Blog

Leading Change, Adding Value: e-learning tool provides support to all nursing, midwifery and care staff to identify and address unwarranted variation in practice

Following the launch of the first Leading Change, Adding Value e-learning tool, Susan Aitkenhead, Director of Nursing, Professional Development at NHS England and Liz Fenton, Deputy Chief Nurse at Health Education England, outline how it will support nursing, midwifery and care staff to identify and address unwarranted variation in practice.

We are delighted to be launching the first Leading Change, Adding Value (LCAV) e-learning tool. Together, Health Education England, NHS England and partner organisations have worked with e-Learning for Healthcare to develop this tool that we hope will help explain and perhaps ‘de-mystify’ the approach to identifying and addressing unwarranted variation in practice.

LCAV is the national framework for nursing, midwifery and care staff in England. Following extensive consultation and feedback, the framework was developed to support nursing, midwifery and care staff working in this time of transformation across all health and care sectors. It aims to truly demonstrate and share the leadership and practice that is undertaken every day by thousands of staff and which results in excellent outcomes and experience for patients, individuals and populations.

Measuring outcomes

LCAV asks that we apply the same importance to ‘quantifying’ and ‘measuring’ the outcomes of our work, as we do to demonstrating the quality and compassion that we are already recognised for. Applying both together should not be mutually exclusive and the framework explains how nursing, midwifery and care staff, whatever their role, wherever they work, can look at what needs to change or could be changed to improve services, experiences and outcomes for patients, individuals and populations. This e-learning tool has been developed to support nursing, midwifery and care staff to identify and address this unwarranted variation in practice.

Since the launch of the national framework in May 2016, it has been clear that many colleagues are already identifying unwarranted variation as part of their everyday practice, however, much of this essential work can often remain hidden or misunderstood, as some of it is not easily measured, captured, or shared.

Making standing of care equal

LCAV specifically looks at reducing ‘unwarranted variation’, where standards of care are not equal and how we can make sure, that by seeing where any inequalities exist and changing them, that everyone can receive the same highest standards of better outcomes, better experiences and better use of resources.

However it has also been clear that for many, this may be a new way of working and that some of the language and principles may be unfamiliar.

Therefore, the aim of this e-learning tool is to provide an opportunity to build, or strengthen current knowledge and skills in the understanding of the impact of unwarranted variation on individuals and populations and then help lead the change required to address this.

The central ethos of the framework is that everyone is a leader, wherever they work, whatever their role. With this in mind, the e-learning tool aims to equip all staff to be able to apply the ten commitments identified within the framework to their role.

Launched today (26 March), the e-learning tool can be accessed here. Recognising that not all nursing, midwifery and care staff might have easy access to online resources, we have also ensured that a pdf version is available. The e-learning session should take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete.

There has been a great deal of work and feedback put in to this tool and we would particularly like to thank the LCAV e-learning tool Task and Finish group for all their hard work and support in helping to create this important tool.

So, we would encourage you and your colleagues to access the e-learning and find out more about the framework. By doing so, nursing, midwifery and care staff can demonstrate our vitally important contribution to the transformational work that is happening across the country. It also offers the opportunity to showcase and share the positive outcomes of that work and also to highlight the key leadership role that nursing, midwifery and care staff must have within both health and care sectors today and for the future.

Susan Aitkenhead

Susan Aitkenhead is a Deputy Chief Nursing Officer to Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England and supports CNO on matters linked to professional regulation, education, research, and collective leadership. This is in addition to the work with ministers, government officials, professional regulators, royal colleges, professional bodies and the Devolved Administrations to help shape policy and decision making.

Susan was previously a Director of Nursing at NHS England leading on a range of work aligned to system and service transformation at national, regional and local levels.

Susan is a registered nurse with extensive clinical, operational and strategic experience within healthcare across a variety of settings; and provider and commissioning executive and non-executive Board roles within both the UK and overseas.

She has also worked in a variety of other national roles such as at the Department of Health providing advice and support to ministers and policy officials across central government departments, and in professional regulation across the UK at the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Twitter: @SAitke
E-mail: susanaitkenhead@nhs.net

Liz Fenton

Liz Fenton (MSc, BSC (Hons), RN, QN) joined Health Education England in July 2015 and become HEE’s Deputy Chief Nurse in October 2017.

Having completed nurse training at Kings College Hospital, London, Liz qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1981 and subsequently held a number of clinical and leadership roles in both acute and community settings including at board level. Liz was awarded the title Queens Nurse in 2017. Passionate about quality improvement Liz works with the Care Quality Commission as a Specialist Advisor and is an elected member of the Community Hospitals Association leadership team.

Liz also acts as a surveyor for national and international peer accreditation, benchmarking services against best practice. Liz has chaired the Leading Change, Adding Value (LCAV) Capacity and Capability Task and Finish Group on behalf of the LCAV Partnership Board, to develop this learning tool which aims to support all nursing, midwifery and care staff to identify and address unwarranted variation in practice.

Leave a Reply to Kassander Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 comments

  1. Kassander says:

    “Launched today (26 March), the e-learning tool can be accessed here.”

    Oh no, it can’t.
    This information is NOT available to we public & patients (P&P) who pay for OUR=NHS.

    It’s only available to a certain cabal.

    “Nothing about me without me.” is dead and buried.

    Mind you, it’s debatable whether many P&P actually read these blogs as they’re all so full of self congratulatory propaganda.

    AND an emphasis on how much MONEY has been saved by reducing the care and treatment which should be available to we P&P.

    • NHS England says:

      Dear Kassander,

      Thank you for your comment.

      The e-learning tool referred to in this blog is aimed at nursing, midwifery and care staff to help support them to identify and address unwarranted variation in practice, and is a training resource not aimed at the public or patients.

      Kind regards,

      NHS England.

      • Kassander says:

        ” … is a training resource not aimed at the public or patients.”

        1) Then why was that not stated in the article

        2) This answer backs up the impression given by so many of these so called “Blogs”, that they are aimed at NHS insiders and ‘you’ are doing us a favour by allowing us to read these publicity puffs

        3) Please publish the address where one can send an FoI Act request to see this

        4) Why are you hiding behind the nom de plume “NHS England”? Name, number and Rank, please.