Skills for Health (SfH) are to invest an extra £2.2 m over three years in teaching healthcare computer skills to healthcare professionals in the east of England.
The deal will see a joint investment by the East of England Strategic Health Authority and the Regional Learning and Skills Council.
The groups aim to improve patient care by extending the skills of NHS workers across the region.
Bill Rammell, MP for Harlow, said: “The health sector today is shaped by new and rapidly changing pressures and demands.
“Our ageing population has huge implications for healthcare provision and workforce capacity in the future; the expectations of the public about what can be provided continues to grow, requiring health professionals to rightly become ever more responsible to their needs.”
The scheme forms a part of a national £100 m SfH Joint Investment Framework to address skills gaps and shortages.
Keith Pearson, chair of the NHS East of England, added: “The launch of this Sector Skills Agreement is an important step forward in helping us work together to ensure the healthcare sector in the region has a workforce with the right skills, education and experience to meet the needs of those people living and working in the East of England.
“The demands that face us in the future mean we need the highest possible level of skill among staff at all levels and every encouragement for them to progress.”
