- Wording revised to say 6 doses obtainable from vial in response to a change in the Information for Healthcare Professionals on Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine document
AstraZeneca vaccine session:
- Change to state multidose vial should be clearly labelled with the date and time of expiry rather than from when it was first punctured
Some minor wording changes in Core Knowledge, Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca sessions in response to user feedback or nationally published guidance.
8 January 2021
- Advice about obtaining an additional dose from COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vials added to AstraZeneca session
- More information about recommended interval between first and second dose added to both AstraZeneca and Pfizer BioNTech sessions
- More information added to section about information to provide to recipients following vaccination in both AstraZeneca and Pfizer BioNTech sessions.
20 January 2021
Core Knowledge session:
- Section on Long COVID added,
- Section on laboratory and pathology staff and social care staff eligibility for vaccination updated to be in line with Green Book COVID-19 chapter
- Change to wording around immunosuppression to reflect change to Green Book COVID-19 chapter about this
Pfizer BioNTech vaccine session:
- Waste disposal section updated in response to expert feedback
- Addition of ordering via Foundry system by PCN designated sites in response to request to add this from Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS)
- Change to wording of description of appearance of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine prior to dilution following change about this in the Pfizer Reg174 HCP Information document
- Addition of link and reference to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine healthcare professional’s training and information materials (cvdvaccine.co.uk/)
AstraZeneca vaccine session:
- Waste disposal section updated in response to expert feedback
- Minor wording changes to “how does the vaccine work” in response to user feedback for clarity
- Addition of ordering via Foundry system by PCN designated sites in response to request to add this from Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS)
- Addition of link and reference to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine healthcare professional’s training and information materials (cvdvaccine.co.uk/)
31 December 2020
- New knowledge and assessment sessions on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine added
- Core Knowledge and Pfizer BioNTech vaccine sessions updated to include: revised advice from JCVI on pregnancy and breastfeeding, updated statement from JCVI about scheduling of vaccine doses (between 4 and 12 weeks),
- Pfizer BioNTech session updated to include: advice on obtaining a 6th dose from a vial, and allergy precautions as stated in updated Green Book COVID-19 chapter and updated Information for Healthcare Professionals on Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine document
December 2020
- Core Knowledge session updated with advice about not giving COVID-19 vaccine to pregnant or breastfeeding women after the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) was authorised for use
- New MHRA guidance added on not giving COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 to those with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food or a previous dose of the vaccine and addition of 15 minute minimum observation period following vaccination
- Some amendments to the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 session storage and reconstitution sections following republication of updated Information for Healthcare Professionals on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine document
Rapid COVID-19 training and education resources for critical care
To support staff being redeployed into critical care during the pandemic, the London Transformation and Learning Collaborative (LTLC) has worked in partnership with Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) to develop a range of resources to support staff.
This includes:
- 360-degree virtual ICU bed space
- Toolkit for rapid cross-skilling
- Just-in-time training for deployed staff
- Skills passports for registered support clinicians and non-registered support staff (currently London only)
- Short films on moral injury, preparing for deployment and more
Follow the links above to access each resource and visit the LTLC page on the elfh website for further support.
The website includes key resources to help individuals, educators and systems prepare for and work during surges in capacity. In recognition of the time pressure staff are under, these are designed to be short bite-sized learning that can be read or watched in advance, on the move or on the ward. The resources are for all staff, regardless of profession, and can be undertaken as self-directed learning or delivered by educators or trainers.
The LTLC was established in 2020, aimed at increasing the capacity of the critical care workforce in London to help prepare for a second surge in COVID-19 cases in the capital. If you need to get in touch, email ltlc@hee.nhs.uk.
Image Interpretation renamed Clinical Imaging
Health Education England’s elearning for healthcare programme, Image Interpretation, that is developed in partnership with the College and Society of Radiographers has been renamed Clinical Imaging to reflect the scope and nature of the resource more accurately.
Dorothy Keane, Clinical Lead for Clinical Imaging, said: “When I became clinical lead for the programme we could not have envisaged how successful the programme would be and how demand for sessions would grow exponentially to encompass all modalities and topics such as research in radiography, dementia, dignity, personalising care, orthopaedics and interventional procedures. The programme now has almost 500 sessions covering radiography, ultrasound, CT, MRI, fluoroscopy and nuclear medicine.
“With such growth we have outgrown our original scale and intentions and feel renaming the programme as Clinical Imaging is important to accurately reflect our broader scope and aims.”
Since the launch of the programme there have been almost 218,000 session launches; demonstrating just how much of a well-used resource it is. The Clinical Imaging team will continue to provide free resources for colleagues working in clinical imaging as well as other healthcare professionals and will develop new elearning sessions to reflect changes in imaging and the wider NHS.
For more information about the Clinical Imaging programme, including details on how to access the sessions please visit the elfh website.
HEE e-LfH support desk helps vaccinators get online
HEE TEL’s elearning for healthcare (elfh) team has been supporting the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations. All vaccinators must complete elearning sessions that are hosted on the elfh Hub as part of their training.
Many vaccinators are volunteers or colleagues who have recently retired or are no longer working in the health and care sector. The diverse range of circumstances and previous levels of experience of using elfh has resulted in a significant increase in activity for elfh’s support desk team. The team is assisting potential vaccinators with gaining access to the elearning content, resetting passwords, retrieving lost usernames, personalising user profiles with content specific to vaccinators and answering questions about all aspects of the process. This has required the support desk team to work additional hours to respond to the volume of users needing help.
The team has responded to 20,135 support incidents since the start of 2021, which is almost 745 queries every day. To support the volume of work, the team has extended its weekend hours and is providing additional Live Chat coverage to further help colleagues needing to access the elfh Hub as part of the national vaccination programme.
HEE TEL works closely with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and the YAS team has been providing additional capacity during this incredibly busy time.
Users have been directed to the elfh Hub from many different routes – some of which are less familiar with elfh processes, including NHS Professionals and St John Ambulance. elfh’s support team has been working closely with these organisations to advise on guidance being shared with users to streamline the process and make it as efficient as possible.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccination programme visit the elfh website.
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca e-learning sessions now available
Health Education England elearning for healthcare has worked in partnership with Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop the COVID-19 Vaccination elearning programme. The elearning programme is designed to provide the health and care workforce involved in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme with the knowledge they need to confidently promote high uptake of the vaccine and deliver the vaccine programme effectively.
The programme consists of a core knowledge session, the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech session, the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca session and accompanying assessment sessions for each.
All those undertaking this elearning should complete the core knowledge session as this is designed to provide essential knowledge about COVID-19 and the key principles of immunisation needed to deliver the vaccine. Learners should then complete both vaccine specific sessions as these provide more detailed information including how the vaccine works, how it should be stored, prepared and administered and any contraindications, precautions and potential vaccine reactions. The assessment sessions should be completed after each session.
The elearning sessions describe the national COVID-19 vaccination programme for England. Most of the information in the sessions will be relevant for those involved in the programme throughout the UK and Crown Dependencies. However, those undertaking the programme in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Crown Dependencies should be aware that some details as to how the programme will be delivered may be different. Vaccinators should therefore ensure that they refer to any country-specific information available, so they are familiar with the details of the programme for the country they are practising in.
This elearning programme provides theoretical training. Practical training in vaccine administration, and assessment and sign-off competency is also required before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
For more information about the COVID-19 Vaccination programme, including details on how to access, visit the elfh website.
e-LfH launches hit 20 million for 2020
Health Education England’s elearning for Healthcare (HEE elfh) Hub has passed the milestone of 20 million content launches so far this year. Over the last 14 years there have been 50 million session launches on the elfh Hub with 20 million of those being in just the last 12 months.
The health and care workforce have engaged with elearning and the growth in usage of elfh resources indicates there is great demand for a blended approach to learning across the health and care workforce.
Patrick Mitchell, Director of Innovation and Transformation at Health Education England,
“20 million launches in a single year is a very significant milestone and achievement for Health Education England elearning for healthcare and reflects how important our role is in providing education and training resources for the health and care workforce. It represents 20 million training interventions to help hard working staff deliver better patient care.
“This increase in use can partly be attributed to our Coronavirus programme, which is regularly being updated to meet the needs of the workforce responding to the pandemic, the NHS Test and Trace resources and the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
“But it is also reflective of changes in working patterns and practices as a whole. There were already high levels of usage for online learning and that has been further heightened by the pandemic, as face-to-face sessions and ‘hands on’ learning have been replaced for many by elearning and other online learning solutions. “
HEE elfh, which is part of the Technology Enhanced Learning team, supports patient care by developing elearning resources to educate and train the health and care workforce. Currently more than 400 elearning programmes are available, or being developed, in collaboration with organisations including Royal Colleges, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England.
HEE elfh’s programmes cover subjects from audiology to anaesthesia, dentistry to dermatology, electronic fetal monitoring to end of life care, primary care to prescribing, safeguarding children to statutory and mandatory training.
For more information about elfh visit: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/.
e-Learning resource to teach children how to swallow pills
New elearning resource to teach children how to swallow pills
Health Education England elearning for healthcare has worked in partnership with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Great North Children’s Hospital to develop “Kidzmed” – an elearning programme developed for members of the multidisciplinary team to teach children and young people how to swallow pills.
It is believed that pills have numerous advantages over suspensions for children and young people, carers, prescribers and pharmacists:
- For children and young people: pills are less sickly, contain less sugar and children who swallow pills tend to have better adherence to their medication regimens
- For carers: pills have a longer shelf-life, do not require a fridge for storage, are easier to transport and more readily available in local pharmacies
- For prescribers: less prone to errors when writing prescriptions and can prescribe larger quantities
- For pharmacists: pills are more commonly stocked in local pharmacies compared to suspensions.
Due to the above benefits swallowing pills is considered an important life skill for children to learn and the elearning session has been developed to help healthcare professionals and carers teach children and young people how to swallow pills.
The Kidzmed initiative was set up at the Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle, and has won the NHS Sustainability Award, the HSJ Value Award for Pharmacy and Optimisation and the Bright Ideas in Health Award for Demonstrating an Impact upon Quality Improvement. The 15-minute elearning session is for all health and care professionals who want to teach children and young people how to swallow pills using an evidence-based, six-step technique.
For more information about the elearning resource, including details on how to access, visit the elfh website.
COVID-19 Vaccination e-learning programme now live
Health Education England elearning for healthcare has worked in partnership with Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop the COVID-19 Vaccination elearning programme. The elearning programme is designed to provide the health and care workforce involved in the national COVID-19 vaccination programme with the knowledge they need to confidently promote high uptake of the vaccine and deliver the vaccine programme effectively.
The programme currently consists of one core knowledge session, which covers subjects including vaccine eligibility and legal aspects, and an accompanying multiple-choice assessment session. All those undertaking this elearning should complete the core knowledge session as this is designed to provide essential knowledge about COVID-19 and the key principles of vaccination needed to deliver the vaccine.
The elearning sessions describe the national COVID-19 vaccination programme for England. Most of the information in the sessions will be relevant for those involved in the programme throughout the UK and Crown Dependencies. However, those undertaking the programme in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Crown Dependencies should be aware that some details as to how the programme will be delivered may be different. Vaccinators should therefore ensure that they refer to any country-specific information available, so they are familiar with the details of the programme for the country they are practising in.
This elearning programme provides theoretical training. Practical training in vaccine administration, and assessment and sign-off competency is also required before administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
Learners should also complete the vaccine specific session(s), when available, which will provide more detailed information about the vaccine(s). The assessment sessions should be completed after each knowledge session. More vaccine-specific sessions will be added as and when more COVID-19 vaccines become available.
Additional, complementary, elearning sessions including Basic Life Support, anaphylaxis and statutory and mandatory training are available to support vaccinators’ training and education.
For more information about the COVID-19 Vaccination programme, including details on how to access, visit the elfh website.
e-Learning programme to support the transition of families from neonatal units to home
The Institute of Health Visiting and Tiny Lives Trust have worked in partnership with Health Education England elearning for healthcare to develop a new elearning session for health visitors working with families to transition from neonatal units to home.
The elearning session aims to raise awareness of the health visitor’s role in supporting sick and preterm babies. It is intended to complement existing elearning for healthcare training programmes, which are referred to during the session.
The resource was coproduced in partnership with parents of babies who have been on neonatal units.
For more information about the resources, including access details, please visit the elfh website.