Seven NHS Trusts Collaborate on E-learning for Mental Health with REDTRAY
In a unique collaboration, seven NHS Trusts across the South East of England have developed new e-learning programmes based on the specific needs of Mental Health care. With content designed by blended learning specialists REDTRAY, the e-learning courses will enable each participating trust to provide training in key areas of healthcare.
Three separate e-learning courses are now available: Managing Risk, Delivering CPA (Care Programme Approach) and Delivering Equality. The topics are aimed at all relevant Mental Health staff across the trusts (with a total of 16,000 potential users) and will give learners the opportunity to acquire knowledge and enhance skills within a Mental Health context. In addition, the e-learning has been developed so that individual trust logos can be added, or specific data customised within templates to better reflect local needs such as contact numbers or reference to local trust policies.
Mark Limber, Project Manager representing the seven SE Mental Health Trusts says, “We need to give staff access to a range of modular mental health learning materials but with a maximum saving on training time and minimum impact on their daily business of providing safe and therapeutic care to service users. E-learning is the ideal platform.
“After an open market tender, REDTRAY was selected as being the best supplier with its considerable track record in the health service,” continues Mark. “REDTRAY has taken a lead role on the design work and has shaped much of the content, over and above what we’d have expected them to do. They’ve created an exceptional e-learning product during this very successful partnership.”
REDTRAY has used industry best-practice to ensure that the e-learning is easy to use and is based on the needs of the learners. Through ‘bite-size’ learning sessions that are highly interactive, the e-learning programme covers the following modules:
• Managing Risk embraces the various applications of risk management within healthcare, including business, clinical and employment related (health and safety) issues. It is intended to address knowledge rather than skill acquisition.
• Delivering CPA is aimed at individuals who have direct user contact and therefore should be involved in contributing to the CPA process. The aim is to develop knowledge and skills about the process and principles of the CPA. This course aims to help individuals to understand the structures of the CPA framework and empower them to be part of the process of recovery with service users.
• Delivering Equality is intended for all members of the workforce both medical and non-medical. The learning programme considers the needs of staff working in corporate functions such as finance, communications, human resources, estates and the needs of clerical and managerial staff.
E-learning is new to the Surrey and Boarders Partnership NHS Trust. Nicola Carter, the Trust’s Learning and Development Coordinator found that working with the other trusts was “extremely rewarding”. Nicola discovered that sharing ideas, not just about the e-learning, has been a key benefit of the collaboration.
Nicola adds: “It’s very rare to find mental health specific e-learning, so this initiative is particularly valuable. REDTRAY has listened to what we wanted and has created an excellent product. It is clear and comprehensive and the assessments are concise and simple to use. I hope it will be extremely useful for our 3,850 staff across 134 different trust sites. And I’m particularly keen to get the training to people who usually miss traditional classroom sessions such as part-time workers and night-staff.”
The e-learning project represents the beginning of a formal partnership of mental health trusts in the SE of England. It is hoped that further collaborative work will be undertaken within this structure and that it can be expanded to encompass other organisations across the country. By working together, the participating trusts will realise benefits of shared best practice, reduced costs and more effective delivery of learning.
So far, the project has delivered huge economies of scale through shared procurement and wide access to digital resources and information systems, combined with quality through shared tools and resources, and common standards of design and effectiveness.
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