About the trust
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is located in Harlow, Essex and is a medium sized District General Hospital providing acute and specialist services to a local population of over a quarter of a million people. It has approximately 3000 members of staff.
Background
To build on a history of excellent partnership working with Trade Unions at PAHT, the Trust wanted to provide an educational resource centre for its staff, so that it could support/motivate them to:
- deliver high quality care for patients
- achieve a worthwhile job with chances to develop
- provide opportunities for improved ways of working
The learning centre project has further strengthened links with trade unions which have been vital to ensure the full utilisation by staff. Support and expertise was obtained from existing learning centres and links were established with further and higher education institutions, Union Learn, Learn Direct, Move On, Essex County Workforce Group and private providers.
Project delivery
The aim of the project was to establish a new learning centre at the trust. The project was jointly owned, developed and administered by staff-side and the PAHT training department. It had a project board/steering group jointly chaired by staff-side and management. This group reported directly to the Trust’s Joint Staff Consultative Committee, Workforce Review Group and the Lifelong Learning Steering Group.
The learning centre utilised five existing offices and corridor space, which was converted into two rooms with cloakroom facilities. The rooms are available for use by the Trust and trade unions for much needed extra training accommodation to support the Trust’s learning and development agenda. One room is specifically for IT use with desk top PCs and smart board and the second, larger room, provides more flexible accommodation for training/ learning activities.
The centre was officially opened on 4th March 2010 by Prof. Ann Keen MP who was at the time Under Secretary of State for Health and Chair of the Social Partnership Forum.
Project outputs
The PAHT learning centre provides additional learning activities which include:
- Provision of literacy, numeracy and IT learning activities
- Supporting NVQ/Apprenticeship programmes
- Supporting Recruitment activities
- Provision of courses sponsored by the Trade Unions
- Training targeted at staff in bands 1 to 4 (Pre-Professional workforce)
- Training and learning promotional events
- A range of practical training such as, interview skills, presentations, etc.
- Support for their Union Learning Rep’s network
- Access to careers and redeployment information
- Access to information, advice and guidance as part of their Matrix accreditation
- Support for School/College liaison projects
Since opening the following have been achieved:
- 52 staff have had their Key Skills testing/re-testing
- 97 staff have attended pre-NVQ/Apprenticeship workshops
- 67 new Health Care Assistants have had Literacy/Numeracy assessments
- 164 staff have received IAG from our Matrix accredited team
- Initial Dyslexia assessments are being carried out
- Over 30 local teachers/college lecturers have attended NHS awareness/NHS careers events
- Over 100 school and college students have been helped with NHS careers information
The centre works as a satellite of the Hertfordshire Trade Union Learning Centre (funded by the Union Learning Fund) and one day a week tutors visit PAHT to provide/facilitate learning supported by Learn Direct, Move On and other awarding bodies. So far this provision has supported:
- 7 learners working towards their Numeracy at level 1
- 2 learners working towards their Numeracy at level 2
- 3 learners working towards their Literacy at level 2
- 9 learners on basic IT and informal learning aims
- 5 successful test passes have already been achieved and these learners have progressed onto a second qualification
Tutors have also provided PAHT staff with IAG on other courses and provision within our local area, and have developed an excellent partnership with the Trusts training department, especially assisting with NVQ/Apprenticeship programmes.
The Learning Centre has been made available to staff from other NHS organisations.
Further information and contact information:
Sylvia Hayes, Staff Side Secretary, Unite Steward and ULR
sylvia.hayes@pah.nhs.uk
01279 444455 X3275
Martin Smith, Head of Training
martin.smith@pah.nhs.uk
01279 827630