Skills for Health and UK Departments of Health are working together on a programme of work to embed the Healthcare Scientists National Occupational Standards (NOS) in practice and learning and establish national career and qualification frameworks. This work links to, and integrates with, a number of other UK-wide mainstream initiatives e.g. the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF), the HCS Career Framework and other HCS workforce policy initiatives to support government priorities.

The joint programme is an extension of, and will build upon, the UK wide NOS HCS Project and the HCS Career Framework led by Professor Sue Hill, Department of Health (England) Chief Scientific Officer. It will include the project to modernise pre-registration education and training.

A Skills for Health Team took up post in July 2005 to take this work forward and they are currently working on a programme plan which needs to reflect the views and needs of a wide range of stakeholders. The Education and Training Project will run over the first two years of the Programme and have the objectives of embedding NOS into practice at all levels of the career framework.

The proposed Strategy Group will be chaired by Sue Hill and will have UK wide membership including Professional Bodies and the Health Professions Council. It is planned for the first meeting of this group to be in October 2005. Once the programme plan has been agreed by the Strategy Group it will be circulated widely.

The team currently consists of six people but this is likely to increase as the scope of the programme is identified.

Pippa Hodgson Programme Manager
Michelle Logan Development Manager
Martin Boom Development Manager
Lesley Burn Project Adviser
Tba Technical Consultant
Jean Tonry Administrator

Queries on the Healthcare Science Programme can be directed to Pippa Hodgson (pippa.hodgson@skillsforhealth.org.ok), or to any members of the team via Jean Tonry on 0121 767 1388.

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