UNISON Ulearn Northern Ireland

UNISON challenged the DHSSPS to make nurse and social work training more accessible to staff such as home care workers, care assistants, nursing auxiliaries and social work assistants. Pamela Dooley from UNISON highlighted the inequality of access to provision, “We have many experienced members in the health service who would love to progress into the professions, but the opportunities aren’t there”

At a seminar organised by UNISON and the Open University, UNISON challenged the DHSSPS to make nurse and social work training more accessible to staff such as home care workers, care assistants, nursing auxiliaries and social work assistants. Annually the DHSSPS commissions approximately 700 full time places on the Nurse training programme and 300 Social Work degree places through Queens University and the University of Ulster. At an “Exploring Workbased Routes into Nursing and Social Work” seminar in Armagh on Friday, Pamela Dooley from UNISON highlighted the inequality of access to provision, “We have many experienced members in the health service who would love to progress into the professions, but the opportunities aren’t there”.

The situation was further illustrated by Brian Nugent, a care assistant in mental health in St. Lukes Hospital, Armagh, who is in his third year of a pilot with the Open University for nurse training. Stressing the need to take advantage of the untapped talent in every Trust, he outlined his own situation. “I left school with very few qualifications, and ended up on a job scheme in an old people’s home, which I really enjoyed, then I took a job with the Armagh Dungannon Trust as a care assistant”. Over the past fifteen years Brian continued accessing any training available, completing NVQs and the Bridge to Nursing programme. “Everytime I got so far, but hit a dead end”, he said, “After the Bridge to Nursing course, I got accepted onto the Nurse training at Queens University, but I had a young family, it was impossible to go to full time education”.

Fortunately an alternative route was opened a few years later, with a pilot funded by the DHSSPS with the Open University for their Pre-registration Nursing diploma. Brian was one of the first students selected of thirty and will qualify as a mental health staff nurse in two years time. Over the past three years the DHSSPS has funded 48 staff to take this route. Supported by mentors on the wards and tutors, students continue working with the Trust while they study and gain their nursing qualification. The programme is delivered by the Open University and has a 100% retention to date.

Paddie Blaney, from NIPEC, the body for quality assuring standards in nurse education, welcomed the provision of a variety of nurse training routes to create a more diverse workforce. She outlined NIPEC’s Development Framework which has spawned a range of resources to support nurses and midwives to meet the challenges within today’s Health Service.

For those wishing to progress into Social Work, no workbased learning route is currently available, despite three years of negotiation by the Open University with both the DHSSPS and Northern Ireland Social Care Council. In her presentation Lucy Rai, Assistant Director of Social Work with the Open University, outlined the success of their Diploma and Degree in Social Work courses in England, Scotland and Wales. “We have had very positive feedback from both students and employers, and we are currently the largest provider of social care education in Scotland”.

This was evidenced by Helen Hepburn, Suffolk Adult Care and Community Services in England who have had over 50 staff gain Social Work qualifications through a workbased route “As an employer, we have a 95% retention rate when people qualify, they already know the systems and we can target areas which have been traditionally hard to fill ”.

Dame Denise Platt, Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection in England spoke about the importance of having excellent and dedicated staff to ensure an excellent service. “Staff, working in positions such as care workers and social work assistants have immense maturity and experience to bring to the position of a Social Worker, they are extremely motivated and understand the job”, she continued “I think it’s unfair that people are barred from progression because they can’t go into full time education.”

UNISON through their lifelong learning programme currently has 160 members participating on the Open University Understanding Health & Social Care K100 course in partnership with ten Health Trusts. Highlighting their dedication as students, Fidelma Carolan, Project Manager for Lifelong Learning with UNISON, called for an extension to places on the Open University Pre-reg Nursing Diploma and the recognition and funding of the Open University Social Work degree in Northern Ireland “Our members have shown that with support they can achieve at university level, despite not having gained sufficient qualifications at school, we have members who are working full time, looking after families and still putting in 20 hours a week personal study because they are determined to get on”. She challenged the Department and regulatory bodies to open up access to these learners so that they could progress within the Health Service to become tomorrow’s Nurses and Social Workers.