Introduction
The NHS England Educator Workforce Strategy highlights significant concerns regarding the capacity of healthcare educators to meet current and future demands. The strategy emphasizes that the educator workforce is crucial to the growth and sustainability of the healthcare workforce. However, it identifies several challenges, including the lack of protected time and resources for educators, which has been exacerbated by the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recently published Simulation in Nursing Education report from the Council of Deans outlined the most significant barrier to delivery of nursing simulation as a lack of resource. Sustainability of simulation for nurses is limited by inadequate staffing, facilities, funding and time. Through site visits completed by the multiprofessional lead in 2023 and 2024, we have understood similar challenges. Delivery of simulation for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals (NMAHP) and health care scientist was described as “unsustainable”. This theme was explored on many site visits with different professionals and the notion of sustainable simulation has emerged as simulation based-activity which is delivered:
- with adequate faculty,
- with faculty who are trained as simulation practitioners
- with legitimate access to simulation equipment and training space and
- without the need to “borrow time” from other projects or services (or beyond contracted hours)
The purpose of this report
This report outlines key findings of a scoping exercise to understand the nature of multiprofessional simulation within the London region and the degree to which that simulation activity is understood to be ‘sustainable’.
For the purpose of this piece of work, sustainability is defined as the ability to maintain activity without the exhaustion of resources, causing detrimental effects. In the context of multi professional simulation, resources include faculty, funding, and commitment to continue delivering multi professional simulation.
Following extensive site visits to inform project objectives, a survey was developed and distributed within the LSN, open to completion by any NMAHP faculty delivering simulation based activity in an NHS provider organisation.The report describes the scope of multiprofessional simulation delivered within the London region and the degree to which that simulation activity is understood to be delivered sustainably by those who deliver it.
The rationale and aims of the project were:
- Scope the current provision of multi-professional SBE across the LSN.
- Identify barriers, facilitators and solutions that support multi-professional SBE
- Formulate recommendations to support sustainability of multiprofessional SBE provision across the LSN
A network-wide survey of simulation centre leads and nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals and healthcare scientist faculty was completed. 64 responses were received from 19 organisations within London. Findings show that multiprofessional simulation is delivered for 3 distinct purposes: management of deteriorating or acutely unwell patients; understanding the influence of human factors on personal performance and; the systems-based approach.
Enablers to sustainably delivery of multiprofessional simulation were as follows:
- Consistency: having a well-established service that delivers consistent programmes of learning which are planned in advance
- Demand: simulation being driven by learning needs and afforded value by senior leaders
- Protected time: staff having protected time to attend training
- Sufficient resources: adequate funding, simulation facilities and faculty.
Barriers to sustainable delivery of multiprofessional simulation were as follows:
- Inconsistent funding: barriers to sustained delivery that related to allocation of money for the delivery of multiprofessional simulation activity.
- Lack of engagement: competing priorities, a lack of engagement with the multi-professional model and a lack of senior support
- Lack of sufficient time: insufficient study leave prevents attendance of training
- Lack of sufficient resources: insufficient funding, simulation facilities and faculty.
The report makes the following recommendations:
- Safeguarding time to teach through designated simulation appointments
- Identify and action a consistent approach to commissioning for multi-professional SBA
- Develop NMAHP influencing skills to attain stakeholder support for multi-professional simulation
- Organisations should structure their simulation service as best suits local demand
- Support the dissemination of good practice through networking activities
The findings and recommendations of this report are closely aligned to those of the Educator Workforce Strategy and the ‘Simulation in Nursing Education’ Report. The corroborated outcomes of this scoping exercise should give confidence to those implementing strategy based on these recommendations.
Who might use this report and how?
This report is aimed at system and organisational leaders and commissioners. The intention is to inform decision making around the commissioning and delivery of simulation based activity for NMAHPs through the insights and the local perceptions of sustainability of multi-professional simulation.
If you would like to a copy of the full report please contact jemma.joseph@nhs.net