HEE Unveils New Enhanced Visions of GP Specialty Training
Health Education England (HEE) has released a new report detailing its vision for the future of general practice specialty training. The report outlines opportunities to reimagine the delivery of education to GP trainees, enabling them to better prepare for future work in different models of care.
The focus of the report includes equipping trainees with the ability to work against the increasing amount of primary care patients with mental health concerns and ensuring patients in deprived areas are able to access care as another priority.
The strategy also proposes technological advancements, such as live-streaming, simulations, and a virtual training academy, as well as more leadership opportunities during training.
The aim of this new approach is to provide sustainable general practice careers, delivering a quality GP training programme and placements within available capacity. The report is welcomed by Health Minister Neil O’Brien, who emphasised the importance of doctors entering general practice with the necessary skills to treat both physical and mental health needs and using technology to speed up diagnosis and treatment.
“It is important doctors entering general practice have the necessary skills to treat both people’s physical and mental health needs. We also need a workforce which can make the best use of technology to help speed up diagnosis and treatment.
“We have record numbers of GPs in training who require the best possible programmes of training and I welcome the work done by Health Education England who listened to patients, doctors and educators to develop these innovative proposals.”
The report from Health Education England (HEE) recommends several actions to enhance the future of general practice specialty training. These include:
- Enhancing generalism: Adoption of the Enhance programme, longer placements, and blended learning placements.
- Equity in training: Continued support for overseas doctors in GPST, application of BAPIO report recommendations, and use of the GP curriculum to address inequalities in care delivery.
- Social accountability and serving all communities: Support for deprived areas within primary care estate plans, further development of HEFT programmes, and development of post-CCT deprivation-themed fellowships.
- Improving the quality of training: Reforms to placement and delivery model, standardization of quality management processes, expansion and diversification of placements.
- Better wellbeing and mental health care: Creation of new learning opportunities, exploration of innovative training placements.
- Improving cancer diagnosis and earlier detection: Education opportunities, training in clinical decision-making, training in the harms of overdiagnosis, innovative ITP placements.
- Population health: Exposure to placements, learning opportunities, and educational events about population health, involvement of GP DiT in HEFT, dual CCT in general practice and public health.
- Technology in practice: Development of a primary care Virtual Training Academy, national virtual learning environment, and commissioning of technology to support GP training programmes.
- Planetary health in practice: Embedding of teaching on planetary health and sustainability in the curriculum, opportunities for GP DiTs to be involved in projects that support the NHS zero carbon commitment.
- Leadership, management, and strategy in context: Exposure to leadership opportunities, provision of specific and ongoing leadership training, representation of primary care voices and patient voices at all levels of healthcare leadership, and training in clinical supervision of the wider MDT.
For more information and to view the report in full click here.
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