Nurses in England and Wales have been invited to respond to a consultation on statutory and mandatory training subjects for NHS staff.
The consultation is on the core skills training framework (CSTF), which has been adopted by 85% of NHS organisations in England and in every health board and NHS trust in Wales.
The framework, introduced by Skills for Health in 2013, aims to promote consistency in the terms of training content and standards for health professionals once they join the NHS workforce.
It also enables staff to move between employers without the need to duplicate their training.
“We would urge nurses, midwives and nursing associates to take the time to participate”
Liz Fenton
Current CSTF subjects include conflict resolution; equality, diversity and human rights; fire safety; health, safety and welfare; infection prevention and control; information governance and data security; moving and handling; preventing radicalisation; resuscitation; safeguarding adults; safeguarding children; and violence and aggression.
Part of the review includes a proposal to add training on learning disabilities and autism to the list.
This is the first public consultation on the framework following the pandemic.
It has been launched to ensure that CSTF remains up to date with current legislation and is relevant and reflective of the skills and knowledge that the health and care workforce needs.
Liz Fenton
Deputy chief nurse at NHS England, Liz Fenton, said: “This consultation is an important opportunity for members of the NHS workforce to have their say on statutory and mandatory training subjects.
“We would urge nurses, midwives and nursing associates to take the time to participate, as the results will be vital in ensuring training is relevant, consistent and helps to maintain high standards of patient care.”
Head of consultancy and research at Skills for Health, Jon Czul, echoed this, and said it was important that the review captured the professions’ unique perspectives and insights.
He added: “With a workforce well over one million, it is important that voices from across the workforce are represented and accounted for in the statutory and mandatory training subjects that the majority of NHS staff are required to undertake.
“Against the backdrop of significant transformational change and challenge, with competing demands and expectations placed on all of the NHS, this public consultation ensures that the key fundamentals of workforce training can be adapted to remain current and up to date.
“Workers on the frontline know best what patients need.
“They know from experience what statutory and mandatory training is required to deliver said care, which is why we are following a collaborative process which invites responses from across the workforce a whole.”
The consultation is open until 16 October and feedback will be used to inform revisions to the content of the framework.
