Home > News > July 2005 > 21-Jul-2005

Hewitt announces £60m funding for NHS Learning Accounts and NVQs

NHS staff with no professional qualifications will have access to learning accounts, said Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt speaking earlier this week.

Announcing £60m funding to continue NHS learning accounts and NVQs she said: "Learning doesn't just stop at 16 or 18. The NHS can offer more career opportunities for staff than any other and there should be no obstacles preventing anyone on the first rung of the career ladder, such as healthcare assistants, becoming a senior clinician.

"If you've found your inspiration and application later in life then the NHS wants to support you. If you are hard working, caring, and bright and want to make a difference we want to help you fulfil your potential to be the best that you can be.

"NHS learning accounts and the skills escalator allow the NHS to be at the forefront of life long learning, encouraging people to perform to the top of their abilities, develop their skills and climb the NHS careers ladder."

Patricia Hewitt spent a morning "undercover" on the wards of University College London Hospital NHS Trusts alongside a midwifery HCA to experience first hand their participation in patient care. She donned an HCA uniform and joined Leila Rumble on the post-natal ward and in the birthing centre at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital.

Naming the 223,000 HCAs of the NHS an 'army of unsung heroes' and praising the outstanding care that they deliver on a daily basis, she said: "When we ask patients what they think about their local hospital they don't talk about the clinical expertise of the doctors and nurses, they assume they know what they are doing. They judge the NHS on was I treated as an individual? Did I know about my care? Did I feel cared for? Basically the sort of skills, care and service that HCAs provide for patients everyday.

"I believe it is important that those skills have the opportunity to develop as without the input of the 223,000 HCAs the NHS simply wouldn't function, which is why I will continue to invest and reform the training and development opportunities for all in the NHS."

The NHS Learning Account (LA) scheme aims to help those staff who do not have a work related professional qualification develop their skills and potential and help to raise standards in the fundamentals of patient care.

An NHS Learning Account is worth up to £150 per year towards the cost of a learning/training programme. The NHS is keen to support and encourage people back into learning and see this scheme as a key building block to open up a wide range of learning opportunities - whether it be NVQ level, the first steps to professional training or accessing further LA support.

All NHS employees who do not hold a relevant professional work-related qualification are eligible to apply for an NHS Learning Account.

UNISON Head of Health Karen Jennings said: "I am very pleased that Patricia Hewitt was able to find time to experience first hand, the valuable role that healthcare assistants play in delivering patient care.

"It is good to see that the Minister shares UNISON's vision for lifelong learning and wider opportunity for career development. 

"The individual learning accounts scheme is also very popular among healthcare assistants and is helping them to develop within their roles and beyond.

"We would like to see a widening of the secondment scheme to make it easier for healthcare assistants to access nurse training."

According to the Department for Health, since April 2003 over £180m has been invested to develop staff in support roles. Between then and March this year over 66,000 support staff undertook training to NVQ levels 2 and 3.

Training and development books

Discover books on a variety of training and development topics at the Training Reference Bookshop

Source suppliers

Visit the Training Reference Directory to view supplier details for a wide range of courses, products and services.

Sponsored links

Back to top