HCS Overview

Owned by Adewale Adekoya
Last updated: 04 Oct 2019
3 min read

National School of Healthcare Science as part of the Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) programme is established to support the implementation and delivery of the new healthcare science education and training programmes and to comply with the structures within 'Liberating the NHS: Developing Healthcare Workforce - Policy 16977 (January 2012)' acting on behalf of the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for England. It also provides some elements of support for the three other UK health departments.

Aim of HCS


The aim of the new educational programmes is to train staff that will be able to work at the highest level in healthcare, understanding and advising on the most recent advances in technology and innovations in patient care, and to have the flexibility and adaptability to work across patient pathways enabling efficient and high quality care. The School is hosted by Health Education England (HEE) West Midlands. 

Please note below information are from the HCS website and are subject to changes after engagement with stakeholders

HCS Programmes

  • NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP)
  • NHS Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST)
  • NHS Practitioner Training Programme (PTP)
  • Apprenticeships
  • Accredited Scientific Practice (ASP)

Systems to consider in the On-boarding 

  •  TIS
  • Oriel
  • OneFile e-portfolio (New system to replace OLAT  E-portfolio)
  •   OLAT e-portfolio (To be retired 31/07/2019 )

HCS Components/features 

  • Programme  
  •  specialisms
  • Location
  •  Rotation
  •  Post
  • Curricula
  • Accreditation,
  • Funding 
  • Submissions 
  • Approval 
  • Assessment

(STP) Assessment - Work base

(STP)Assessment – Competencies and Curricula (Assessment per specialism)

(STP) Assessment - Mid-term Review of Progression (MRP) which is conducted by the National School of Healthcare Science – 2nd year

(STP) Assessment – Objective Structured Final Assessment (OSFA) held at end of 3years for Fit to Practice – 3rd year

 HSST - annual review of progression (ARP) in each year towards development as consultant clinical scientists (CCS)

HCS Stakeholders

  • Trainee (STP and HSST…)
  • HCS
  •  Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
  • Work based providers
  • Accredited work-based departments
  • Training Departments
  • Training Managers
  • (STP) Training Officer,
  • (STP) Supervisor,
  • (STP) Assessor,
  • (STP) Reviewers
  • Training coordinator
  • (STP) Raters
  • Reviewers
  • -(STP) Trainer (Training the trainer)??? Are they needed in this on-boarding?
  • HEE local Offices
  • Lead Scientist (for HSST)
  • Trust Education Lead (for HSST)
  • Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) (for HSST)
  • Universities 

Aston University

University of Birmingham

University of Liverpool

University of Manchester/Manchester Metropolitan University

Newcastle University

The University of Nottingham

Swansea University

HCS processes

  • Training Departments Process(es) of getting a trainee (including Roles and responsibilities of Training Officer, Supervisor, Assessor, Reviewers and Raters)
  • Applicant/trainee process
  • STP process
  • HSST process

Careers and training pathways

HCS Applicant process

Forms

  • DOPS (Directly Observed Procedural Skills); CBD (Case based discussion) and OCE (Observed Clinical Examination)
  • Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between trainee and schools
  • Exceptional Extenuating Circumstances Application Form
  • Transfer of Training application form for trainees
  • Observed Clinical Events (OCE) – For PTP

Communications

  • Between workplace/training centres and the academic provider
  • HEI and Workplace/training centres
  • HEE and employer of HSST

Other information to Know about HCS

  • OLAT retires and OneFile e-portfolio service to be used by STP and HSST
  • Potential Trainees apply through Oriel
  • Training always starts in September
  • DPIA – Data Protection Impact Assessment to be in place???

Useful links and to create for HCS/TIS


Slack: https://hee-nhs-tis.slack.com/
Jira issues: https://hee-tis.atlassian.net/issues/?filter=14213