1. GBA, LEAP, Active Oxfordshire
Professional Workforce development for allied healthcare professionals to support patients becoming PA
The NHS Bucks, Ox & Berks West (BOB) Sustainability & Transformation Plan (STP) Prevention Group (PG) has developed key insight data to support its priorities around physical inactivity. We have agreed with them a need to identify key NHS/PH and allied professional staff and determine the specific skills and knowledge gaps they have around promoting physical activity. Jointly the APs and NHS BOB PG believe that one key area of potential high impact will be in Social Prescribing but, within this workforce there will be low or minimal levels of skill, knowledge and experience around among other things: the psychological and physical barriers to exercise and activity; technical knowledge of the full range of mental and physical health benefits of exercise and an ability to sign post to appropriate interventions. We aim to embed PA knowledge, skills & confidence in key NHS staff through existing training mediums.
Via our connection both with the BOB PG and the BOB Workforce Group we know that many of the health care professionals who have direct contact with the public and could have a significant impact on their physical activity habits lack the confidence, knowledge and skills to do so effectively. Nevertheless increasing emphasis (MECC for example) is being placed on having conversations about and promoting an active lifestyle and thus there is a training and skills gap in a crucial area and one that could support SE objectives around both physical and mental health. We are working with the BOB PG to determine which professionals to initially concentrate on (e.g. social prescribers, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), Children and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS ) Teams or others in primary care). To ensure take-up & sustainability our work must be aligned with current training opportunities in the NHS. Through the BOB we also have strong connections with Health Education England – Thames Valley who we will work closely with.
- We will identify, develop and deliver upskilling and support to key health sector staff (‘the workforce’) around physical activity for social prescribing. This must be embedded and aligned with current training. We will learn lessons from doing this with a specific workforce group and then disseminate learning and resources to other key groups. This will involve: developing training around behaviour change, greater knowledge of the benefits of physical activity and signposting specifically in relation to physical activity; developing on-line and offline resource materials; developing a technical hub for staff to share experiences and best practice and evaluation and measurement of impact.
- We will jointly employ a member of staff for the two year project and they will work across our areas directly with NHS/PH professionals (through the BOB PG & HEE TV) to: identify the initial workforce target group; understand the specific skills gap relating to PA; determine the best training and delivery methods; create the appropriate training material; deliver training; learn and improve. They could be hosted by one of the APs or directly by the NHS.
- We will work with the NHS BOB PG and BOB Workforce Gp who will provide us with the best direct access into the NHS / PH staff we want to access and support. We have been embedded with these strategic groups for the past 2 years not only helping to ensure that PA has been a priority but also already helping them to deliver outcomes such as their MECC launch and the #MovingCan Campaign. This has ensured we have built a significant level of trust and collaboration across the NHS BOB footprint.
We expect to learn:
How best to engage with NHS staff
Which groups of NHS staff and allied health care professionals can have the most significant impact on lifestyle change in the public
What is their confidence, knowledge and skills gap around promoting physical activity
What type of training, delivery and resources best suit the needs of this workforce audience
We then expect to have:
Sufficient expertise to target this learning at other selected NHS workforce groups
To have a sustainable resource bank of material
An ability to share this knowledge and training resources across the network & SE for delivery across the NHS and PH
This will be a 2-year project to get to the point in the bullet above. Success measures will be developed with BOB PG & included in full bid.
Up to £130k over 2-years. NHS will provide in-kind resources and support.