The government has launched a scheme to encourage trainee doctors and nurses to work in the community.
New NHS education body Health Education England (HEE) has been given £5billion and mandated to give training “unprecedented importance”, the government revealed.
Half of all student nurses will have community placements as part of their training by 2015 and half of all medical students should become GPs.
HEE has committed to give 100,000 staff foundation level dementia training by March 2014, while also ensuring staff will be able to work both in hospitals and the community.
It will also be mandatory for more GPs to have training in mental health and children’s health.
“As people are living longer with more complex medical and care needs, so must we ensure that our NHS workforce has the right skills and values to provide more care in the community for older patients as well as to give each and every child the very best start in life,” said Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter.
The five-year plan aims to establish minimum training standards for healthcare assistants and support HCA progression into nursing by 2014.
A postgraduate course for nurses working with older people with complex care needs will also be introduced in September 2014.
Professor Ian Cumming, HEE chief executive said: “Our mandate from the Government sets out clearly the plans for education and training that will be the cornerstone for the delivery of high quality, effective, compassionate care, by recruiting for values and training for skills. Our £5 billion budget will allow us to recruit, train and develop a workforce that will deliver improved care to patients.”
