Becoming a Primary Care Training Organisation can have huge benefits for your practice environment; supporting and training the workforce of the future will help you to retain your workforce, as well as help with recruitment. There is currently a huge expansion happening in General Practice training, so there's never been a better time to get involved.
Further information on the application process and FAQs can be found below.
Watch the below video to listen to some of our colleagues from around the East of England share their experiences.
There is plenty of support available to help you through this process. It’s a good idea to speak to:
- Other GP practices in your network
- Clinical leads at the training hub
- Local GP Training Programme Directors
- Practice Manager Champions
Learning environments will need to ensure that all prospective sites are aware of the implications of becoming a recognised learning environment. Having learners within an organisation will require input from administrative as well as clinical staff. The local training hubs have a network of practice manager champions that can provide help and information on what to expect and prospective organisations should access this support.
When applying consideration should be given to all types of learners that the organisation feels able to support, for example, nurses, physician associates, pharmacists, advanced care practitioners and so on. The application form should be completed in such a way that it applies to all the learners that the organisation wishes to host.
We would encourage organisations to apply at scale, for example, Primary Care Networks. This will reduce the number of forms needing to be completed. Please note that current non-training practices may be recognised within a PCN approval with the support of their colleagues.
Route 1 applications are where an existing learning environment wishes to accommodate a wider group of learners within the organisation. In order to do so, organisations will need to complete the learning environment application form rather than a self-declaration.
To discover how to become a primary care learning organisation in the East of England, please firstly watch this short video:
Individual organisations may apply to become training organisations although where possible it is encouraged that organisations should apply as a locality, for example, a primary care network.
In order to apply for approval as a training environment, please complete this form. A useful guidance document to help you complete the application form can be found here.
The form must be completed electronically, and once completed, please send to your local Training Hub for processing:
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Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes |
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Cambridgeshire & Peterborough |
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Hertfordshire & West Essex |
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Mid and South Essex |
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Norfolk & Waveney |
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Suffolk & North East Essex |
The national quality monitoring approach means that educators and learning environments are no longer “reapproved”. Instead, a risk-based ongoing quality monitoring approach will be used to ensure that standards are being met by both educators and learning environments. The local training hubs perform this function for HEE EoE, collecting evidence from a variety of sources to assess whether there are any quality concerns.
Please click here for further information on Ongoing Quality Monitoring.
If you are applying for recognition as an educator and/or learning environment the paperwork needs to be completed in full and returned to your local training hub.
Prospective learning environments will require a visit which will be led by the local training hub, assisted by ADs, TPDs, clinical ambassadors and learner representatives. The learning environment will need to ensure that, at the very least, the educational leads and placement manager are present at the visit.
Visits and interviews may be undertaken virtually, although if a Primary Care Network is applying for the first time to be recognised and there are no pre-existing training practices there will need to be a tour of the available facilities.
Route 1 applications will not require a visit but will be assessed by the local training hub as a desktop review.
All recommendations from the interviews and visits are reviewed by the Quality Oversight Panel within the deanery before they are endorsed and finalised.
The training hub will inform the applicant of the outcome and the Primary Care School will update the training section of the GMC records. There are three potential outcomes:
- Recommended for recognition (Ongoing quality monitoring)
- Recommended actions and review (An action plan and review should be provided by the training hub)
- Not recommended for recognition (Reasons for the decision will be conveyed to the applicant)
To ensure consistency of application of the quality monitoring process 10% of all assessments will be reviewed centrally by HEE EoE.
Additionally, the training hubs meet on a regular basis to discuss quality monitoring processes.
In these circumstances, the learning environment should raise a formal appeal in writing (via email will be sufficient) within one month of notification of outcome to their local TH providing the rationale for their appeal with any accompanying evidence as appropriate. The TH will collate the appeal communication and forward to the HEE Primary Care Quality Team who will convene an extraordinary Quality and Oversight Panel that will consist of AD’s not involved in the original decision.
When completing the self-declaration as part of ongoing quality monitoring this should be declared. If the change happens outside of the self-declaration period, the placement manager will need to contact the local training hub to discuss the impact of this on learner placement. Such changes include new premises and practice mergers. Please see the guidance on merged and Federated practices.
