Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The initiative arose from the identification of a workforce development need in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), part of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT). CMFT secured funding, in August 2015, from Health Education England (HEE) working across the North West in conjunction with the University of Salford to co-design, pilot and evaluate a curriculum and commissioning specification for a 12 month Accelerated Children and Young People’s (CYP) Programme.

This Bitesize Case Study briefly explains the development and implementation of a Mentor Toolkit designed to provide practical guidance for mentors to support students in practice who may be experiencing emotional distress and/or issues relating to their mental wellbeing. The study is mapped to HEE's Quality Standards and explains what the team set out to do, what the intervention was and the Key Outcomes and Lessons Learned.

Since December 2004 Central Manchester Foundation Trust (CMFT) has implemented a Vulnerable Baby Service (VBS) across Manchester city centre, as part of its Community Children’s Safeguarding programme.The aim of this service is to reduce the risks of Sudden Unexplained Deaths in Infants (SUDI). Initially implemented as a pilot, it was developed into a mainstream service, and as a result SUDIs have dropped significantly. Health staff and multiagency partners have also developed closer and more productive partnerships. 

3 organisations in Central Manchester are working together on Project SEARCH - an innovative employment focused education programme designed to give young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities opportunities to develop employability skills in a real work place, surrounded by other working people. 

During 2012 Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) developed a single multi-professional educational audit and monitoring tool which is used across all non-medical Health Professions to standardise the educational audit process and provide a consistent quality assurance standard.Within the Learning and Development Agreement (LDA) with NHS North West, all organisations are required to be able to evidence how they quality assure the clinical placements they provide.

There has been a significant increase in the size of the NHS workforce at Central Manchester Foundation Trust (CMFT) over recent years, and a subsequent increase in demand for individual counselling and psychology sessions. As a result the time spent waiting for an appointment has also increased for staff. As one response to this situation, the Staff Support Service at CMFT undertook a pilot project to deliver guided computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT), with facilitated support, to individuals with anxiety and/or depression.

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) has always offered work experience for school and college age learners, but in addition, since March 2010 a staff volunteering programme has been in place, designed to help inspire young people and to open their eyes to the career opportunities in healthcare.This not only broadens their horizons but serves to nurture the next generation of NHS staff and gives existing staff the opportunity to mentor and support the learning of these young people, which can be a very rewarding experience.