NHSE endeavours to ensures equality of resource allocation and access to professional skills training. Each trust is allocated a portion of SAS Professional Development funding to support their local workforce, including the funding of an SAS tutor.
Principles for funding
1. The funding will be used to support specialty doctors and specialists, to enable them to deliver high-quality care for patients, to promote improvements in services, and to help create a collaborative, inclusive and learning-focused culture and work environment.
2. The funding should not be used to supplement or replace any existing funding available to all SAS doctors. The distribution of the funding should be agreed upon by the SAS tutor in agreement with the SAS local negotiation committee (LNC) representatives and the SAS advocate (where they exist).
3. The funding can be used to support both individual, and collective professional development activities, across a greater proportion of the SAS workforce including (but not limited to):
- Supporting individuals undertaking a Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) or meeting portfolio development needs, such as undertaking a credential.
- Leadership and management development (training and other learning opportunities).
- Training in coaching, mentoring and mental health support, to support other members of the workforce.
- Training in Principles of Quality Improvement; Medical Professionalism; Reflection and Reflective Writing; Improving Teamwork and Team Experience; Improving Well-being; AI in Healthcare.
- Creating and funding specific roles, such as for mentoring locally employed doctors.
- Funding SAS-specific bodies or events, such as establishing a regular SAS Forum or organising teambuilding events.
4. The funding should not be used to support the following activities:
- Mandatory and statutory training courses that SAS doctors are already expected to complete.
- Books, journals, library services, computer equipment and software packages.
- Examination fees.
How to apply for funding
If individual doctors have a specific initiative that they would like to request SAS Development funding for, then they should first contact the SAS Lead for their Trust (List of Wessex SAS tutors).
Contact us
The Associate Dean for Wessex SAS doctors is Dr Julie Onslow (julie.onslow1@nhs.net).