Key News
General Practice Mentoring Scheme
Now open to First Contact Practitioners and Physician Associates
Our mentoring scheme provides an opportunity to have comfortable, guided conversations with someone who understands your role in General Practice.
The Training Hubs General Practice Mentoring scheme is now open to First Contact Practitioners and Physician Associates across Coventry and Warwickshire. Mentoring is free, flexible and confidential. GPs, GPNs and Managers in Practice can continue to access this mentoring scheme also.
To register for our mentoring scheme, please click here and you will be given access to the Mentor Profiles, allowing you to decide which mentor you think you would like to be matched with.
What can be discussed in mentoring?
A mentor can support with a wide range of areas, covering your career development, understanding your role and more. Some of these areas can include:
- Career development
- Leadership roles (and working towards them)
- Maintaining a work/life balance
- Career breaks and retirement
- Undertaking a portfolio career
- General conversations around your role
Primary Care Visa Support Scheme
With the recent news around the closure of the NHS England Visa Support service from the 31st May, we would like to reiterate that our Primary Care Visa Support Scheme will continue to operate for practices across Coventry and Warwickshire after this date. The Training Hub is able to reimburse practices (up to a maximum of £600) that are applying to become a Home Office approved sponsor.
For more information on this scheme, please visit our webpage.
Useful resources
Medical Education Team
Medical Education Team – April Update
April has seen another busy month for the Education Team. We had a session on lipids to start the month off with an in-person event for Warwickshire North and a virtual PLT for Coventry being held on the same day.
On the 24th April, we held a lunch session on liver function tests followed by a virtual PLT session for South Warwickshire. In total, over 700 people attended our events in April!
If you missed an event or just want to catch up, a reminder that all of our events are recorded and available on our website. This is open to all clinical roles within Coventry and Warwickshire.
Email crgpa.education.cwth@nhs.net for more details.
PLT sessions – May 2024
Coventry – 22nd May: Cancer (Online or Face-to-Face at the Village Hotel)
Rugby – 16th May: Cancer
South Warwickshire – 16th May: Cancer & Palliative Care
Warwickshire North – 22nd May: Cancer
For details on Lunch & Learn sessions, PLT recordings and more – take a look at our dedicated Medical Education page.
For information on the education programme for the Summer, please click here
Health and Wellbeing
Feel confident in supporting your staff with their wellbeing
As the workplace becomes increasingly demanding, it’s essential for managers to have the mental health skills necessary to support their teams.
We are pleased to share an opportunity for managers and leaders working in and supporting general practice to register for the accredited Mental Health Skills for Managers training delivered by MINDs workplace mental health experts.
This training is open to anyone that manages staff working in a PCN, Practice, Federation, Alliance and C&W Training Hub.
What will I learn?
This training workshop is centered around supporting you and by attending, you will learn to:
- Identify if an employee may be experiencing mental health issues
- Feel confident having open conversations about mental health
- Appropriately signpost to available support and know where to go for support and guidance for yourself
- Role model good self-care practice, inspiring your team to look after their own mental health and wellbeing
How can I register?
It is as easy as clicking the ‘register here’ button below and filling out a few boxes!
Mental Health First Aid (England) training
The course will run over 4 half days to enable you to attend whilst also balancing work priorities; details are below with the link to register your interest.
Who can attend the MHFA course?
The MHFA course is ideal for staff at every level who would like to become an MHFAider® to gain the knowledge and skills to spot signs of a person experiencing poor mental health, be confident to start a conversation and signpost a person to appropriate support.
As a Mental Health First Aider you will be able to:
- Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention
- Encourage a person to identify and access sources of professional help and other supports
- Practise active listening and empathy
- Have a conversation with improved mental health literacy around language and stigma
How to have healthy conflict conversations
Open to anyone working in and supporting General Practice!
What’s the challenging conversation that is holding you back at the moment? Or what is a conversation that you know you should have but are avoiding?
We all face conversations that feel hard and uncomfortable, understanding what happens to us when we are triggered is key to changing how we go about having more effective and useful conversations.
Our next webinar, How to have healthy conflict conversations, is happening at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15th May.
Hosted by Annie Hanekom & Dr Sarah Coope, at the May Work Well Webinar you will learn:
- How to avoid dysfunctional approaches to a tricky conversation
- Steer clear of having conversations when triggered
- Get better at managing our response
Self-Care Awards
The Self Care Forum, a national charity which aims to further the reach of self-care and embed it into everyday life, is looking to award and recognise outstanding practices and innovations in self-care, personalised care and social prescribing.
If your organisation has made a demonstrable difference in facilitating self-care among individuals or groups, consider submitting an entry. Winners will be promoted on the Self Care Forum website and receive a cash prize of £500. The deadline for entry is Wednesday 31st July 2024.
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB)
REACH Staff Network – (RACE, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage)
In March we launched our first EDIB Staff Network. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all those who attended and enriched the conversation with their lived experience, questions and suggestions for future events.
Our next Staff Network will be held in June, watch this space for details!
What is a staff network & how can I get involved?
What is a staff network?
A staff network is a safe space to discuss and learn from those in underrepresented groups and who have experienced inequality and discrimination. These discussions and learnings will enable us to put support in place; improving the experience of staff in General Practice and impacting patient care.
Who can join?
All members of staff within General Practice are welcome to attend to get involved with discussions.
Confidentiality
Any personal discussions had during meetings aren’t shared elsewhere without explicit permission from all of those who are mentioned or involved.
How can I register my interest to become a member?
You can register your interest by filling out the survey below.
Freedom to Speak Up
Most speaking up happens through conversations with supervisors and line managers where challenges are raised and resolved quickly.
We strive for a culture where that is normal, everyday practice and encourage you to explore this option – it may well be the easiest and simplest way of resolving matters.
Please contact your Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, Dr Mai Elftise, who can support you to speak up if you feel unable to do so by other routes. You can contact her via pcftsu.guardian@nhs.net.
Further information on ‘Speaking Up’ can be found in our Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Policy for General Practice
Training and CPD
Upcoming Training
Limb Examination Day – 16th August
Session is open to Paramedics, Advanced Practitioners and Physician Associates
Learn how to perform a comprehensive limb examination to improve patient care.
For more information and to book – please click here
Foundation Training in Immunisation (2 day course -14/15 May)
Training is open to Healthcare Support Workers and Trainee Nurse Associates new to Immunisation
For more information and to book – please click here.
Diabetes courses
Below are a handful of the diabetes related courses coming up, for more please visit the Training Calendar and select ‘Diabetes’ within the subject drop down.
Younger Adults With Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) – Treating Patients Aged – 8th May
Practical use of oral therapies in Type 2 diabetes: Evaluating treatment options – 9th May
Training and CPD Calendar
Searching for training and education?
Our calendar shows upcoming training and education events for all workforce roles across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Browse the calendar by date or search by keyword, then click on the event to find out more information, such as the location, times, cost, and how to book!
Did-Not-Attend/Cancellations
We all know how very frustrating DNAs and late cancellations are for general practice – they are a waste of resources, create additional work and most importantly prevent others accessing services.
Unfortunately, as a Training Hub we are seeing the same behaviours when it comes to training and education events. Recent examples include the Mental Health Skills for Managers session where we had 5 people turn up after 16 registered for a half day training session and then had to cancel a fully booked course because we received 12 last minute cancellations out of 16 booked places
The training events we run are requested by General Practice for General Practice. Whilst we appreciate that there may be occasions where plans have to be changed last minute, can we please ask if you or your team book to attend an event, that you honour your booking wherever possible.
Should this trend continue, the Training Hub may look at enforcing a cancellation policy. Thank you all in advance for your support
Learning and Development Opportunities
Mary Seacole programme
The Mary Seacole programme is an innovative and inspirational leadership development programme from the NHS Leadership Academy.
Specifically for those newly in or aspiring to be in a formal first time leadership role, the six month-long programme has been exclusively designed and developed for people working in health and social care.
For more information on the programme and key dates, please visit our webpage.
Multi Disciplinary Team (aka ARRS roles)
First Contact Practitioner (FCP) Roadmap – Congratulations!
We would like to congratulate Tracey Ashcroft, Georgia Rook and Jennifer Cone on completing the First Contact Practitioner (FCP) Roadmap.
If you would like more information on the roadmap, or the support we can provide, please contact cw.traininghub@nhs.net.
GPA Training Programme
March saw the start of the General Practice Assistant (GPA) Programme at the Coventry and Warwickshire Training Hub. Lead by our expert teams, the GPA programme is holding support sessions in 3 modules covering the 5 competency areas within the GPA Curriculum Framework over the next 10 months.
This innovative programme has GPAs enrolled from across the region who are rotating modules every 3 months. They will have face-to-face, hands-on clinical practice, communication and mental health sessions plus online sessions.
The GPAs have the unique opportunity to build a cohesive network across the region. We are currently only 6 weeks into the course and the current cohort have already attended several sessions, networked with GPA peers, joined our online teams community and accessed a range of fantastic resources to help them meet their training goals.
The offer for the full 10 months programme has now passed but if your practice has recently employed a GPA and would like them to access our remaining sessions, please contact the Training Hub team.
GP News
First5 Event – Registration Open
Aspiring Leaders Fellows – Open for applications
The Aspiring Leaders Fellowships provide exciting opportunities for eligible GPs to spend time working in local general practice, with funded time to upskill in a particular field.
Applications are now open for 2024/25. Please click here for details of the fellowship and how to apply.
For more information on the Aspiring Leaders Fellowships and to see what past applicants have done , please visit our webpage.
Parental Leave Support Network
The next support circle is on the 28th May, starting at 10am at Kenilworth Methodist church or the 31st May at our new location, Binley Woods Village Hall.
If you are a GP who is on parental leave or just returned to work, please subscribe to the Network, so we can share parental advice and learning events – and receive the link to join the WhatsApp group.
For more resources around parental leave, please visit our webpage.
IMG Networking Event – Save the Date!
A networking event for International Medical Graduate (IMG) GPs across Coventry and Warwickshire will take place at the Village Hotel on Wednesday 12th June. This event will look at leadership roles across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Please save this date in your calendar, registration for this event will open soon.
General Practice Nursing News
Nurses Day – May 12th
Each year, International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12th, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale;s birth. The theme for this years celebrations is ‘The economic power of care’.
To celebrate our GPNs across General Practice, we invite you to share any pictures of you and your teams celebrating International Nurses Day with the Training Hub.
If you are interested in sharing the story of why you became a nurse for a case study, please contact comms.cwth@nhs.net.
Nursing Conference – 4th June
Join us for face to face networking and a programme covering the latest clinical updates and collect your certificate to support your Revalidation requirements/CQC standards.
The event will be free to attend, subsidised by Coventry and Warwickshire Hub, with some sponsors support and a marketplace.
Please note, booking is essential to attend this conference. Secure your place here.
General Practice Nursing – Retention Survey
Thank you for taking the time to fill out our original survey last year. As a result of that survey, our Nursing Team has started to look at ways to further support our GPN workforce across Coventry and Warwickshire.
This should only take a few minutes to complete and your support is greatly appreciated. To fill out this survey, please click here.
This survey will close on the 3rd May.