Salford has a well established and enviable partnership approach to health improvement which, over the last few years has embraced this and has forged a series of innovative multi – agency programmes.  The Behaviour Change Programme is the latest and promises to support an already committed and highly skilled workforce to improve the health and wellbeing of families, friends and communities in Salford. 

Uni is pleased to be involved at this early stage as part of the Behaviour Change Consortium which is delivering the brief interventions training programme.  The Behaviour Change Consortium consists of Unique Improvements, Social Marketing Gateway and JMP Consultants all experts in the fields of social marketing and behaviour change programmes.

There are still some bursary places on the Introduction to Commissioning, University accredited course, 12&13 October 2011.  The bursaries are open to general practice staff, cluster staff, PCT, Local Authority and 3^rd Sector staff and members of the public.

For further information on the bursaries and the taster courses contact Lauren Peterson 0151 486 6737 or lauren@uni.uk.net

Whilst extending congratulations to the team LEA PEARSON Managing Director of ISOQAR stated ‘As you are aware, our auditor did not raise any non-conformances on this audit.  This is a superb achievement on an initial audit and one of which you and your staff should be justifiably proud’.

The team at Uni is delighted to say the least!

This is truly recognition for the achievements of the Care Home Staff and residents of the six homes which participated in the project.  The shortlisted team will be interviewed on 20^th September in London and the winners announced at the awards ceremony at the Hilton Park Lane, London on the 2 November 2011. 

Unique Improvements is proud to have contributed to the success of the project and we wish them well.

Introduction to Commissioning

This course provides an overview of the Commissioning Cycle and its various elements with the opportunity to practice some commissioning skills. It is an ideal introduction for those looking to develop into commissioning roles within Clinical Commissioning Groups or for those wanting an overview of commissioning.

Improving Commissioning

This course provides an opportunity to explore the commissioning cycle in detail. It includes interactive sessions designed to reflect scenarios that will be found within the Clinical Commissioning Group workplace. The Improving Commissioning course will enable you to further develop your commissioning knowledge and skills and test them in a protected learning environment, the outcome being an enhanced set of transferable skills for the future.

The courses are accredited by Teesside University, University of the Year 2009/10.

For a full list of the Unique Improvements / Teesside University Accredited Courses can be found here: Commissioning Training

The Partnership includes:

Commissioning4health – An organisation offering clinical and non clinical commissioning training and specialised support for both the NHS and pharmaceutical industry;

The LLMC - The University of Lincoln’s resource centre for leadership and management education.

Having already established and delivered an NHS commissioning MSc for Lincoln and Hull PCTs, the LLMC has the experience and expertise to support clinical and non clinical post graduates in obtaining the MSc in Commissioning across the UK.

Unique Improvements – A social enterprise established in 2005 who work closely with Local Authorities, Clinical and non clinical commissioners and third sector organisations.

As the only UK organisation that has university accredited commissioning courses to level 6/degree, and with a range of skills development courses and qualifications available, linked to commissioning and designed to suit the needs of the client

MAON - A leading change management company;

Professor David Head Dean at the Faculty of Business and Law, University of Lincoln said:

“The LLMC as part of the University of Lincoln is pleased to be part of this exciting venture.

It offers bespoke training and development packages that support those delivering change in the NHS and Local Government.

“The campus will offer one of the widest range of commissioning skills courses and qualifications in the UK; including the only MSc in Commissioning designed specifically for Clinical Commissioners”.

Linda Henry, Director of Unique Improvements, said

“Unique Improvements are pleased to be associated with the Commissioning Campus.  The campus represents a ‘one stop shop’ for commissioning skills development at a time when the NHS is undergoing significant change.  The campus’s offer ensures existing and emerging commissioning professionals can gain easy access to the highest quality training and education”.

Huw England, Director and Owner of Commissioning4health, said

“Commissioning4health are delighted to be part of the commissioning campus, with its breadth of commissioning skills and qualification courses, we will in partnership be able to offer clinical and non clinical staff a wide range of choices to support their development and their organisations in the future”.

Mark Axler, Director of MAON, said

As well as MSc, degree and A Level courses, the campus offers approved CPD courses in Commissioning designed for:

• PCTs and Clinical Commissioning Groups
• The Community and Voluntary Sector
• Local Authorities and Districts
• Health Providers
• The Pharmaceutical Industry

Find out more about the campus, by visiting www.commissioning4health.com/campus

The Institute of Commissioning Professionals highlighted that many commissioners commented about the lack of support and training in Commissioning when they took up their posts and therefore have had to learn on the job. Recent comments from the Parliamentary Health Committee have reinforced the need to improve standards of commissioning. A view to which many of the Institute of Commissioning Professionals members subscribe.

In order to help define the role and provide a foundation for qualifications, a series of National Occupational Standards have been developed, and the Institute have partnered with Unique Improvements to provide their members with high quality university accredited courses which can lead to either individual qualifications or count towards a university degree.

More information about our partnership and the courses can be found at http://www.iocp.co.uk/courses.php

Due to this change it has meant that all our e-mail address have had to change and all e-mails sent after the 29^th July will not have been received. In order to ensure that we don’t lose contact could you please change the end of the e-mail addresses that you have for Unique Improvements staff to @uni.uk.net (instead of @uni.gb.com).

At Uni we have just spent six months working with disabled people to put together the Disability Employers Guide www.disabilityemployersguide.co.uk  which was funded by the Yorkshire and Humber Improvement Partnership and is a resource to help employers recruit and retain disabled people in the workforce.  A diverse workforce has many benefits for companies and disabled people add to that diversity. 

It was very clear from our work that the issue of employment should not be about cost but about capability to do the job in question.  The best person for a job can be someone WITH a disability as having a disability doesn’t automatically exclude you from every job.  Very often disabled people have invested personally and financially in ensuring that they have a range of skills on a par with able – bodied people and they are often highly motivated to work. 

In our experience the ‘hindrance’ can be with the employer who may not know how to go about finding, recruiting and interviewing disabled people or what to do if things go wrong.  This lack of knowledge can cause a lack of confidence where it is easier to recruit an able bodied person than a disabled person.

Employers can be helped to find the best person for the job and there is a lot of support both practical and financial out there.  What Mr Davies could have done is raised the positive issue of the support and advice available and not the negative one about cost.

Disabled people still have the same living costs as able bodied people and often have increased travel costs as public transport is still not easy for disabled people to use.