Quality Management
Education & Training
Quality Management of the learning environment
NHSE Quality Strategy and Framework
NHSE is responsible for ensuring that there are high quality learning environments for all healthcare learners in England. It has a statutory duty to secure continuous improvements in the quality of education and training and to promote the skills and behaviours that upholds the NHS Constitution. In order to effectively deliver this responsibility and to secure the continuous improvements in quality, NHSE introduced the NHSE Quality Strategy and NHSE Quality Framework. The strategy and framework describes a multi-professional and risk-based approach to quality management. Risks are graded using the NHSE Intensive Support Framework.
The NHSE Thames Valley quality team is responsible for implementing the framework, on behalf of the Postgraduate Dean, across the Thames Valley region and for ensuring compliance with other professional regulators such as the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). NHSE’s quality standards have been mapped to other professional regulators’ education standards.
The General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) registers doctors to practise medicine in the UK. Its purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine. The GMC website is www.gmc-uk.org/
The Law gives the GMC five main functions under the Medical Act 1983:
- The medical register – keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
- Standards for doctors – defining what makes a good doctor
- Education and training – ensuring doctors receive high standards of medical education and training
- Addressing concerns – dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt
- Revalidation – ensuring that every licensed doctor in the UK has kept their knowledge and skills up to date.
The General Medical Council requires NHSE local offices to have a system which includes the use of external advisors and external input at key stages of specialty training. External advisors may be lay or professional.
The GMC is responsible for the regulation of education and training throughout a doctor’s career, from medical school through the Foundation Programme and specialty training, including general practice training programmes, to continuing professional development.
The GMC’s quality assurance processes are set out on its website http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/assuring_quality.asp. The GMC’s publication Promoting Excellence sets out standards for undergraduate and postgraduate medical training. The standards set by the GMC have been mapped to HEE’s quality standards.
The General Dental Council
The General Dental Council (GDC) regulates dentists and dental care professions in the UK. This includes clinical dental technicians, dental hygienists, dental nurses, dental technicians, dental therapists, and orthodontic therapists. The GDC’s role is to protect the public by regulating these professionals. Their website is https://www.gdc-uk.org
In 2018, the GDC introduce a revised, risk-based approach to the way in which it quality assures education and training programmes leading to registration with the GDC. The GDC’s Standards for Education sets out its expectations for courses that lead to registration to demonstrate. These have been mapped to NHSE’s quality standards