ASSIST/UKCHIP Derby

1. ASSIST/UKCHIPDerby January 2002 Janet White Stakeholder Relations

2. Vision • Support national electronic care records to improve patient care • Provide information services and knowledge for decision making • Establish Health Informatics as a recognised national profession • Provide reliable and secure information infrastructure services

3. Health Informatics with professional standards? • There are so many opportunities to get things wrong • There are so many boundaries to cross • There are so many expectations to meet • We all know bad informatics kills • It’s amazing we don’t get it wrong more often • WHY?

4. 1 DH 34 CANCER NETWORKS 4 DH&SC 28 StHAs 60m PATIENTS 500+ TRUSTS 1m STAFF Set it in context, lest we forget …… EVERY DAY • almost a million people visit their family doctor • 130,000 go to the dentist for a check up • 33,000 people get the care they need in A&E • 8,000 people are carried by NHS ambulances • 1.5 million prescriptions are dispensed • 2,000 babies are delivered • 25,000 operations are carried out including • 320 heart operations and 125 kidney operations • 30,000 people receive a free eye test • District nurses make 100,000 visits

5. An Analogy (Health Care Scientists) • Over 40,000 individuals in the NHS • Essential for diagnosis & treatment (contibute directly & indirectly to 90% of EPR • 47+ professional groups • 70+ different professions • Just a few: MTOs, phlebotomists, biomedical scientists, clinical scientists, optometrists, physicists, geneticists, immunologists, medical imaging staff, radiotherapy staff, hearing therapists, physiological measurement staff, perfusionists, mortuary staff • Only some State Registered • Only some with established CPD schemes • Some groups very small, others huge

6. So what’s the problem? • Diversity & fragmentation made them impossible to engage sensibly • No economies of scale in core training & education • Poor recognition by public, patients, DoH and other Health Care professionals • Recruitment & retention problems • Wide variation in T&Cs • Difficulty in establishing professionalism & standards

7. The solution • Band together • Single umbrella term (Health Care Scientists) • Federate the 47+ professional bodies • Chief Scientific Officer in DoH • Launch HR strategy • Set targets for recruitment and retention • Set professional standards • Provide a voice and recognition

8. HR strategy: Making the Change • A strategy for the professions in healthcare science • Date of release: 28/02/2001 • Raises the profile of the professions working in Healthcare Science • Describes their activities • Indicates how they will be supported and developed in the future • so that patients benefit, and innovation is introduced into all aspects of health care • Introduces an agenda for change

9. HR strategy: Making Information Count • A strategy for the professions in Health Informatics • Date of release: 30/10/02 • Defines Health Informatics • Identifies and raises the profile of the professions working in Health Informatics • Describes Health Informatics activities • Indicates how Health Informaticians will be supported and developed in the future

10. Federation of Healthcare Sciences • Umbrella group bringing all Health Care Sciences together • 3 strands: • Life Sciences • Physiological Sciences • Physics and Engineering Sciences • Single unitary body to do Health care Sciences business • Sensible unit of engagement

11. UK CHIP • UK Council for Health Informatics Professions • A means of ensuring that all of those concerned with heath informatics have appropriate qualifications and experience • Professional registration body for all those involved in health informatics

12. Crisis in recruitment and retention HCS staff are often undervalued, inappropriately managed and poorly paid HR Strategy (2001) Federation of HCS established Registration under Health Professions Council Recruitment targets set Retention schemes established CSO appointed Workforce development confederations involved CPD Schemes Lack of capacity to deliver 21C IT Informaticians are often undervalued, inappropriately managed and poorly paid HR Strategy (2002) UKCHIP formed Professional registration body ?????????????? Director General appointed But Health Informatics is about a year behind Spot the similaritiesHealthcare Sciences : Health Informatics

13. Educational Include: Formal courses Educational qualifications attained during the CPD period Discussion groups Conferences Authoring refereed papers Research presentations Journal based learning exercises Structured essay exercises Professional include: Membership of professional bodies Inspection/accreditation activities Lecturing/examination activities Speaking/presenting at conferences Refereeing papers Editorial/committee activities associated with professional bodies and publications CPDAccredited activities are categorised as either educational or professional

14. CPD • Credit ratings from 0.1 upwards (0.1 nominally equating to 1 hours worth of activity) • 25 credits required over a maximum of a five year period • 60% credits must come from the educational category • Participants register, are supplied with folders outlining the scheme with templates for collection (recording and authorising involvement in activities) of credits • self-completed but activities must be authorised (signed off) by either a local CPD officer or the central CPD office • For some large national activities CPD certificates (supplied by the professional body) are issued (on completion of the activity) and these stand in lieu of authorisation • Once 25 credits have been achieved, the folder is returned to the central CPD office for checking and award of CPD certificate.

15. Journal based learning (JBL) exercises • 2 per month • published by the CPD office • multiple choice question exercises • based on information contained in a readily available, current and topical journal article • pass mark is 75% for award of 0.2 credits

16. Structured essays • title and a list of useful references • issued by the central CPD office • 2,500 word essay based on information from these references and any other additional material that you research • returned within 2 months of the publication of the Structured essay title • marked by an expert appointed by the CPD office • up to 1.0 credits awarded

17. SUCCESS DEPENDS ON • Striking a balance between individual requirements whilst ensuring profession-wide standards • Managing and meeting expectations • Valuing and celebrating what we have achieved • Providing a challenge but • Making it simple the collective will to do it

18. Contact details • janet.white@nhsia.nhs.uk • Web site: www.nhsia.nhs.uk • E-mail: information@nhsia.nhs.uk