Education for Health: a dynamic new force in professional health training

Education for Health is a powerful merger of two of the UK ’s leading education institutions for health professionals: the National Respiratory Training Centre (NRTC) and Heartsave.  It aims to provide a consistent, comprehensive and innovative approach to professional health training across the fields of cardiovascular disease and respiratory health, with the ultimate objective of transforming lives worldwide.

  Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive of the NRTC, explains the rationale behind the merger: “There is a natural fit between the NRTC and Heartsave.  We both have a strong track record of providing quality professional training for healthcare professionals in the different but related areas of respiratory and cardiovascular disease areas and we share a common approach in terms of our ethos and core values.  Being part of this dynamic partnership will add a new dimension to the way in which we operate, allowing us to offer a more comprehensive, cohesive and innovative approach to professional health training.”

  The partners in Education for Health have each earned a reputation for excellence in their respective areas of expertise.  They will continue to provide its current range of professional education services, but increasingly, the two partners in Education for Health will collaborate to provide a comprehensive service encompassing both respiratory health and CVD.

  The integration has been rapid and seamless.  The two organisations now share administrative offices in Warwick and have established a new training centre, Westgate House Conference and Training Venue, allowing students from both organisations to benefit from excellent facilities and a superb learning environment.

  Joint collaboration has already proved to be highly successful: in 2004, NRTC and Heartsave worked closely together alongside Diabetes Care as members of the Education Alliance to launch the popular new Diploma in Chronic Disease Management Programme.

  Sue Weston, Director of Heartsave, looks to the future with relish: “We have ambitious plans for Education for health and we believe that the organisation will make a significant impact.  By pooling our resources and sharing best practice, we will be able to further improve the quality and breadth of our services.  Healthcare customers will now be able to commission training in two key areas from one source, allowing greater consistency and more efficient use of resources.”

  In the UK there are more than 17 million people with long-term conditions such as asthma, COPD or cardiovascular disease and the numbers are rising.1

  The foundation of Education for Health has been welcomed by David Colin-Thome, National Clinical Director for Primary Care and clinical lead for long-term conditions management at the Department of Health, who comments: “We welcome any initiative which helps to improve the standard of training for primary care health professionals working in the two key areas of cardiovascular disease and respiratory health.  This approach complements the Department of Health’s strategic direction with regard to the management of Long-Term Conditions and has the potential to contribute to better standards of care and improved outcomes for patients.”

  Heartsave is an independent charity established in 1998 to improve the care and health of patients with Cardiovascular Disease by supporting the professional development of practice nurses and other health-care professionals through provision of high quality evidence-based training.  More than 5,000 health professionals from a range of disciplines have participated in the National CVD Training Programme, which includes short courses and validated modules.

  The NRTC is an independent education and research institution for health professionals, which aims to improve the care of patients with respiratory disease.  Since 1987, it has trained more than 32,000 health professionals.  It currently offers 16 Open University validated modules and five respiratory programmes including diploma, degree, postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and MSc in Respiratory Care, as well as a range of one day short courses.

  Education for Health is located at: The Athenaeum, 10 Church Street ,  Warwick , CV34 4AB

E-mail: enquiries@educationforhealth.org.uk.

Tel: +44 01926 493313

Web: www.educationforhealth.org.uk

Reference:

1.         http://www.17millionreasons.org/. Viewed on 1 September 2005 . 

  (24/9/05)