The Primary Care Innovation Centre April 2022 Edition:

‘The Principles’

By Liz Leggott, Project Manager

Hi!  Welcome to my first blog…. ever!

I thought that as part of a forward thinking, passionate and resourceful team I would begin to celebrate some of the amazing work we’re all doing.  I’m working on a project that I hope you’ll all be as enthusiastic about as I am, so sit back, relax, and prepare to be excited!

In May 2021, I started in my role with the challenge of ‘we need a building’

Somewhere we can deliver our quality nurse training and where our fellowship groups could meet.

Somewhere we could hold conferences, meetings, some simulated training, and hands on practice with a focus on Primary Care.

Somewhere we could begin to use technologies to enhance our training offer.

We talked about the provision of robust, meaningful inductions to those staff new to primary care and practice life, providing access to the clinical systems and educative discussions about how their individual roles fit into the practice, the PCN and the wider South Yorkshire system….

After only a small amount of research it was clear that this was ‘not just a building’ that we needed.

We needed to build up the Primary Care Workforce substantially, not only in number but in skill and experience.

We needed to get with the times and explore the immersive and augmented reality technologies, interactive learning tools that were already out there and harness the ability to safely expose students to Primary Care.

We needed to build relationships with universities and training providers with the idea of taking control of placements in terms of quality and volume.

We needed to build a safe space for those struggling with study or work by looking at wellbeing, good mental health and a positive, inviting environment in which to study, work and meet.

We needed to make sure that we were in a place where we could understand the changes in demand on Primary Care from a regional or national level so we could adapt and react quickly to those changes, ensuring that we were ready to provide any new skills to Primary Care staff as soon as they were needed.

We needed to look at new ways of delivering training and providing a blend of options to suit all and to allow access to as many people as possible.  To create learning sets that delivered on one topic but to a multi-professional team which would build in a mutual understanding and empathy for each other’s roles and demands.

So, ‘not just a building?’

What came next was the creation of a set of unique principles, by which everything that we plan to do will be aligned to:

  • To stay Relevant
  • To be at the forefront of Technological Advances & IT Solutions
  • To harness a Blended Approach to Learning & Development
  • To create an Environment of Excellent Pastoral CARE, concentrating on Good Welfare, Good Mental Health & Positive Wellbeing
  • To be Inclusive
  • To embed the centre as a Key Partner in the Recovery & Growth of the Primary Care System

I hope that you will join me on this journey of discovery, to discover the possibilities and what’s maybe even beyond our expectations.

Next time in my blog I hope to share with you ideas about what and who we’d like to see within the physical space… the bit that is a building

Until next time!

Liz