A Competence based
Career Management Framework
for the Allied Health Professions
Project Information Bulletin 2: May 2006
Skills for Health has been established as a Sector Skills Council to ensure everyone working in the health sector gets every chance to learn, become competent and develop their career. Our job is to make sure that everyone has clear standards of good practice to aim for.
Project Aims
Skills for Health is undertaking a strategically important project to develop a competence-based Career Management Framework for the Allied Health Professions.
The project has three main aspects. These are:
- to develop Competences and ensure they are relevant to the work of AHPs and their staff;
- to link AHP roles into the Career Framework; and
- to develop a Framework of Awards and Qualifications for the work of AHPs and their staff
The Competences will be nationally recognised and therefore transferable across all sectors of health care – NHS, independent, voluntary and military. They will cover the work of all staff of all grades in all locations.
The Competences will be linked to the Knowledge and Skills Framework within Agenda for Change. The link to Awards and Qualifications will be within the nationally recognised framework of awards such as Scottish / National Vocational Qualifications, Foundation Degrees, Honours Degrees and Post Graduate Qualifications.
The project covers:
Arts Therapies (Music, Drama & Art)(AT)
Dietetics(Diet)
Chiropody & Podiatry(Pod)
Occupational Therapy(OT)
Operating Department Practitioners(ODP)
Orthoptics(Orth)
Physiotherapy(PT)
Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O)
Radiography (Diagnostic & Therapeutic)(Rad)
Speech & Language Therapy(S<)
Project update – The project has been operational since July 2005 and as part of the first stage has aimed to produce a competence framework that reflects all functions for all levels and grades of staff across the AHPs. Initial work consisted of extensive desk research on each of the AHPs identifying key information about each profession, including:
§ type, scope and areas of work
§ existing job and role structures and titles
§ stakeholders
§ locations and sites
§ functions
§ related projects and reports
§ Career Framework information
§ education & training
When the desk research was completed, an AHP function map was produced. This was reviewed against the Health Functional Map, which provides an organising structure for the database of competences that have been approved as National Occupational Standards. The map and approved competences are maintained by Skills For Health. From this the technical team were able to develop a draft framework of functional competences covering all AHPs in scope, incorporating relevant existing competences that have been developed in other projects.
Frontline staff at identified sites who had agreed to participate in the project were then asked to review and comment on the information. The site visits and work by the sites in the intervening period were carefully planned and structured to ensure that those participating did not feel overwhelmed by the size of the task or the amount of their time required completing it.
In total 22 sites have been involved and 163 frontline staff have taken part in the first stage of this project.
Sites that have being used to test stage one of the competence framework include:
Northwick Park Hospital(S<,OT,PT), Loughborough Hospital(PT,OT), Maidstone Hospital(Rad), Torbay Hospital (PT) HM Stanley Hospital(Orth), Wrexham Hospital(Orth), North Staffs PCT( AHP managers), Camden PCT (OT,Pod), Wolverhampton(OT, PT, Pod,D,S<), Royal Cornwall Hospital(Rad), Northampton PCTs(Pod,Diet,OT,PT,OT), Milford Hospital, Surrey(OT,Rad,PT,S<), North London Forensic Service(AT,OT), Milton Keynes PCT,(S<,Diet,Orth,PT,OT,AT), Southhampton General Hospital(ODP) Cheltenham (S<), Private Practice Torquay(Pod),Walsall PCT(S<), Social Services Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea(OT), Glasgow (P&O), Severn&West Deanery(AHP managers)
The next stages of the project will involve:
1)National Reference Group
A National Reference Group for this project has been convened and is due to meet in May. The overall purpose of the National Reference group is to assure the quality of the project deliverables. This group will review the competences and feedback from the test sites and advise on their content. This is to ensure they are correct, are fit for purpose and implementable.
2) Stage 2 Competence development
The next stage of competence development will commence in June and will consist of developing the competences to fill the gaps that have been highlighted by Stage 1 of the project. These will again be tested at frontline sites.
3)Career Framework
The NHS Career Framework provides guidance for NHS and partner organisations on the implementation of the flexible career and skills escalator concept, enabling an individual member of staff with transferable competency based skills to progress in a direction which meets workforce service and individual need.
Work will start shortly to map current AHP roles utilising the methodology developed by the Career Framework team onto the AHP career framework.
Web link – Information about the AHP project can be found in the Skills For Health website under Competences under development. There you will find the project outline, project report, the competences that are being examined and frequently asked questions.
Web link:
http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/development_summary.php?id=16
Getting in Contact;
Please contact us if you would like to know more about the project or would like to participate in some aspect of the project
Please contact Alison Strode to register your interest at Skills for Health, Goldsmiths House, Broad Plain, Bristol, BS2 0JP,
Tel: 0117 922 1155.
alison.strode@skillsforhealth.org.uk
Direct line telephone number
0117 910 2288./mobile 07768 995949
Further information is available from:
www.skillsforhealth.org.uk