The voice of business in the Tees region | 73
The Operating Department Practice
Degree Apprenticeship offers healthcare
staff the chance to study for a degree
whilst they are employed.
and are a collaboration between a university
and a company. They are part-funded by
Innovate UK to help businesses embed
innovations and improve productivity
through the better use of knowledge,
technology and skills being generated in UK
universities.
Over the course of the KTP, the Teesside
University team and inventors Professor
Denis Martin and Dr Cormac Ryan will carry
out clinical evaluations and trials on the
patent applied for device, before ultimately
launching a device that is ready to be used
on the open market.
Dr Ryan said: “At the end of the KTP
we will have developed a product that
has the potential to make a real impact
on the quality of life for people who have
undergone amputation surgery.”
‘Outstanding’ apprenticeship provision
Apprenticeships delivered by the School
of Health & Social Care were key to an
‘Outstanding’ rating when Ofsted inspected
the university’s Higher Apprenticeship
provision.
The university was one of the first higher
education institutions to have its provision
subject to a full inspection by Ofsted.
The education watchdog examined the
university’s Higher Apprenticeship provision
across five categories, rating every area
as Outstanding from leadership and
management, to learner outcomes.
At the time of the inspection, Teesside
University had just under 300 students
enrolled on Higher Apprenticeships. Just
over half of those were studying the
Nursing Associate Apprenticeship, while
others were on Laboratory Scientist
or Healthcare Assistant Practitioner
Apprenticeships.
The Ofsted report praised Teesside
University’s resources and learning
environments and referred to how
apprentices grow in confidence throughout
their course.
Operating to a high standard
This year also saw the first entrants to the
university’s Operating Department Practice
Degree Apprenticeship.
The degree apprenticeship allows
healthcare staff to earn whilst they learn
giving them a chance to study for a degree
whilst they are employed.
The apprentices study alongside full-time
students enrolled on the university’s BSc
(Hons) Operating Department Practice
Studies.
At the end of the three-year
apprenticeship, the students receive the
degree and are qualified to work as an
Operating Department Practitioner (ODP).
In January, the first students from County
Durham & Darlington and North Tees &
Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trusts began
studying on the degree apprenticeship
and there is further interest from other
healthcare providers to enrol students on
future cohorts.
ODPs are a vital part of the
multidisciplinary perioperative theatre team,
providing a high standard of patient-centred
care during anaesthesia, surgery and post
anaesthetic care (recovery).
Professional training for the health sector
Teesside University’s Centre for
Professional and Executive Development
(CPED) in Darlington is home to a suite of
Professor Lisa Bayliss-Pratt, Director of
Nursing and Deputy Director of Education
and Quality, Health Education England
officially opens the Clinical Skills Suite at
Darlington Campus, Teesside University.
specially created Skills Labs to cater for the
continuing development needs of the health
sector.
The labs replicate the look and feel of
hospital and physiotherapy wards to allow
NHS workers to train in a perfect simulation
of a clinical environment.
The labs, which are used to upskill and
train healthcare workers from across the
country, were opened by Professor Lisa
Bayliss-Pratt, the director of Nursing at
Health Education England.
She said: “Facilities like this are crucial
in terms of helping all trainees to learn and
develop and to try things out in different
ways in order to gain confidence in what
they are doing. They are absolutely vital to
high quality education and training.”
Bringing innovation into healthcare
Teesside University has signed a strategic
partnership agreement with North Tees and
Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust designed
to enhance innovation in healthcare and
education in the Tees Valley.
The partnership reinforces the
commitment of the two organisations to
work in collaboration through advanced
education, training, research and innovation
within the healthcare environment.
Since the signing of the strategic
partnership, two innovation projects have
been particularly progressive.
The School of Science, Engineering &
Design has helped develop a prototype for a
‘birthing stool’ which provides support and
a more comfortable position for mothers
during labour.
It is now undergoing a programme of
evaluation to explore its viability.
The engineering department is also
working on a leg lifter prototype to assist
carers to help patients with back problems
lift their legs, thus preventing ulcers and
wounds.
Based on a design developed by a
Teesside University student, the trust is
now looking to develop the prototype and
commercialise it in the long-term.
For more information on how Teesside University can help your business or
organisation visit tees.ac.uk/business.