Professional Education in the School of Health and Social Care: Implications of the Francis Report
Wednesday 20 February 2013
A nursing ethics expert from the University of Surrey welcomes the findings released in the Francis Report. Dr Ann Gallagher said that many of the recommendations in the report have a direct bearing on the work in the University’s School of Health and Social Care. She comments: “Many of the recommendations in the Francis Report have a direct bearing on our work in the School of Health and Social Care. In our School we provide undergraduate and postgraduate education to nurses, midwives, paramedics and operating department practitioners. We are particularly well-placed to respond to the report themes of nursing, leadership and a focus on the care of older people. The report emphasises a ‘focus on culture of caring’ and discussed the importance of values from the selection of recruits and throughout their education and practice experience. The report also recommends the registration of healthcare support workers, and the importance of consistent standards of training.
Ethics and values are a core part of the professional curriculum at the University of Surrey for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of the health professions. We engage with many educational innovations to provide students with opportunities to think about values and practice ethically. Our simulation suite enables students to reflect on their practice and to rehearse challenging ethical situations. Some of our students have worked with theatre students in role play situations so they can gain the confidence they need to intervene effectively when, for example, practice observed may be harmful or distressing for a patient. The School of Health and Social Care also has a Lead for Escalating Concerns. This senior tutor works with students who have concerns about practice, supports them in bringing concerns to the attention of the appropriate authorities (for example, hospital or care home management or the safeguarding department in the local council).
Given the curriculum focus on ethics, leadership and evidence-based practice University of Surrey students are well placed to respond to many of the recommendations in the Francis Report. Our Foundation Degree programme also offers opportunities for healthcare support workers to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to practice safely and ethically. Students on our programmes gain knowledge from different disciplines and this equips them to appreciate the complexity of the situation that led to the tragedy at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. As the report states ‘It was not a single rogue healthcare professional who delivered poor care in Stafford, or a single manager who ignored patient safety, who caused the extensive failure which has been identified. There was a combination of factors, of deficiencies throughout the complexity that is the NHS, which produced the vacuum in which the running of the Trust was allowed to deteriorate’.
None of us can be complacent about our contribution to the quality and safety of care in health and social care services. Students and professionals who have had opportunities to reflect on ethical aspects of their practice and to rehearse ethical responses are well placed to adhere to professional values. Our students engage in many learning activities to enhance their moral sensitivity and to focus on patients as people first. Working well with health and social care students and professionals require that we work well with our practice partners also. The University of Surrey has excellent working relationships with local Trusts and the independent care sector. Such collaboration and the commitment to innovative patient-centred education renders us well-placed to respond to the recommendations in the Francis Report and to make a valuable contribution to the positive experiences of patients and their families.”
To find out more about studying nursing at the University of Surrey please visit: www.surrey.ac.uk/nursing
Media Enquiries
Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk
