For the past year, Bridgwater College has been working in close partnership with the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to develop and deliver a community healthcare workforce development initiative, via a pilot NHS Level 5 Assistant Practitioner programme involving seven apprentices.

The Assistant Practitioner, created to bridge the gap between healthcare assistants and registered practitioners such as nurses and therapists, is a relatively new role for the healthcare sector.

The College has adopted a flexible ‘not-off-the-shelf’ blended learning approach and teaching methodology designed to suit the learners, focusing on problem-based learning, discussions, demonstrations, reflective writing and group work and also involves specialists from the Trust in the delivery.

One year on, the students on the pilot, who are already employed by Somerset Partnership, are now halfway through their studies. They have studied both knowledge and practical skills modules relating to their area of work in order to develop additional skills, competencies and underpinning knowledge.

Due to the success of the first pilot, a second cohort of learners started in April 2015, with an additional 25 potential Assistant Practitioners being supported by Somerset Partnership and Bridgwater College to make a significant contribution to local health services across Somerset, including Stroke Services and the Children & Young People's Division.

Liz Scott-Walter, Programme Lead for Bridgwater College said,

“It’s amazing to see how the original seven apprentices have grown and developed in just one year. We are delighted to be involved in this exciting initiative and are committed to investing in the professional development of the local workforce. I welcome this opportunity to highlight their success as higher apprentices.”

Jess Henry, Head of Learning and Development at Somerset Partnership and the lead for this apprenticeship programme, reinforced the success of the programme to date and the future expectations,

“We started working with the College on this project in late 2013, and are delighted with the success of the pilot to date. As a result, we have secured funding for an additional 25 posts.

“There have been lessons learned along the way and we have worked closely with the College to develop the programme to ensure that it can be used across all our services. This training is already delivering benefits in terms of the ways in which our Assistant Practitioner apprentices in General Nursing have grown in confidence and are better able to engage in the community and work together as a team.

“Other services, such as Stroke Services and the Children & Young People’s Division are very keen to work with us and fully embrace the apprenticeship programme, which has exceeded all our expectations in terms of impact; we hope to grow the programme further.”

Mary Martin, Professional Lead District Nursing for SOMPAR agrees,

“I have been overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and commitment with which our current cohort of trainee Assistant Practitioners have applied themselves to this course. As Health Care Assistants currently working in the District Nursing service, the trainee Assistant Practitioners are already highly skilled in their current role; however what I have observed from working alongside them over the last year is not just the learning of new knowledge and skills, but also a change in the way they are thinking.

“Thinking differently means that they are applying themselves differently and this will help transform the way we deliver care in terms of quality and innovation. This is a very exciting opportunity for the development of our workforce and I look forward to working with the second cohort of District Nursing Health Care Assistants.”