Clinical Endoscopist Training Programme Academic Delivery

Health Education England (HEE) exists for one reason only: to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to the patients and public of England by ensuring that the workforce of today and tomorrow has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours, at the right time and in the right place.

Overview

1.Health Education England (HEE) is seeking to expand the delivery of the academic elements of an ongoing Clinical Endoscopist (CE) training programme by engaging further Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). These HEIs will be supported to build sustainable delivery models to continue delivering the programme beyond HEE’s direct involvement.

2.This tender relates only to delivery of the elements of the CE training programme as set out in paragraph 17 below culminating in the completion of an academic module and completion of the HEE training programme. Other elements, listed in paragraph 10 are to be delivered in partnership with other providers.

Background

3.Demand for gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy in the UK is expected to increase over the next decade due to increased incidence and prevalence of cancer, emphasis on early diagnosis, better uptake and increased coverage of bowel cancer screening.
4.To support management of demand, GI endoscopic procedures that have traditionally been carried out by doctors are increasingly being performed by nurses and other non-medical registered practitioners – known as clinical endoscopists (CEs) or non-medical endoscopists (NMEs)
5.HEE is committed to have 400 CEs trained or in training by the end of December 2021 to deliver endoscopy procedures in either upper GI endoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

6.The CE programme has been running since 2016, providing training for over 200 trainees to date and there has been a recent increase in demand for places. The programme has been independently evaluated which reflected well on the programme and can be found here. Case studies have been developed showing how trainees and trusts have benefitted from engaging with the course and can be found here
7.This tender document will apply to four further trainee cohorts, planned as follows:
•September / October 2020
•January 2021
•April / May 2021
•September/ October 2021
Please note: these times may need to be amended in agreement with the successful HEIs to adjust for the delays in training caused by the COVID 19 Pandemic. Additional cohorts may be required into 2022 as a result.

8.It is anticipated that there will be at least one provider / a consortia of providers per regional group to aid equitable access for trainees. Provider(s) / Consortia can tender for more than one of the regional groups below as long as there is a provider member in the area of provision.
Regional grouped areas
•North and Yorkshire Region
•Midlands and East of England Region
•South and London Region