News story

Guy's and St Thomas' announces LPI partnership to transform NHS learning delivery

UKLearning NewsLPI (Learning and Performance Institute)

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust aims to set a new standard of learning delivery across the NHS by offering the LPI's certified programme for live online facilitators.

 

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, a London-based provider of healthcare to the capital, and the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI), the foremost accreditation body for learning professionals and providers, today announced a landmark partnership that transforms how NHS trusts can deliver learning, by upskilling classroom trainers to become certified live online facilitators.

Guy's and St Thomas', includes two of London’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, adult and children’s community services in Lambeth and Southwark and a range of other services throughout south London and south east England. The alliance brings together the expertise of Essentia, the team which delivers non-clinical Guy's and St Thomas' services including IT, and a Training Team delivering both clinical and non clinical courses, with the LPI's highly respected and established Certified Online Learning Facilitator (COLF) programme to create a game-changing certification for healthcare learning professionals.

Under the terms of the agreement, Guy's and St Thomas' will be the sole partner authorised by the LPI to deliver the COLF programme within the NHS. NHS Trusts considering live online learning as a complement or replacement to traditional classroom training will now have a central point of contact and trusted supplier within the NHS.

Why live online learning?

Studies conducted by the LPI and other research bodies show that live online learning is taking precedence over traditional classroom training. Benefits such as reduced travel time and accommodation costs, faster deployment of knowledge and skills and less time away from the job, mean that learning can be delivered in greater volume when demanded by the business.

For time and budget-pressured NHS Trusts, live online learning provides an effective and economical mechanism to deliver focused and 'just-in-time' learning to large numbers of people. Recognising this, the team at Guy's and St Thomas' has worked with the LPI to make the COLF programme and certification available to the entire NHS. Delegates who pass the programme assignments are awarded the COLF Certification (issued by the LPI) and permitted to use the official COLF logo on all personal stationery.

Embracing the spirit of the digital health initiative.

Scott Sommerville, Chief Information Officer, Essentia, said: "We welcome this exciting opportunity to work in partnership with the LPI to introduce the COLF programme to other members of the healthcare sector. The COLF programme enables the delivery of flexible learning solutions at a time when the way we deliver patient care is rapidly changing. Online learning at Guy's and St Thomas' has enabled us to deliver cost-saving, timely, targeted learning to a wide range of staff  This partnership will provide healthcare learning professionals with the skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver online facilitated learning to their staff across a variety of clinical environments."

Edmund Monk, Managing Director, LPI, said: "Thousands of learning professionals, all over the world, are realising the need to invest in modern delivery skills. The LPI is fundamentally obliged to address  this, and has done so consistently throughout its twenty year history. This strategic alliance with Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust will provide a comprehensive programme, upskilling NHS learning professionals in live online learning delivery. Critically, the COLF programme will be delivered to the NHS by the NHS. We are delighted to collaborate with Guy's and St Thomas' and look forward to the results of a modernised, easy-to-access learning approach within our most valued service."

Further Information.

Guy's and St Thomas' will run its first COLF course in January-February 2017. Dates and times are available on the LPI COLF website.

The team will also run an interactive webinar on Friday 2 December 2016 at 10am. Registration is available here.

More information about the NHS COLF certification is available via email to [email protected] or via https://www.thelpi.org/certified-online-learning-facilitator-for-nhs/.

More information about Guy's and St Thomas' is available at http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk.