Health Skills East to close 1 April 2010

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  Health Skills East to close 1 April 2010

  24 Mar 2010

  At the last meeting of the Steering Group on 1 March 2010, it was decided that Health Skills East would close down on 1st April 2010.  The results of research undertaken by Robert Powell, former Chair, into the work of Health Skills East and the needs of employers in the region were presented at the meeting.  The conclusion was that, although many respondents valued the website and particularly the e bulletin, Health Skills East was not of its time and needed to either change or end.  The bulletin will be taken on by Skills for Health and disseminated nationally and the website will be “mothballed” but will continue to be available for the next nine months.

  The full article by Robert Powell on Health Skills East and its achievements is shown below:

  
  "Health Skills East: A unique partnership for skills

  
  This article is to celebrate the partnership of 30 organisations in Health Skills East, the events it held and the people who made it happen.

  I should remind readers that Health Skills East was established following a number of consultation events held across the region in the autumn of 2008, building on the results of the first conference at the Hilton Stansted in November 2007 with partners coming together to support the dissemination and achievement of the regional sector skills agreement.  These partners represented health sector employers - public, private and the voluntary sector - and stakeholders from FE, HE, LSC, JobCentre Plus, Skills for Care and other interested parties.

  As a result of the positive feedback from these events and the publication of the SSA, a need for a one stop shop and a communications process was identified. A website and e bulletin was established. Feedback has been positive and the number of hits on the website has exceeded expectations and has shown the value of the site.  In February 2009, a major conference was staged at Newmarket with Key Note speakers from across the region. This conference was well attended with representatives from all of the partner organisations and health and care employers from across the region. The feedback was extremely positive with many delegates staying on to the end.

  This development was led by the then regional director from Skills for Health (SfH), Jennifer Fenelon. Her energy and commitment drove us all on. Health Skills East received most of its funding from the Sector Skills Council assisted by the East of England SHA and it is a tribute to their involvement that Health Skills East came into being.

  Times have changed and somewhat dramatically both economically and politically nationally. In the region, things have already changed with the development of the County Workforce Groups (CWGs) bringing together at a county level many of the partners that were involved in the formation of Health Skills East. The CWGs are tasked, and are the key, to meeting the challenges of the future, working locally with each other in partnership across the region.

  So it is time to review Health Skills East and the need for it to continue especially for employers and, to that end, a piece of work was undertaken on behalf of the SHA and SfH to identify the need and sustainability of Health Skills East for employers in the East of England.

  The conclusion was that, whilst most respondents had both used and valued the service especially the web site and e bulletin and would continue to do so, they were less enthusiastic about the events, although feedback from them had been favourable. Most would not want to support Health Skills East continuation with funding.  I believe this represents the reality of the health economy not a negative response to Health Skills East.

  Health Skills East will, therefore, cease to exist on 1 April 2010.

  The good news is that Skills for Health will continue to support the e bulletin making it part of their core business and making it available nationwide amply demonstrating its value and uniqueness.

  Finally, on a personal note, I have had the privilege of chairing the steering group of Health Skills East and I am grateful for this opportunity to thank them all for their support and hard work in achieving the successes we had. It is always difficult to name one person from a team to thank particularly but I would be remiss if I failed to mention, and thank personally, Maggie Evans for all her hard work and dedication in taking us though some challenging times.

  We continue to face challenging times and the future is not clear.  However, we in the East of England know that the health sector is one of the major employers; we treat significant numbers of patients across both the public and private sector. Coupled with this government’s intentions to utilise the voluntary sector more and to deliver more care at or near to home will provide employers and training providers with many challenges. Added to this, being in a region that has a growing elderly population will provide a significant future test for both the health and care services.
  Thank you for your support and I wish all of you well in the future

  Robert Powell
  Former Chair HSE"

  
  24 Mar 2010