DHU Healthcare 'grow their own' as an adult learning provider

DHU Healthcare’s adult learning service has become a learning provider for the very first time, helping to further develop the career of its people.
A not-for-profit, Community Interest Company, DHU provides NHS services across the Midlands including the region’s NHS 111 service, urgent treatment centres, community and out of our nursing and GP surgeries.
For the very first time, the DHU Academy is acting as a learning provider, launching its emergency Contact Handler Apprenticeship Programme, aimed at current 111 Health Advisors to give them essential skills to help progress their career.
Spanning across all NHS 111 advice centres in the Midlands, these Health Advisors will develop a strong blend of communication and decision-making skills, enabling them to confidently assess situations, ask the right questions, and provide safe, effective support for patients. Alongside this, they’ll build resilience, professionalism, and the ability to manage complex patient symptoms and circumstances, while continuing to balance learning with their role as a Health Advisor.
Sharon Davies is Head of the DHU Academy and told us: “It’s a landmark moment for us as an organisation, to be able to create, provide and deliver our very own, tailor-made apprenticeship with a recognised level three qualification. It gives us the chance to look at how we run this 12 month course and develop it to offer similar opportunities to other areas of DHU such as urgent care, community care, corporate and primary care.
“It’s a 12-month apprenticeship that includes elements such as mental health first aid, Equally Yours training, the Care Certificate and a coaching qualification. Those who achieve the qualification will still be a HA but will have the skills, knowledge and experience to develop their careers in a number of different ways.
“It’s about providing a career pathway, giving them an insight into what they are capable of achieving and showing them that we will invest in their development if they want a career with us. We have started with 20 Health Advisors with another 20 joining in June, we can’t wait to see where this takes us and the positive impact it will have on the care we can provide our patients.”
The apprenticeship programme started at the beginning of April with the second cohort of 20 HAs due to start in the Summer. It is hoped that further courses will be created for other health professionals across DHU’s services, as part of continued efforts to help its people to develop their careers within the organisation.