Image by Angelo Esslinger from Pixabay
The federation’s Immunisation Training Programme has granted access to annual updates and first-time education for over 180 Primary Care staff in Wirral.
Previously delivered by Wirral CCG, PCW has acted this year as the sole provider of vaccination training for GP Nurses and HCAs in Wirral.
PCW has worked in collaboration with Wirral Enhanced Training Hub, which supported the federation throughout the bidding process and facilitating access to Workforce Development Funding.
This joint initiative to source and organise training has made it possible for Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and practices to guarantee immunisation education at a critical time due to Covid-19 and the beginning of the flu season.
Virtual updates and face-to-face training
The programme, delivered by Immunisation Trainer Stacey Evans at the end of the summer, was tailored to different levels of training needs and teaching settings were adapted to guarantee trainees safety.
In order to minimise the risk of coronavirus spread, PCW ran virtual updates on influenza and child immunisation via Microsoft Teams for staff who had previously received vaccination training.
The new online training setting has given free access to compulsory immunisation education to 110 GPNs and over 50 HCAs in Wirral.
In addition, the programme included a face to face two-day foundation course for a cohort of new trainees, resulting in 20 new immunisers for the whole of Wirral.
Supporting PCNs
This year’s immunisation training is another example of PCW’s determination to support PCNs and practices by centralising access to funding, staff selection and organisation of CPD and additional training programmes they need.
“We had to act fast and creatively to guarantee practice staff access to vital immunisation training in these unprecedented circumstances,” said Sue Smith, PCW Associate Director in Quality Improvement and Workforce.
“Although we have plenty of experience delivering training courses for Primary Care staff, Covid-19 is making us rethink the way we do things.
“We are very happy with the results and how we have managed to ensure all GPNs and HCAs could access standardised immunisation education across Wirral.
“Although challenging, quickly developing a virtual learning programme and finding a Covid secure venue represented an opportunity to test and learn new ways of teaching, allowing us to improve our future training programmes”.
This programme has enabled PCNs the chance to save vital time and effort in sourcing and organising immunisation training on an individual basis.
Practices have been given a vital boost in the pre-planning of staff training during a period when the reinforcement of public confidence in vaccines and ensuring high vaccine uptake are more important than ever.
