The 'FINEST' project

The 'FINEST' project aimed to develop an integrated training programme to enable staff from different professions working at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, to develop effective inter-professional collaborations and improve health outcomes.  The trust implemented the Faculty of Inter-professional Education and Staff Training (FINEST) project over three years.   

AskFuse was approached by the Trust to assist with researching the knowledge gap for the relationship between Inter-professional Education (IPE) and patient care.  Despite worldwide use, the evidence base on IPE was limited due to a lack of practice based-evaluation studies and a dominance of American academic studies favouring trial evidence.  In particular qualitative evidence is lacking on the relationship between IPE and patient care.

AskFuse supported this enquiry by publicising the request across the Fuse network of researchers.  As a result, Fuse researchers from Northumbria University conducted the evaluation using their expertise in realist evaluation methods.  In addition, AskFuse helped the Trust to add value and impact by extending the scope of the project.   

The evaluation, which was supported by AskFuse, resulted in:

• Reducing the knowledge gap by conducting a literature review on inter-professional education, particularly on best practices within health settings
• Developing a PhD project to evaluate the project, which increased research capacity and capability in the region
• Increasing knowledge, value and impact by evaluating two pilot projects: a preceptorship programme for all newly graduated health care practitioners and another project developing the Winter Pressures (Resilience) Ward into a ‘training ward’
• Collaboration between the FINEST project team and Fuse researchers at Northumbria University
• Continuously providing feedback from secondary data analysis and qualitative information from interviews/surveys with staff and patients.

The evaluation provided the trust with timely evidence to inform the structure of a new inter-professional training programme.

For more information, please contact:
AskFuse manager: Peter van der Graaf
Phone: 01642 342757
Email: p.van.der.Graaf@tees.ac.uk

Last modified: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 10:37:41 GMT