Guidance for learners
Learners have an important role in raising concerns about the standard of care (Francis Report, 2013). You will face unfamiliar and challenging situations, but this cannot account for witnessing problems with care delivery, the environment, clinical resources or believing someone is being put at risk, abused or neglected.
Your view is respected and will be acknowledged and acted on. You should be able to raise any questions or concerns with your placement educator and not fear reprisals or negative feedback.
If you have a concern, speak to someone:
- Speak to your placement educator.
- If you are not able to speak to them for any reason, talk to the placement manager or a lead clinician.
- Contact the leads for education in practice (eg Practice Education Facilitator, Work Based Education Facilitator, Undergraduate Medical Education Manager, or Cadet Lead).
- Use the local incident reporting system or speak to the Patient Safety team.
- If you are not happy to raise the issue with the placement, contact your tutor or learner support at your Education Provider.
- You can contact our Freedom to Speak Up teams at:Speakup@nca.nhs.ukSpeakupOCO@nca.nhs.uk
- No matter how you raise your concern, please do it in a timely manner.
- Please inform your AA/PT/PEFs if you are involved in or witness any incident
Health Education North West and your placement and education providers work in partnership to ensure the safety and quality of the learning environment.
Concerns raised by learners provide a learning opportunity and will be taken seriously, acted on and outcomes shared.
Guidance for placement educators
Learners have an important role in raising concerns about the standard of care (Francis Report, 2013) and you have a duty to protect patients / service users and carers, putting their interests first if concerns are raised. As your learner’s first line of support in practice you must give them the confidence and opportunity to speak up.
Learners need to feel that they are trusted and their questions and concerns are respected:
- How, when and why to raise concerns must be part of the induction conversation you have with your learner whether they are with you for a day or several years.
- At times the learner may not feel comfortable speaking to you about concerns or accept your response. Identify, in advance, how they can escalate concerns appropriately; in line with local guidance or policy.
- Manage their expectations by being open and honest that things do not always happen as you might intend.
- Be clear that you want your learner to ask you about what they observe and tell you what worries them. Discussing situations early may help keep issues in perspective and improve the experience for all.
Ensure that you are familiar with:
- The leads for education in practice (eg Practice Education Facilitators, Work Based Education Facilitator, Undergraduate/Postgraduate Education Manager, or Cadet Lead) and how to contact them.
- The Education Provider’s learner support staff (eg personal tutors).
- How you and learners use your local incident reporting system or contact the Patient Safety team.