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Online learning has the potential to improve best practice in substance use treatment by facilitating access to high-quality resources. A user-centered design (UCD) approach can identify the needs, motivating factors, and working contexts of learners. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify ways of improving online learning for people working in substance use treatment services in England. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 substance use professionals in England and 14 other professionals working in the field. Participants were asked about their training needs, working contexts, and current use of online resources. Data were analyzed according to the principles of UCD via Iterative Categorisation. Results: Participants reported "unmet needs" for training in therapeutic relationships and advanced therapeutic techniques. They enjoyed training that demonstrably improved the quality of life for people who use drugs and that provided career and personal development opportunities. Participants completed many mandatory online courses that were short and unpopular. Access to training was limited by time and financial constraints, with online training partially addressing these barriers. Conclusion: If online learning is to be optimized, the needs of substance use professionals must be accommodated; however, online learning that meets the needs of substance use professionals does not always match the best evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this action research was to explore, from a workforce and a patient/carer perspective, the skills and the capacity required to deliver integrated care and to inform future workforce development and planning in a new integrated care system in England. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with primary, community, acute care, social care and voluntary care, frontline and managerial staff and with patients and carers receiving these services were undertaken. Data were explored using framework analysis. Findings: Analysis revealed three overarching themes: achieving teamwork and integration, managing demands on capacity and capability and delivering holistic and user-centred care. An organisational development (OD) process was developed as part of the action research process to facilitate the large-scale workforce changes taking place. Research limitations/implications: This study did not consider workforce development and planning challenges for nursing and care staff in residential, nursing care homes or domiciliary services. This part of the workforce is integral to the care pathways for many patients, and in line with the current emerging national focus on this sector, these groups require further examination. Further, data explore service users' and carers' perspectives on workforce skills. It proved challenging to recruit patient and carer respondents for the research due to the nature of their illnesses. Practical implications: Many of the required skills already existed within the workforce. The OD process facilitated collaborative learning to enhance skills; however, workforce planning across a whole system has challenges in relation to data gathering and management. Ensuring a focus on workforce development and planning is an important part of integrated care development. Social implications: This study has implications for social and voluntary sector organisations in respect of inter-agency working practices, as well as the identification of workforce development needs and potential for informing subsequent cross-sector workforce planning arrangements and communication. Originality/value: This paper helps to identify the issues and benefits of implementing person-centred, integrated teamworking and the implications for workforce planning and OD approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To understand some of the benefits that the nursing associate role can bring to community and primary care nursing teams • To be aware of the challenges involved in training and embedding nursing associates in community and primary care settings • To recognise the need for clarity on the boundaries and expectations of the nursing associate role in community and primary care settings Nursing associates have been part of the health and social care workforce in England since 2017 and are starting to contribute to managing workforce challenges. However, little is known about the nursing associate role in community and primary care settings. This article provides an overview of what is known about the nursing associate role in community and primary care settings and introduces some emerging findings from recent research. The article identifies some of the benefits that nursing associates can bring to community and primary care nursing teams and some of the challenges involved in training and embedding nursing associates in these sectors of the health and social care workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architects can play a key role in the wider public health workforce, in ensuring building and urban design is health promoting. However, there is no requirement to teach health by architectural accreditation bodies across Europe. To evaluate the long-term individual and organisational impacts of the Public Health Practitioner in Residence (PHPiR) programme – an educational initiative in a British university to help realise the architecture profession's potential to contribute to improved population health. A longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation using the RE-AIM framework. Data were collected using questionnaires, a focus group, interviews, and programme documentation from a Bachelor of Architecture cohort and stakeholders from 2011 to 2019. Participants developed a broad understanding of the determinants of health, which was maintained when qualified architects. The programme became integrated into the university curriculum. Numerous facilitators and barriers affected the participants' ability to create healthier buildings in practice. The positive results from this evaluation suggest that there is value in exploring how the PHPiR approach could be replicated in architecture courses within other higher education institutions. Findings highlight barriers in practice to be addressed in the future to help enable architects to create healthier buildings and places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Pharmacist-led research is key to optimizing medicines use and improving pharmacy services, yet it is not yet widely embedded into careers. This study aims to identify predictors of confidence in meeting the research learning outcomes in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Post-Registration Foundation and Core Advanced curricula, to provide targeted recommendations for building research capability and capacity within the profession., Methods: The study was a cross-sectional electronic survey, distributed to eligible pharmacists in March 2023 (n = 253). The survey gathered demographic information, research experience, and self-reported confidence in meeting the research learning outcomes in the RPS Post-Registration Foundation and Core Advanced curricula. Pre-determined independent variables were analysed using two binomial logistic regression models (one per curriculum) to identify predictors of the dichotomous variable: confidence with meeting all research learning outcomes in that curriculum., Key Findings: Participants were more likely to self-report as confident (versus not confident) with meeting all research learning outcomes in a curriculum if they had recent experience (within the previous 12 months) of research or research-related activities, held a postgraduate research qualification, had undertaken research training outside of a postgraduate qualification, discussed research in their appraisal, or worked in the hospital sector. Conversely, male gender, years practicing, and protected time for research did not predict confidence., Conclusion: A targeted approach, including improving access to research methods training, experience-based learning, mentorship, and linking research projects to key organizational objectives, could be the key to developing research capability and capacity across all sectors and career stages., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.)

Aim: Early warning scores are commonly used in hospital settings, but little is known about their use in care homes. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of National Early Warning Scores alongside other measures in this setting. Design: Convergent parallel design. Methods: Quantitative data from 276 care home residents from four care homes were used to analyse the relationship between National Early Warning Scores score, resident outcome and functional daily living (Barthel ADL (Barthel Index for Activities of Daily Living)) and Rockwood (frailty). Interviews with care home staff (N = 13) and care practitioners (N = 4) were used to provide qualitative data. Results: A statistically significant link between National Early Warning Scores (p =.000) and Barthel ADL (p =.013) score and hospital admissions was found, while links with Rockwood were insignificant (p =.551). Care home staff reported many benefits of National Early Warning Scores, including improved communication, improved decision‐making and role empowerment. Although useful, due to the complexity of the resident population's existing health conditions, National Early Warning Scores alone could not act as a diagnostic tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To familiarise yourself with the challenges that have affected the care home sector in recent decades • To understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on care home staff and residents • To consider how care homes may be reformed to achieve integration of health and social care services for older people During the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, older people were discharged from hospitals to care homes to release NHS beds. This influx of new residents whose COVID-19 status was largely unknown added to the many challenges already experienced by care homes, with serious consequences including an increased number of deaths among residents. The social care sector has been fragile for several years and the pandemic has brought the challenges experienced by care homes to the forefront, prompting renewed calls for improved funding and reform. This article describes the ongoing challenges and additional challenges caused by the pandemic in the care home sector. The authors argue for urgent reform to enhance the status and education of care home staff, move towards registration of the social care workforce in England, and achieve integration of health and social care services for older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Large-scale partnerships between universities and health services are widely seen as vehicles for bridging the evidence-practice gap and for accelerating the adoption of new evidence in healthcare. Recently, different versions of these partnerships - often called academic health science centres - have been established across the globe. Although they differ in structure and processes, all aim to improve the integration of research and education with health services. Collectively, these entities are often referred to as Research Translation Centres (RTCs) and both England and Australia have developed relatively new and funded examples of these collaborative centres.Methods: This paper presents findings from a rapid review of RTCs in Australia and England that aimed to identify their structures, leadership, workforce development and strategies for involving communities and service users. The review included published academic and grey literature with a customised search of the Google search engine and RTC websites.Results: RTCs are complex system-level interventions that will need to disrupt the current paradigms and silos inherent in healthcare, education and research in order to meet their aims. This will require vision, leadership, collaborations and shared learnings, alongside structures, processes and strategies to deliver impact in the face of complexity. The impact of RTCs in overcoming the deeply entrenched silos across organisations, disciplines and sectors needs to be captured at the systems, organisation and individual levels. This includes workforce capacity and public and patient involvement that are vital to understanding the evolution of RTCs. In addition, new models of leadership are needed to support the brokering and mobilisation of knowledge in complex organisations.Conclusions: The development and funding of RTCs represents one of the most significant shifts in the health research landscape and it is imperative that we continue to explore how we can progress the integration of research and healthcare and ensure research meets stakeholder needs and is translated via the collaborations supported by these organisations. Because RTCs are a recent addition to the healthcare landscape in Australia, it is instructive to review the processes and infrastructure needed to support their implementation and applied health research in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Individuals health with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience comorbid physical and mental health needs and have poorer outcomes resulting in early mortality. Currently, many training provisions based on ID exist; however, limited research supports their effectiveness. High-fidelity simulation is an innovative training mechanism with promising preliminary results. This study aims to evaluate the longitudinal impact of simulation training on clinical practice in ID. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method approach was used in this study. A one-day simulation course using actors who had ID was delivered to 39 health-care professionals from across London hospitals. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted 12–18 months post training. Findings: High-fidelity simulation training is an effective training modality, which has a sustainable impact on participants, their clinical practice and patients. Core features of the training including debriefing, the use and type of actors, scenario design and the facilitators are crucial learning mechanisms which impacts learning outcomes and changes to behaviour in clinical practice and settings. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to longitudinally evaluate high-fidelity simulation training designed to improve the physical and mental health needs of those with ID. The research begins to bridge an important gap in the current literature, with a need for more research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with Down syndrome are at an increased risk of health and development issues in early childhood, therefore monitoring their development and identifying health conditions as early as possible is critical. Health professionals may not always have the training and knowledge to effectively support families of children with disabilities, including Down syndrome. In the UK, health visitors conduct health and development reviews for children under 5 years, therefore they have a key role to play in monitoring and identifying health issues in young children with Down syndrome. However there has been no research on health visitors' knowledge and training needs regarding Down syndrome. This study aimed to assess health visitors' existing knowledge of Down syndrome and evaluate a pilot Down syndrome training session for health visitors. Twenty‐six health visitors from two NHS Trusts in England participated in 1 of 5 group training workshops. Pretraining and posttraining questionnaires assessed knowledge about Down syndrome, and feedback on the training session. Knowledge about Down syndrome was low prior to the training and increased significantly following the training session. Health visitors rated the training workshop very highly and would recommend it to a colleague. Health visitors identified a need for training to enable them to increase their knowledge about Down syndrome and better support families. In summary, a pilot training session about Down syndrome received positive feedback from health visitors, and led to improvements in knowledge and understanding about Down syndrome. This has the potential to improve health outcomes for children with Down syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a theoretical analysis of the place of substance use within social work education and workforce development in England. Using ecological systems theory as its theoretical framework, it explores the relationship between social work education and practice, and wider systemic and situational constraints which have helped or hindered social work’s engagement with substance use issues. Furthermore, it suggests that the current direct government intervention in social work education and practice, in addition to the cuts in budgets and its privatisation agenda, has been unhelpful in supporting change and professional development in relation to substance use. It will draw on the limited international data that show similar challenges for social work in relation to substance use beyond England and the UK. It will conclude with an argument for strengthening the social work voice in relation to substance use education and practice in spite of the systemic pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports selected findings from a scoping review of the literature about care home managers in England. The review was undertaken between December 2013 and April 2014, with searches conducted in December 2013, and completed in July 2014. Its aim was to identify the characteristics of care home managers, descriptions of their leadership and managerial roles, their experience, skills and support, and the managers' perceptions of their work and status and to identify knowledge gaps. The databases searched included Web of Knowledge, EBSCO, ASSIA, Embase, AgeInfo, NHS Evidence, Social Care Online and the publication platforms IngentaConnect, Wiley Online and JSTOR together with specialist sites and national information providers. Sixteen relevant studies directly about care home managers, reported in 24 articles, were identified. A further body of literature pertinent to the questions was located ( n = 84), including sector reports, professional press, expert opinion, enquiries and reviews, and other material, which also informed the review. A consultation exercise with stakeholders informed the findings of the review. The review found that, despite frequent allusions to their impact on organisational culture, few studies have focused on care home managers, and, such as there are, mainly relate to managers of care homes for older people. This is despite managers' major responsibilities for the care of many frail and disabled people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Overcrowding in emergency departments is a global issue, which places pressure on the shrinking workforce and threatens the future of high quality, safe and effective care. Healthcare reforms aimed at tackling this crisis have focused primarily on structural changes, which alone do not deliver anticipated improvements in quality and performance. The purpose of this study was to identify workforce enablers for achieving whole systems urgent and emergency care delivery.Methods: A multiple case study design framed around systems thinking was conducted in South East England across one Trust consisting of five hospitals, one community healthcare trust and one ambulance trust. Data sources included 14 clinical settings where upstream or downstream pinch points are likely to occur including discharge planning and rapid response teams; ten regional stakeholder events (n = 102); a qualitative survey (n = 48); and a review of literature and analysis of policy documents including care pathways and protocols.Results: The key workforce enablers for whole systems urgent and emergency care delivery identified were: clinical systems leadership, a single integrated career and competence framework and skilled facilitation of work based learning.Conclusions: In this study, participants agreed that whole systems urgent and emergency care allows for the design and implementation of care delivery models that meet complexity of population healthcare needs, reduce duplication and waste and improve healthcare outcomes and patients' experiences. For this to be achieved emphasis needs to be placed on holistic changes in structures, processes and patterns of the urgent and emergency care system. Often overlooked, patterns that drive the thinking and behavior in the workplace directly impact on staff recruitment and retention and the overall effectiveness of the organization. These also need to be attended to for transformational change to be achieved and sustained. Research to refine and validate a single integrated career and competence framework and to develop standards for an integrated approach to workplace facilitation to grow the capacity of facilitators that can use the workplace as a resource for learning is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – People with dementia require care at home, in care homes and in hospitals, which has implications for the current and future workforce in health and social care. To inform regional workforce development planning in dementia care, Health Education East of England commissioned an organisational audit of current dementia training at NHS Trusts and in social care across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methods and non-probability purposive sampling were used for recruitment and data collection. The audit included NHS Trusts, local authorities, clinical commissioning groups, and health and social care organisations involved in commissioning and providing dementia education and training in the two counties. Findings – Whilst there was considerable investment in dementia awareness training, learning was not targeted, assessed or structured to ensure on-going professional development. Practical implications – This has implications for workforce development and career-progression for staff responsible for the care of older people with dementia. Conclusion: if a future workforce is expected to lead, coordinate, support and provide dementia care across health and social care, a qualifying curriculum could play a critical part in ensuring quality and consistency of approach and provision. Originality/value – This paper makes a timely contribution to discussions on the skills and competencies needed to equip the future workforce for dementia care across health and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary Lack of cultural competence in care contributes to poor experiences and outcomes from care for migrants and racial and ethnic minorities. As a result, health and social care organizations currently promote cultural competence of their workforce as a means of addressing persistent poor experiences and outcomes., At present, there are unsystematic and diverse ways of promoting cultural competence, and their impact on clinician skills and patient outcomes is unknown., We developed and implemented an innovative model, cultural consultation service (CCS), to promote cultural competence of clinicians and directly improve on patient experiences and outcomes from care. CCS model is an adaptation of the McGill model, which uses ethnographic methodology and medical anthropological knowledge. The method and approach not only contributes both to a broader conceptual and dynamic understanding of culture, but also to learning of cultural competence skills by healthcare professionals., The CCS model demonstrates that multidisciplinary workforce can acquire cultural competence skills better through the clinical encounter, as this promotes integration of learning into day-to-day practice. Results indicate that clinicians developed a broader and patient-centred understanding of culture, and gained skills in narrative-based assessment method, management of complexity of care, competing assumptions and expectations, and clinical cultural formulation., Abstract Cultural competence is defined as a set of skills, attitudes and practices that enable the healthcare professionals to deliver high-quality interventions to patients from diverse cultural backgrounds. Improving on the cultural competence skills of the workforce has been promoted as a way of reducing ethnic and racial inequalities in service outcomes. Currently, diverse models for training in cultural competence exist, mostly with no evidence of effect. We established an innovative narrative-based cultural consultation service in an inner-city area to work with community mental health services to improve on patients' outcomes and clinicians' cultural competence skills. We targeted 94 clinicians in four mental health service teams in the community. After initial training sessions, we used a cultural consultation model to facilitate 'in vivo' learning. During cultural consultation, we used an ethnographic interview method to assess patients in the presence of referring clinicians. Clinicians' self-reported measure of cultural competence using the Tool for Assessing Cultural Competence Training ( n = 28, at follow-up) and evaluation forms ( n = 16) filled at the end of each cultural consultation showed improvement in cultural competence skills. We conclude that cultural consultation model is an innovative way of training clinicians in cultural competence skills through a dynamic interactive process of learning within real clinical encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of a project or programme is typically determined in relation to outputs. However, there is a commitment among UK public services to spending public funds efficiently and on activities that provide the greatest benefit to society. Skills for Health recognised the need for a tool to manage the complex process of evaluating project benefits. An integrated evaluation framework was developed to help practitioners identify, describe, measure and evaluate the benefits of workforce development projects. Practitioners tested the framework on projects within three NHS trusts and provided valuable feedback to support its development. The prospective approach taken to identify benefits and collect baseline data to support evaluation was positively received and the clarity and completeness of the framework, as well as the relevance of the questions, were commended. Users reported that the framework was difficult to complete; an online version could be developed, which might help to improve usability. Effective implementation of this approach will depend on the quality and usability of the framework, the willingness of organisations to implement it, and the presence or establishment of an effective change management culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of meeting the learning needs of clinical research staff are shared by managers of many groups of specialist practitioners. Such specialists tend, for example, to be few in number, come from a variety of disciplines, have a diversity of roles and work across several organisations or locations in relative isolation. This article gives an overview of a regional training initiative, the Birmingham region Research Training Collaborative, for clinical research staff, and describes how it provides reciprocal access to research-related training across organisationalboundaries as well as being a forum where learning resources and events can be shared. It describes the benefits and challenges of this initiative and highlights the main elements of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The focus of this paper is to consider the findings of a survey, which aims to identify the types of training that acute mental health staff could access, in relation to workforce development and substance misuse issues in acute mental health care. Design/methodology/approach – An electronic survey was developed and distributed using work email lists to all clinicians who worked in acute mental health services across a region in England. Not all NHS organisations agreed to participate. Findings – A total of 89 clinicians responded to the survey, some failed to indicate their consent, therefore the results of the 77 that did are presented. The main finding was that most acute care staff had only accessed mandatory training such as risk assessment. Many staff had not been trained in the use of psychosocial approaches. Drug and alcohol specific activities were performed on the whole only "sometimes". Research limitations/implications – It was not possible to determine the total number of potentially eligible staff who were sent the survey, therefore, response rates cannot be calculated. It is possible that the findings may not be generalisable to other services. There may be bias in those who choose to respond to an electronic email, in terms of those who had access to a computer or who were more IT literate. In addition, the survey did not specifically set out to examine substance misuse issues as its main focus. Practical implications – Acute care staff work with service users with increasingly complex needs. Creative and cost effective ways of facilitating access to training and support must be found as a priority to ensure that staff have the competencies to identify and manage substance users effectively in acute mental health settings. Originality/value – The findings reinforce previous studies highlighting the deficit in access to psychosocial interventions training for acute care staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the results of a systematic audit of the commissioning function of a primary care trust in England in 2009. Although the context of the research was specific to a payor organization operating in a publicly funded health system, the lessons to be drawn from the methodology and results are applicable in a much broader range of settings. The paper describes how it is possible to classify, quantify, and analyse a function as complex and multi-stranded as health-care commissioning in a way that provides results that are operationally and strategically useful. Analysis provided data for use by senior management as to the resource available to support specific tasks and programmes (collections of related tasks). The conclusions identified areas for action in respect of workforce development, organizational development, and project management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To establish a national picture of the implementation of these recommendations in both trusts and higher education institutions. Background. The Chief Nursing Officer for England Review of Mental Health Nursing made 17 key recommendations to improve mental health nursing. Subsequent publications aimed to help implement these recommendations. Design. An e-survey. Methods. The survey was based on the Chief Nursing Officer review recommendations and guidance. Participants: all relevant trusts who deliver mental health services ( n = 68) and higher education institutions who deliver pre-registration mental health nursing education ( n = 50) in England. Results. A total of 42 trusts (63·6%) and 40 higher education institutions (80%) completed the survey. The survey indicates that the Chief Nursing Officer review has stimulated some activity in all organisations who responded. Eleven of the recommendations were ranked similarly by trusts and higher education institutions. There were statistically significant differences between trusts and higher education institution priorities in four areas, inpatient care, evidence-based interventions, multidisciplinary team working and recruitment and retention. Conclusions. The findings of the survey demonstrate that all organisations have made some progress in the implementation of the Chief Nursing Officer recommendations. Trusts and higher education institutions broadly agree on the importance of each of the Chief Nursing Officer recommendations, with the exception of four items. A range of factors was identified by respondents that were perceived as facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the Chief Nursing Officer review. Relevance to clinical practice. This article contains findings that are highly relevant for current and future clinical practice in mental health. Despite some progress, clear differences between higher education institutions and trusts are apparent. It is important that these differing perspectives are acknowledged and resolved to improve healthcare provision. Both trusts and higher education institutions reported difficulty with engaging service users and carers. A range of factors are identified that act as facilitators and barriers to the implementation of healthcare policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the development and achievements of the Teaching Public Health Networks (TPHNs) in England; an initiative that aimed to catalyse collaborative working between the public health workforce and further and higher education, to enhance public health knowledge in the wider workforce with a view to enhancing capacity to tackle inequalities and meeting public health targets. This paper highlights activities under three outcomes: mobilizing resources, people, money and materials; building capacity through training and infrastructure development; and raising public and political awareness. The TPHN approach is shown to have led to innovative developments in public health education and training, including engagement with professionals that have not previously had exposure to public health. This paper aims to disseminate the learning from this complex public health initiative, now in its third year of development, and to share examples of good practice. It is hoped that other countries can use the TPHN approach as a model to address the various common and country-specific challenges in public health workforce development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Pharmacists play a pivotal role in tackling Antimicrobial resistance through antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and are well placed to lead behaviour change interventions across the healthcare system; (2) Methods: A cross-sector AMS training initiative for pharmacists was implemented across England, with three cohorts between 2019–2021. Each cohort took part in an introductory workshop, followed- by a workplace-based quality improvement project supported by peer-assisted learning sessions. Completion of training was determined by an end of training assessment after three to four months. Outcome data and learner survey results were collated, anonymised, and analysed by the training provider. (3) Results: In total, 118 pharmacists participated in the introductory workshop, 70% of these subsequently undertook an improvement project, and 48% engaged workplace stakeholders in the process. Interventions were designed by 57% of learners and 18% completed a at least one Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. Approximately a quarter of learners met the requirements for a Certificate of Completion. Knowledge quiz scores were obtained from 115 learners pre-training and 28 learners post-training. Paired t-tests conducted for 28 learners showed a statistically significant improvement in mean score from 67.7% to 81.1% (p < 0.0001). Sixty-two learner survey responses were received during the training and 21 follow-up survey responses 6 to 12 months post training. Of the 21 responses to the follow-up survey, ongoing quality improvement work and improvement outcomes were reported by nine and six learners, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The delivery of workplace-based training at scale can be challenging, however this study demonstrates that coupling learning with workplace implementation and peer support can promote behaviour change in learners. Further study into the impact of providing pharmacists across sectors and geographies with access to this type of training will help inform ongoing workforce development interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Research and Clinical Trials Therapeutic Radiographers network is a College of Radiographers Specialist Interest Group. It was established to develop and facilitate a support network for therapeutic radiographers working in roles which involve the delivery of radiotherapy clinical trials. Its establishment highlighted the challenges faced by therapeutic radiographers employed in these roles. Consequently, the authors sought to formally capture the working landscape of this subsection of the radiographic workforce, aiming to ascertain any potential barriers to professional development and the increase of clinical trials activity by 15% mandated by NHS England., Methods: A Qualtrics survey was designed, pilot tested and distributed to the sixty-two radiotherapy departments across England and the devolved nations. Departments were questioned on the size, structure and the scope of practice of their radiotherapy research and clinical trials team members., Findings: Thirty-nine complete responses were received, providing a response rate of 62%, with each region of the UK represented in the survey. The findings demonstrated issues related to the number of posts affecting capacity, contract status jeopardising the security and effectiveness of their role and the activities specific to research and clinical trials being 'bolted on' to existing roles. Although advanced practice was being undertaken by around a third of this workforce the findings established several barriers including individual/teams' capacity and a perceived lack of support for therapeutic radiographers to progress in clinical trials roles., Conclusion: The findings illustrate several important implications which if not addressed may not only hinder UK radiotherapy departments to achieve the national increase of 15% of clinical trial activity over the next three years but also restrict the growth in size and scope of professional practice of the workforce., Implications for Practice: The research and clinical trials workforce need to adopt a collaborative approach to profile raising and establish a standardised professional scope of practice to support growth and recognition of their role., (Copyright © 2021 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Over the past decade, Research Translation Centres (RTCs) have been established in many countries. These centres (sometimes referred to as Academic Health Science Centres) are designed to bring universities and healthcare providers together in order to accelerate the generation and translation of new evidence that is responsive to health service and community priorities. This has the potential to effectively 'flip' the traditional research and education paradigms because it requires active participation and continuous engagement with stakeholders (especially service users, the community and frontline clinicians). Although investment and expectations of RTCs are high, the literature confirms a need to better understand the processes that RTCs use to mobilise knowledge, build workforce capacity, and co-produce research with patients and the public to ensure population impact and drive healthcare improvement.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected leaders and members from select RTCs in England and Australia. Convenience sampling was utilised to identify RTCs, based on their geography, accessibility and availability. Purposive sampling and a snowballing approach were employed to recruit individual participants for interviews, which were conducted face to face or via videoconferencing. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a reflexive and inductive approach. This involved two researchers comparing codes and interrogating themes that were analysed inductively against the study aims and through meetings with the research team.Results: A total of 41 participants, 22 from England and 19 from Australia were interviewed. Five major themes emerged, including (1) dissonant metrics, (2) different models of leadership, (3) public and patient involvement and research co-production, (4) workforce development and (5) barriers to collaboration.Conclusions: Participants identified the need for performance measures that capture community impact. Better aligned success metrics, enhanced leadership, strategies to partner with patients and the public, enhanced workforce development and strategies to enhance collaboration were all identified as crucial for RTCs to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK there are an estimated 850 000 people living with dementia. The condition costs the NHS £26 billion each year and it is estimated that this amount will treble over the next 30 years. Thus, there is a need for health and social care staff to be increasingly competent in the delivery of care to those living with dementia. The education of staff will improve knowledge and build capability to support and care for individuals with dementia. This research involved 44 assistant practitioners who shared opinions about their preparation for practice in dementia care. Focus groups and questionnaires were used to collect data that were then thematically analysed. The research also considered the assistant practitioner role in relation to workforce development. Key themes were 'training, awareness and knowledge associated with dementia care' and 'the perceptions of the assistant practitioner regarding confidence to support individuals with dementia'. There was role and responsibility protection from staff, for example, doctors and nurses were reluctant to delegate duties to the assistant practitioner. Participants' commentary indicated, however, that they were competent to support service users with dementia, although there were gaps in their experiences. The case study demonstrated the positive achievement of partnership working between a higher education institution and the workplace, which supported the assistant practitioners' learning and development.