1 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT1.1 Health Education England (HEE) exists in order to improve the quality of care for patients by delivering a better health and healthcare workforce for England, through the education, training and personal development of every member of staff, and by recruiting for values. HEE supports and lives by the values of the NHS Constitution and is committed to playing a full role across the NHS as a vital part of the quality and delivery infrastructure locally and nationally. HEE is avowedly a multi-professional organisation, focusing on the whole workforce current and future.1.2 The purpose of this document is to outline how we propose to support the creation of a sustainable future for HEE by making changes to the organisational structure in order to enhance and improve our delivery as the single national body in England responsible for planning for, and the education and training of, the Public Health and Healthcare Workforce.1.3 Publication of this document launches a period of 30 days’ formal consultation with affected staff, other HEE staff, our recognised Trade Union partners and other national and local stakeholders. The consultation period begins on Thursday 3 July and ends at midnight on Monday 4 August.1.4 As the proposals include a reduction in the number of staff employed in the affected areas, HEE has also formally notified the national Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), which acts on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. This is a statutory requirement and the same information has also been shared with our recognised Trade Unions.
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Consultation response
Health Education England: Realising Our Potential - a sustainable future for Health Education England
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is pleased to respond to Health Education England on its consultation on Realising Our Potential: a sustainable future for Health Education England. Our comments are as follows:
Q1. What is the most appropriate geography for the National Directors with local oversight
The College considers a structure that mirrors the structure for NHS England would help link key education and service priorities.
Q2. Should a clinical qualification be a requirement for a LETB Director Role?
Yes – this provides clinical leadership locally and generates confidence within the clinical community.
Q3. How should LETBs be represented on the Provider HEE Advisory Group (HEEAG)?
The College believes some flexibility for local determination would be best.
Q4. What should the reporting and accountability arrangements be for the new posts of Heads of Finance and Directors of Education and Quality?
The College recognises the reservations about a new regional layer for HEE, but if the national directors (geography) are to work well with their functional colleagues then the 4 Directors of Finance and Education and Quality should be managerially accountable to the local Director and professionally accountable to the functional executive directors.
Other General Comments
The College is concerned that this newly structured organisation will be losing a significant number of experienced and senior educationalists due to cost pressures, and that this will weaken the ability of LETBs to deliver and quality assure high quality education at a time of significant change in the NHS in England. The overall effect may be to centralise planning and decision making and weaken the delivery of education locally. This requires careful monitoring given the proposed new structure has not been piloted to test effectiveness.