Employer Story
Clinical Coding Apprenticeship helps to upskill and enhance careers at NHS Trust
An Apprenticeship programme delivered by Skills Training UK is being credited in helping to overcome clinical coding workforce shortages at an NHS Trust.
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (FT) has been embracing the value of Apprenticeships within the Trust’s workforce strategy for many years, offering a wide variety of programmes across clinical and non-clinical occupations.
The Apprenticeship Levy has also allowed the Trust to create new opportunities that attract new talent to the NHS and developing the skills of existing colleagues.
Supporting Recruitment In The NHS
Dan Hoare, Careers and Workforce Development Lead at Somerset FT, said: “The NHS has experienced staffing shortages across many services over the last year so anything we can do to recruit more colleagues has to be a good thing.
At Somerset FT we place a huge value on our team of apprentices who are doing a great job in filling gaps in our workforce. This training programme will go a long way in helping to develop our apprentices and give them access to so many more career opportunities.”
Looking to enhance the skills of the Trust’s Clinical Coding team, the Trust got in contact with Skills Training UK to enrol their first apprentice on the Level 3 Clinical Coder Standard.
The programme covers strong theoretical elements of Clinical Coding such as the importance of accuracy and consistency in recording data and what we use the data for. This isn’t typically covered in the standard Clinical Coding course, mainly due to time and the intensity of the practical coding undertaking, so to have a programme that can encompass both elements and underpin the theory is invaluable.
Rachel Darby, Clinical Coding Trainer and Operations Manager at Somerset FT.
Gaining The Right Skills
Skills Training UK currently works in partnership with over 45 NHS Trusts and is a national Health Education England partner of choice for the Clinical Coding standard, meaning Trusts can recruit larger cohorts without the need of procurement exercise.
The standard aims to provide learners with the right skills, knowledge, and behaviours to maintain the effective data monitoring, analysis and information for hospital management.
Jake Quick was initially working within the Trust’s coding team as an Administrative Assistant and saw the Apprenticeship as a great opportunity to grow in his career.
Eight months into the role, Jake has enjoyed the structured approach to learning and is excited at his future prospects within the Trust.
“I learn something new about my role every day and I’m now in a place where I can talk more confidently about my role with other departments across the Trust. The tutor from Skills Training has also been brilliant and both the theoretical and practical Clinical Coding Standard course has been well structured and flexible to fit around my working hours.
“The qualification I will get from the Apprenticeship will mean that I am further on in my career within the NHS, while also fully preparing me ahead of my final Clinical Coding exam.”
Empowering Future Employees
Looking to the future, the NHS Trust sees the Clinical Coding Apprenticeship as key to workforce development within the department and plans to use the course to retain and empower existing teams through further upskilling.
Stephen Crawley, Chief Operating Officer at Skills Training UK, said; “We are delighted to be working with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust to further develop the skills of staff through this Clinical Coding Apprenticeship, and glad to see that the value of this unique standard is already creating benefits both for Jake and the wider Clinical Coding team.”
View our webpage to learn more about Skills Training UK’s Clinical Coder and wider Apprenticeship offering to NHS Trusts.
Jake Quick is Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s first Clinical Coder Apprentice
“The NHS has experienced staffing shortages across many services over the last year so anything we can do to recruit more colleagues has to be a good thing. At Somerset FT we place a huge value on our team of apprentices who are doing a great job in filling gaps in our workforce. This training programme will go a long way in helping to develop our apprentices and give them access to so many more career opportunities.”
Dan Hoare, Careers and Workforce Development Lead at Somerset FT
“I learn something new about my role every day and I’m now in a place where I can talk more confidently about my role with other departments across the Trust. The tutor from Skills Training has also been brilliant and both the theoretical and practical Clinical Coding Standard course has been well structured and flexible to fit around my working hours. The qualification I will get from the Apprenticeship will mean that I am further on in my career within the NHS, while also fully preparing me ahead of my final Clinical Coding exam.”
Jake Quick, Somerset FT's first Clinical Coder Apprentice
“The programme covers strong theoretical elements of Clinical Coding such as the importance of accuracy and consistency in recording data and what we use the data for. This isn’t typically covered in the standard Clinical Coding course, mainly due to time and the intensity of the practical coding undertaking, so to have a programme that can encompass both elements and underpin the theory is invaluable.”
Rachel Darby, Clinical Coding Trainer and Operations Manager at Somerset FT
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