Trailblazing HEE programme applying health psychology approach to workforce transformation supported by BPS

The BPS is supporting the development of seven trainee health psychologists on an important new Health Education England (HEE) programme exploring the contribution and impact of applying a health psychology approach to workforce transformation and redesign.

Linked to wider programmes to expand the psychological professions across NHS service pathways, set out in the Psychological Professions Workforce Plan for England, the trainees will complete the society’s Stage 2 training in health psychology as part of a wider package.

This includes support by a registered and approved coordinating supervisor who is a qualified health psychologist, a workplace supervisor, and a national training director, as they gain experience in health and care.

HEE is funding the trainee health psychologist roles – one in each of the seven NHS regions in England – to deliver projects and learning as part of a two-year programme.

Trainees will be involved in work where behaviour change is vital to introduce new ways of working and support workforce transformation or redesign. Additionally, they will develop and conduct research projects and will also train others within the health and care system.

Lucie Byrne-Davis, chair of the BPS Division of Health Psychology, said:

“When we were approached to discuss ways of supporting workforce redesign, we thought immediately of how much value trainee health psychologists would bring to this challenge.

“Working with Professor Angel Chater and Professor Jo Hart, as a team of current and past chairs of the Division of Health Psychology, with huge support from the national lead for psychological professions in England, Adrian Whittington, alongside the workforce transformation team, we have brought this project to fruition. We were fortunate to recruit Dr Liz Jenkinson to lead the programme and some excellent supervisors.

“The next two years we will closely monitor these placements and work with the commissioners of health workforce training to see how this pilot can be continued.”

Dr Liz Jenkinson, National Training Director and Senior Lecturer at UWE, Bristol, said:

“This trailblazing programme of work will bring health psychology into NHS workforce redesign to make a real difference to health and social care staff, the patients they work with and the systems they work within. It’s also incredibly exciting to be providing funded training opportunities for the next generation of health psychologists, making training in England more accessible.”

Kirstie Baxter, Head of Workforce Transformation, Health Education England, added:

“HEE are delighted to be leading this innovative programme of work which will help to stimulate workforce redesign, supporting integrated care systems to work flexibly across organisations to deliver patient centred care.

“The programme’s focus on the psychology of change will truly enable transformation, with the skills and tools of health psychologists being applied to understand the behaviour change required within the healthcare workforce, and to develop and implement sustainable interventions.

“We are confident this will support the development of new models of care as well as optimise the potential in primary, secondary and community care settings, facilitating enhanced and accelerated MDT working for the benefit of services, staff, and patients.”

Dr Adrian Whittington, National Lead for Psychological Professions, NHS England and Health Education England, concluded:

“The backbone of the NHS is its workforce. As health and care systems face new challenges and develop new ways to serve the public in delivering the NHS Long Term Plan, teams will need to innovate and develop new ways of working. Health psychologists have specific expertise in applying the science of behaviour change into healthcare. They can help design and implement changes to practice so that they stick and make a difference.

“This project is a great opportunity for systems to benefit from a health psychology approach to making changes in how they work. It is also a great career opportunity for aspiring health psychologists to undertake a paid NHS training path, as part of the wider expansion of the psychological professions set out in the Psychological Professions Workforce Plan.”

For further information about the programme and trainee posts, visit the health psychology workforce transformation webpage and sign up to the programme mailing list.