Supporting advanced practice: feedback from a mental health, community and primary care advanced practice support project in South Yorkshire, UK

Abstract

Background: Despite the significant input from Heath Education England (HEE), now NHS England (NHSE), there are still significant variations around advanced practice programmes, support and training, particularly in less developed areas such as mental health, community posts and primary care. To help target these areas, and to support the NHS Long Term Plan (2023) to increase the number of advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs), the Faculty of Advanced Practice South Yorkshire recruited three ACP leads from mental health, community, and primary care backgrounds to establish a support project led by one professional lead. These leads were able to utilise their lived experience of completing the ACP MSc programme and working as an ACP to help trainee advanced clinical practitioners (tACPs) navigate their journey. The ACP leads also developed a variety of educational events, which further supported the trainees' needs. Aim: This article reports the feedback given via an online questionnaire from trainees that accessed the project, which ended in March 2024. Its aim is to highlight the often-undervalued concept of using clinicians personal experience regarding advanced training and practice, to mentor, support and ultimately retain the future ACP workforce. Methods: An email with a link to a questionnaire was sent to 128 tACPs or recently qualified ACPs that had applied for their training via the Faculty of Advanced Practice South Yorkshire. The questionnaire, created in Microsoft Forms, was completed anonymously, and produced both numerical and free-text data. The questionnaire solicited feedback around: the number of contacts they had and how they contacted; the ACP leads; types of support accessed; and the educational events available. Free text answers were analysed by the author (CJ) and a second reviewer (SF) to generate a consensus on themes. Results: A total of 64 clinicians responded, of which 43 were tACPs, 10 were ACPs, five had other job titles (community matron, pharmacist, practice nurse) and five did not state what their job title was. Responses suggest that the support accessed from the project was highly beneficial and could not be gained elsewhere. A key factor in the project's success was the ACP leads' lived experience of having previously completed advanced practice training, as well as their ability to tailor learning events to the trainees' needs. Conclusion: Meeting the demands of ACP training in areas where the role is less established remains an ongoing challenge. It seems some of these challenges relate to the lack of practical support being provided by employers or higher education institutions, such as lived experience of completing the task of ACP training. Support projects, like the one discussed in this article, appear aptly placed to help fulfil these needs and begs the question ‘why aren't there more?’, especially when advanced practitioners are fundamental to the future healthcare workforce.