Blueprint for Health and Care academy is approved by cabinet
Powys County Council and Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) have joined forces to develop a training academy, in a bid to grow their own health and care workers.
At a council cabinet meeting on Tuesday, December 15, councillors approved the Health and Care Academy Blueprint document and vision.
A site at Bronllys Hospital in Brecon has already been earmarked to be an initial base for the project, which would spread to Newtown as part of the North Powys Wellbeing programme.
Creating its own training facility is a way to address the lack of workers in this vital sector.
Members of the cabinet were given a presentation on the academy proposal by Louise Richards, the Joint Health and Care Strategic Workforce Planning Manager for PTHB.
Ms Richards, said an academy might even be able to offer nursing degrees.
Ms Richards said: “This is about making sure we support our current and future workforce and making sure that they are enabled to do the work we need them to do in years to come.”
She said that not having a University in Powys, “provided a challenge” as it meant that young people left the county to continue their studies.
“It’s really important that we develop an educational offer as close to home as possible to come in to health and care sector as a choice,” said Ms Richards.
The next step would be to create a full business case on how to develop and fund the idea.
Director of Social Services, Ali Bulman told the cabinet: “This is a really exciting, innovative and aspirational piece of work and I commend it, it has my full support.”
Adult Social Care portfolio holder, Councillor Myfanwy Alexander, said: “This will provide young people with really interesting and fulfilling career pathways and also providing residents with the care that they need.”
Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Engagement and Regulatory Services, Councillor Graham Breeze added: “It was very difficult to get excited in these difficult times, but this proposition is one we should all be celebrating.
“For far too long we’ve been unable to attract the key staff we need in the health and care sector.”
“We now have a firm blueprint for the future.”
By 2027, the Health and Care Academy sets out the ambition to be an exemplar provider of rural professional and clinical education, grow the health and care workforce
through skills development, education and local training, whilst supporting the
Welsh Language Active offer, have a leadership talent, that operates at all levels, make sure the workforce is able to respond to people’s needs in a timely way, and be recognised as a centre of excellence for research, development and innovation within Wales.
