Medical training

Accepted.
In the new health and care system architecture, Memoranda of Understanding exist between key partners such as Health Education England and the Care Quality Commission, to share information and concerns about the quality and safety of providers. Memoranda of Understanding and other protocols for sharing information also exist between the Care Quality Commission and the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Health Education England will work with the system and professional regulators to develop these further.
The recently established Quality Surveillance Groups bring together the different parts of the system to share information including shared views of risks to quality and any early warning signs of risk about poor quality. Health Education England as well as the system and professional regulators are members of the regional Quality Surveillance Groups.

Health Education England merged with NHS England in 2023.

The Education Quality Framework (last refreshed 2024) applies to the quality of all healthcare education and training of all learners across all clinical learning environment within which they are placed, and provides an over-arching set of multi-professional quality standards for the clinical learning environment.

The NHS England education quality function works with education and placement providers, and other stakeholders, to support learners in their career pathways and transition from healthcare education programmes to employment. We work collaboratively with system partners to maintain and improve practice placement capacity and capability. By working in partnership, we can ensure training is responsive to new care delivery models and supports workforce transformation and a sustainable workforce supply.

The actions set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan support our commitment to improving the quality of healthcare education and training and reduce course leaving rates.

The National School of Healthcare Science is responsible for accrediting work-based providers of school programmes.

Royal Colleges set professional standards.

The national guidance for the operation of Quality Surveillance Groups was updated in March 2014 to reflect early experience of sharing information between system regulators and commissioners. Early discussions about information causing concern are now occurring before meetings between local representatives of NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, Monitor and Health Education England, with some shared quality monitoring visits occurring where this is relevant.

Quality Surveillance Groups are beginning to review health care economies rather than just acute care providers and plan themed meetings, considering specific risk areas across providers, for example the provision of intermediate care or older person’s services. Quality monitoring visits are also evolving - Health Education England is developing a multi-professional approach to visiting, encompassing the education and training culture and environment for all healthcare professionals. As Health Education England and the Care Quality Commission refine their acute, community and primary care visiting processes, updated memoranda of understanding will be required and there will be increasing opportunities to incorporate experience of quality monitoring processes in to clinician’s training. Health Education England is finalising the memoranda of understanding with the Care Quality Commission. Health Education England is also currently working with the professional regulators to develop a series of memoranda of understanding, where appropriate, to support the ongoing working relationships with the aim of promoting patient safety and high quality education and training.

This recommendation was accepted by the Government as well as by the General Medical Council in its spring 2013 initial response.

In the January 2014 Hard Truths report, the Government said that memoranda of understanding and protocols for sharing information existed between the Care Quality Commission and Health Education England, the General Medical Council and the Nursing a Midwifery Councill. The Government also referred to Health Education England’s membership of regional Quality Surveillance Groups.

A Memorandum of Understanding between Health Education England and the Care Quality Commission memorandum of understanding (publicly available version dated May 2016) included information sharing provisions between the two organisations.

The joint operational protocol between General Medical Council and the Care Quality Commission (publicly available version dated June 2020) contained information sharing provisions, including any concerns the General Medical Council has about training.

The joint working protocol between the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Care Quality Commission (publicly available version dated November 2017) contained information sharing provisions, including any concerns the Nursing and Midwifery Council had about training at an organisation.