There can be no doubt that higher education institutions are working in a period of rapid and complex change. This is never more evident than in the provision of healthcare programmes where the impact of Government policies and the changes to, and requirements of, the statutory regulatory bodies, the professional bodies and the Workforce Development Confederations have all to be taken into account.
The assurance of quality and standards in healthcare education has, for some time, involved a variety of key stakeholders, each with their own specific needs and requirements. The potential for the duplication of work between those stakeholders leading to an unnecessarily heavy burden on the institutions is ever present. The Department of Health faces an important challenge in facilitating the development of a streamlined, integrated and shared quality assurance framework that meets the needs of these different stakeholders.
The Quality Assurance Agency has welcomed the opportunity to work with the Department of Health in partnership with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health Professions Council and Workforce Development Confederations, to undertake a programme of prototype reviews. These have tested out a process that must be rigorous, fair and transparent, involving all stakeholders and meeting a wide range of needs and requirements.
We hope that this evaluation report of the prototype reviews will encourage debate to inform the development of a substantive review method that will integrate and streamline procedures for monitoring quality, with clear roles for each of the stakeholders in that process.
I would like to thank the Department of Health's Quality Assurance Education team and QAA Steering Group for their invaluable participation in the project. I would also like to thank all those who have contributed to the data for the report.
Peter Williams
Chief Executive
November 2002
Preface to the QAA internal evaluation of prototype review process
The NHS is changing. It is becoming more responsive to patients. It depends on staff having the skills, attitude, understanding and knowledge to put the patient first and to deliver a first class service.
The NHS (through Workforce Development Confederations who fund healthcare education), professional regulators, the Department of Health and the public have a right to know that education programmes equip staff with the expertise they need.
Prototype reviews of nursing and allied health professional education programmes were commissioned from the QAA by the Department of Health (DH) working in partnership with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health Professions Council and NHS Workforce Development Confederations.
Based on the findings of this internal QAA evaluation, and of an independent DH evaluation, a full rollout of reviews will take place during the period 2003-06.
One part of a streamlined and integrated quality assurance framework, the reviews will provide judgements and information to the different stakeholders and will support continuous improvement and responsiveness in the provision of professional healthcare education.
I would like to express my thanks to QAA for undertaking the prototype reviews and for sharing their internal evaluation with us.
Professor Maggie Pearson
Deputy Director of Human Resources and Head of Learning and Personal Development, Department of Health
November 2002
Executive Summary
During 2002, the Agency conducted six prototype reviews of programmes of nursing, midwifery, health visiting and allied health professions in six Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)/ Workforce Development Confederations (WDCs) in England. The six HEIs represented a range of city/rural settings and had previously been subject reviewed, the provision judged to be in good order. Two HEIs had a range of provision within nursing, two had a range of allied health professions provision across four of the seven professions, and two had mixed nursing/allied health professions. In total, 70 programmes were reviewed, of which 39 were pre-registration programmes at diploma/degree level, 17 were post-registration at diploma/degree level, and 14 were postgraduate.
The work has been done under contract with the Department of Health (DH), which is working in partnership with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Health Professions Council (HPC) and WDCs.
The prototype reviews have been based on the Agency's Handbook for Academic Review (2000) except that:
- they include scrutiny of practice as well as HEI-based learning;
- reviewers are drawn from practice as well as academic backgrounds;
- they use key government initiatives such as national service frameworks as points of reference;
- they focus on the interprofessional opportunities in multiprofessional health care provision; and
- they operate on behalf of all stakeholder groups.
A prototype handbook was developed and used throughout the project: Prototype Handbook for Academic Review of Health Profession Programmes (19 November 2001).
In keeping with the established QAA evaluation framework (2001), the QAA undertook a detailed evaluation of the prototypes and review method drawing on a number of data sources and activities.
The results of the evaluation indicated that the prototype method was successful in reaching judgements on academic and practitioner standards, and the quality of learning opportunities. There was a high level of expressed satisfaction with the method from all those participating in the prototypes. The method was considered to be an appropriate approach for the review of NHS-funded health care provision and it met the aims set out in the prototype review handbook. The prototype review method enabled interprofessional education to be considered fully as well as recognising practice as an integral part of the provision. Visits to practice strengthened the evidence base for the judgements.
Drawing upon the experience and knowledge of reviewers from practice backgrounds as well as academics ensured that professional and statutory regulatory bodies, and employers' needs/requirements were considered throughout.
In conclusion, the review method offers a real opportunity to integrate and streamline the quality assurance mechanisms in NHS-funded nursing, midwifery, health visiting, and allied health professions educational provision.
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