Faculty retains top spots in latest NHS Health Education performance ratings

Posted Thursday 6 June 2013

Nursing students receive specialist training in the skills laboratories at the Kingston Hill campus. The Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education has received top marks from the NHS for the high quality of the training it provides for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

NHS Health Education has rated the Faculty, run by Kingston University and St George's, University of London, top in the capital for children's nursing and diagnostic radiography in its latest contract performance management league tables. Adult nursing and physiotherapy also perform highly - ranked second in London in their respective categories, while therapeutic radiography is in third spot. Learning disability nursing and midwifery are each placed fourth.

The NHS commissions more than £1 billion worth of education and training courses from higher education institutions each year to develop the capital's healthcare workforce. It places a strong emphasis on monitoring the quality of this training, in line with its goal to provide the best services possible for Londoners.

Diagnostic radiography was one of the subject areas that secured a top spot in the NHS Health Education ratings. The ratings, which have been published for four years, assess how well universities perform across a range of criteria. These include their ability to recruit and select the most suitable prospective students, the academic quality of courses, the effectiveness of practice placements, standards of feedback and student success rates. NHS Health Education draws on the information when it makes decisions about investing in future training programmes.

Dean Professor Fiona Ross said the latest performance indicator ratings reflected the Faculty's commitment to providing the highest quality of teaching and learning for the healthcare professionals of the future. "The outcome is the result of excellent learning in clinical practice, the hard work and dedication of our academic staff and the special qualities of our students, who come from many different backgrounds," she added.

The performance indicator success comes hot on the heels of the news that the Faculty has been ranked top in London and number 15 in the country for nursing and paramedical studies in The Guardian newspaper's latest league table.