Enhancing trainee supervision to improve patient safety

Effective supervision is essential, both for doctors in training as they continue to develop their skills, and for patient safety. High quality supervision is a key element in HEE’s quality management of placements and in the GMC national training survey.

HEE has heard that the standard of trainee supervision can vary across the country and that there is varying understanding of the different elements of supervision, including what good supervision looks like in practice. This report, part of the Enhancing Junior Doctors Lives programme of work, sets out Health Education England’s (HEE) vision for what high quality supervision looks like.

Working with the CQC and NHS England and Improvement, HEE has developed a suite of resources including a report, videos/ animations, examples of good practice and top tips for trainers and trainees. These practical guides aim to provide trainees, trainers and supervisors with easy to understand information to ensure supervision is planned, delivered and received in the best possible way. We are looking to take the same approach with other professions in coming months, such as nurses.

Professor Wendy Reid, Executive Director Education and Quality and Medical Director, HEE said

“The role of a Supervisor is to support trainees to be the best they can be. This report shows what ineffective supervision looks like and then provides resources and guidance on what good and effective supervision is.

“HEE is responsible for ensuring that we have high quality learning environments for all our healthcare learners. Effective supervision relates directly to patient safety and the drive to improve patient care must include effective supervision for all staff within the NHS clinical learning environment.”

Prof Colin Melville, Director of Education & Training for the GMC, said:

‘It’s vital that junior doctors across the UK receive high quality training in a safe, effective clinical environment and that trainers are well supported in their role.                                                                                                           

‘Health Education England’s latest Supervision Guidance is a welcome clarification of the different supervisory roles during training, supporting both trainees and trainers to deliver high quality patient care.

‘Employers are working hard to support our consultants and GPs of the future and the GMC will continue to quality assure the education being provided at every step on their journey.’

The NHS Long Term Plan and subsequent NHS Interim People Plan set out a system wide commitment to making the NHS the best place to work and to improve workplace well-being and specifically committed to delivering improvements in supervision in order to improve training. This commitment to effective supervision will ensure we provide better support for doctors in training, especially at the start of their career. This will improve their working experiences and ensure we pay greater attention to their health and wellbeing. We welcome the commitment from the regulators in this report, to help us tackle the issues that impact negatively on the quality of supervision.

Full report and resources https://www.hee.nhs.uk/enhancing-supervision