here
Signup for this event will close on the 8th April 2024
Regional Networking Opportunities
Network Meeting: Advanced Practice in the Community
Date: 23 May | Time: 12.00-12:30
We would like to highlight the opportunity to join the launch of a network of practice for those with an interest in advanced practice in the community.
This will be an opportunity to start learning from each other and collaborating with advanced practitioners working in community settings. There are lots of great things happening in this sector across the South West and the intention is to create a network that allows for sharing of learning, peer support and general collaboration.
Please join this launch session to hear from Viv Zinyemba, Consultant Practitioner Wiltshire Health and Care who will be chairing the network. Viv will be updating all on the work he has been involved with, particularly regarding the introduction of an educational supervision structure and the importance of supervision for advanced practitioners, ‘the missing hurdle in advanced practice’. Please join Viv for the first meeting. It is also an opportunity to co-design the network going forward so that it meets your needs.
If you are interested, please create an appointment in your diary and add the link below.
Click here to join this meeting
Network: Advanced Practice in End-of-Life Care
Date: 22 May | Time: 12:30-13:30
The aim of this group is to bring together advanced practitioners, and those interested in developing advanced practice roles, working in end of life care, looking to promote knowledge and share experiences by providing a supportive, coproduced and collaborative network of practice.
The ethos is for the group to be run by, and for, those practitioners, service leads and providers who make up this crucial part of healthcare delivery. If you are interested please sign up using the link below and you will be sent an invite.
Click here to sign up for this meeting
Advanced Practice MSK case study: Claire Paling
Meet Claire, an Advanced Practitioner working within the Orthopaedic Spinal Pathway in Wiltshire.
She is a musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapist by background. Her role involves seeing people with spinal pain in both community and secondary care services. She has been in her current Advanced Practitioner role for 6 years and completed her Advanced Practice MSc in 2020. Claire has subsequently completed the ePortfolio route to gain recognition as an Advanced Practitioner via the NHS England digital badge.
Read more about Clare’s role on our website
South West Advanced Practice Research Update
Steve Blakeway – NHS England Advanced Practice Education and Training Development Lead.
The Faculty are continuing to develop and showcase advanced practice research across the South West. We are working with the NIHR and Plymouth University, who have been funded to support the Development of a Research Skilled Workforce (DRSW) across the region. Their website has recently had a refresh including a new tab for Advanced Practice.
Below are some key updates and opportunities which are relevant to Advanced Practitioners.
Multi-professional Practice-based Research Capabilities Framework
Having been launched earlier in the year the Multi-professional Practice-based Research Capabilities Framework looks to highlight and promote active involvement with research, regardless of the setting in which they work. The Framework outlines a common set of core capabilities for the wider workforce.
Networking / Development Event: Activating the Research Pillar of Advanced Practice
Save the date: 24th April at Sandy Park, Exeter. This free event will showcase Advanced Practitioners who are embracing their research pillar. It aims to help build confidence, needed to deliver research in practice.
South West Integrated Clinical and Practitioner Academic (ICA) programme awards
This programme is intended to increase research capacity, by developing people with the aspiration to become clinical academics and independent researchers. There are three awards available for clinicians in the South West.
For further information follow this link.
APraise Register
A new register has been designed by Dr Frazer Underwood from our local NIHR Clinical Research Network, enabling the local NIHR team to link Primary Care Enhanced / Advanced clinicians with currently available research opportunities.
APRAISE Registration (google.com)
NIHR Clinician Researcher Framework
The NIHR and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, worked with higher education institutions to create a national framework of Master’s level clinical research delivery leadership qualifications. These qualifications provide learners with the necessary skills and build the confidence required to be able to lead and support clinical research delivery.
More Information about these courses can be found here: Clinician Researcher Credentials (google.com)
Regional Research Champions opportunity
Research champions are people who act as a point of contact; they can signpost to more information, advice, or help. The DRSW aims to establish a cohort of people across the South West who fulfil such roles.
If you are interested in being a research champion, please see this webpage: DRSW regional research champions – University of Plymouth
South West Advanced Practice Primary Care Supervision Update
Steve Blakeway – NHS England Advanced Practice Education and Training Development Lead.
Primary Care Advanced Practice Supervision
A free Modular Supervisor Course has been developed by the Primary Care Academy. This includes a new module specifically on how to supervise a trainee advanced practitioner. this has been developed with the SW AP Faculty, and implementing the recently launched National Guidance.
If you are a supervisor, planning for September or aspiring to develop your supervisor capabilities please read more and express interest here to help the team assess demand.