New qualification update
session
Lindsay Kimm and Patrick Rankin
National education and training managers
Public Health England leads the NHS Screening Programmes

Welcome
• Housekeeping
• Introductions
• Format of the sessions
• Agenda
2 Qualification update session

Housekeeping
• No fire alarm expected
• Refreshments are available
• Toilets are back through the doors near the lifts (door code)
• Try to keep to time
• Agenda
3 Qualification update session

Agenda
• What is the qualification (Patrick Rankin and Lindsay
Kimm)
• Role of awarding centre and awarding org (Cheryl Bott)
• Assessor qualification (Nicol Rippon)
• Assessment methods and delivering a unit (Bhupindra
Sard)
• Experiences of the qualification (Sarah Pond)
• Registering a new learner (PR and LK)
• Questions
4 Qualification update session

What is the new qualification
• level 3 award on the regulated qualification framework (RQF)
• Diploma for Health Screeners (DES/AAA/NBHS)
• provides clinical screening staff with a nationally recognised
qualification
• ensures clinical staff have the knowledge, skills and understanding
to work in a healthcare environment
• provides screening staff with a framework to develop knowledge
and clinical skills required for their specific screening programme
• numerous career development opportunities
• can add additional screening programmes
5 Qualification update session

Who needs to take the qualification….?
• from 1st April this is the required qualification for clinical staff in DES, AAA
and NBHS(2017)
• includes new all non-professionally regulated new clinical staff
• screening technicians
• screeners (DES)
• Graders (DES)
• screener/graders
• NSHP screeners
• optometrists only need to take role specific units
• admin staff to continue to undertake the existing admin qualification
• previous qualification will remain valid and existing staff do not have to
undertake the diploma for health screeners
6 Qualification update session

Structure of the qualification
• Similar structure to the previous DES qualification
• based on a number of units and evidencing work based
competency to an assessor
• assessors will need to have a qualification in assessing
• learners provide evidence of competency via local
assessments
• quality assured via the similar method as currently by
internal verifiers and EQA
• mandatory units
• role specific units
7 Qualification update session

Mandatory units
• provides screening programme staff with the basic understanding
and core knowledge and skills of working in a healthcare setting
• formalisation of learning that should already undertaken in
screening programmes
• should be covered in employee induction
• based on significantly on the care certificate
• provides confidence that all staff have the same induction - learning
the same skills, principles, knowledge and behaviours to provide
compassionate, safe and high quality health care
• resources available online that cover the majority of the learning
outcomes required for the mandatory units
• skills for care and skills for health websites have lots for
resources……..
8 Qualification update session

Mandatory units
• Engage in personal development in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings
• Promote communication in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings
• Promote equality and inclusion in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings
• Promote and implement health and safety in health and social care
• Principles of safeguarding and protection in health and social care
• Promote person centred approaches in health and social care
• The role of the health and social care worker
• Promote good practice in handling information in health and social care settings
• The principles of Infection Prevention and Control
• Causes and Spread of Infection
• Cleaning, Decontamination and Waste Management
• Principles for implementing duty of care in health, social care or children’s and young people’s
settings
• Health Screening Principles
9 Qualification update session

10 Qualification update session

Core units
• 6 core units or programme specific units for DES
• 3 core units for AAA
• 5 core units for NHSP
• updated, combined and less prescriptive
• based on feedback and survey from learners who have
undertaken the previous qualifications
• allows local programmes to tailor the learning and
assessment for each individual learner
• more fit for purpose for the individual roles within DES
• undertake role specific units………..
11 Qualification update session

Core units DES
1. Anatomy, physiology and pathology of the eye
2. Understanding diabetes and diabetic retinopathy
3. Prepare for diabetic retinopathy screening
4. Undertake diabetic retinopathy imaging
5. Detect retinal disease and classify diabetic retinopathy
6. Understand how to safeguard the wellbeing of children
and young people
12 Qualification update session

Core units DES
13 Qualification update session
Units Screener Grader Screener/grader Optometrist Assistant
13 mandatory units   
Principles of health
screening unit only
Anatomy and physiology of
the eye
  
Understanding diabetes
and diabetic retinopathy
    
Prepare for diabetic
retinopathy screening
  role specific 
Undertake diabetic
retinopathy imaging
  role specific
Detect retinal disease and
classify diabetic
retinopathy
  role specific
Understand how to
safeguard the wellbeing of
children and young people
  

Core unitsAAA
• Principles of AAA screening and treatment
• Principles of ultrasound for AAA screening
• Undertake AAA screening
• All staff that undertake screening within NAAASP need to undertake the
qualification
14 Qualification update session

Core units NHSP
• Prepare to undertake a newborn hearing screen
• The Ear and Hearing
• Undertake an Automated Auditory Brainstem Response
(AABR) Newborn Hearing Screen
• Undertake an Automated Oto-Acoustic Emissions
(AOAE) Newborn Hearing Screen
• Understand How to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Children
and Young People
• Practitioners (nurses, midwifes, HVs) can take role specific units if they want
15 Qualification update session

Further information
23 Qualification update session

More details
• PHE Screening CPD website
http://cpd.screening.nhs.uk/healthscreenerqualification
• PHE Screening blog
https://phescreening.blog.gov.uk/
• PHE Screening helpdesk
PHE.screeninghelpdesk@nhs.net
24 Qualification update session