Training | August 2025
Are you interested in building your discussion skills around vaccine hesitancy?
Let’s Talk About Vaccines is a training session to help build your confidence, skills and knowledge to open up discussions with patients about vaccination decisions.
This 2.5-hour online, interactive session is free to health, social care and voluntary sector staff and students working in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West. It explores the issues, myths and barriers around vaccine hesitancy, providing you with the techniques and approaches to help people make informed choices.
The training has resumed with five sessions scheduled and available to book until March 2026 on BOB ICB’s Let’s Talk About Vaccines training page. Here you can find further information about the training including two videos on why the trainers recommend the session and what staff will get by attending.
Attendees will also be invited to a series of one-hour community of practice (COP) session to enhance learning, share ideas and experience, and ask questions following each training date. There are six sessions across the year, each with a pre-advertised topic.
Training offer | Ongoing [updated August 2025]
Are you interested in building your discussion skills around vaccine hesitancy?
Let’s Talk About Vaccines is a training session to help build your confidence, skills and knowledge to open up discussions with patients about vaccination decisions.
This 2.5-hour online, interactive session is free to health, social care and voluntary sector staff and students working in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West. It explores the issues, myths and barriers around vaccine hesitancy, providing you with the techniques and approaches to help people make informed choices.
The training has resumed with five sessions scheduled and available to book until March 2026 on BOB ICB’s Let’s Talk About Vaccines training page. Here you can find further information about the training including two videos on why the trainers recommend the session and what staff will get by attending.
Attendees will also be invited to a series of one-hour community of practice (COP) session to enhance learning, share ideas and experience, and ask questions following each training date. There are six sessions across the year, each with a pre-advertised topic.
The BOB Head of Ill Health Prevention, Alicia Siraj, has written an inspiring blog on the importance of this training, including attendees’ feedback (available on the BOB website here).
Academic Writing Opportunity | July 2025
Are you passionate about health and social care?
Would you like a chance to publish and share best practice in your area?
The Faculty of Research & Knowledge Exchange is launching a new monthly feature to highlight key health and social care issues affecting diverse patient groups which will be published at The Dentist Magazine.
If you work in health or social care, share your insights on the challenges your community faces and help dental teams better understand the wider needs of their patients. Contribute a 700-word article to promote collaboration across professions and support holistic, patient-centred care.
For more information, please email faculty lead Dr Hoda Wassif (hoda.wassif@beds.ac.uk)
BHSCA Stakeholder Role Vacancy | Live July 2025
Epilepsy Society Vacancy PHYSIOTHERAPIST
Project Evaluation | Published April 2025
Evaluating Work Readiness Amongst Young People:
A Local Volunteering Pilot
More about the pilot here:
The Academy is pleased to present the evaluation findings from the Student Volunteering Skills Record project, which was carried out by the Volunteer Faculty of the Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy and Community Impact Bucks. The project was funded by the Local Skills Improvement Fund for Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy and included in Buckinghamshire’s Local Skills Improvement Plan to help address the cross-sector work readiness priority.
The overall aim of the project was to develop and pilot an innovative digital ‘Bucks volunteer skills record’ to improve and evaluate the level of work readiness amongst young people and adults throughout Bucks with future potential for wider application and implementation across multiple sectors. The pilot acted as an innovative initiative aiming to create opportunities for young people to gain transferrable skills through volunteering and a potential volunteering skills passport. The evaluation report presents findings, new data and recommendations for anyone wishing to support young people to get into employment through volunteering.
“In a highly competitive world, volunteering has become the main route to employment. It can provide skills, confidence and knowledge while at the same time opening up networks and possibilities. When this is offered in the context of vital services, such as healthcare, as well as the civil society sector, the contribution to our communities is considerable. I was very pleased to have been involved in the evaluation of this unique pilot, which I hope will become an inspiration for others independently of location”
- Professor Theo Gavrielides, PhD.
The Academy and Community Impact Bucks are grateful to key partners and supporters who made the project possible including Age UK, Buckinghamshire College Group, Buckinghamshire Community Wellbeing Hub, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Buckinghamshire Mind, Bucks Students’ Union, Citizens Advice Bucks, Community Impact Bucks, Healthwatch Bucks, Lindengate, Sexual Assault & Abuse Support Service Bucks and Milton Keynes, and Windsor Lodge Care Home.
Ongoing Project Updated Summer 2025
The ALIGNS Project (AHPs Leading InteGration betweeN Social Care and Health)
The overall ALIGNS programme objective is to support AHPs in the South East to lead on strengthening the integration between Social Care and Health services, with a focus on adult care, for the benefit of the community they serve. BHSCA is working in partnership with Allied Health Solutions (AHS), to deliver this NHSE SE WT&E commissioned programme.
The aim is to support the AHPs in the SE to lead on strengthening the integration between H≻ this work is based on the NHSE AHPs Integration Framework, published in 2023.
Buckinghamshire is one of four regional case study sites with a focus on developing a proof of concept for Enhanced Care Integration Teams, and exploring the development of a new volunteer role to support frail adults transitioning from the NHS into social care.
The end of project report is scheduled to be delivered in Summer/Autumn 2025.
Anonymised AHP survey returns, Anonymised postal survey data, HIT satisfaction data, Literature review, Focus group questions, Focus group invite, Cover letter for postal survey, Experts by experience postal survey Q's
Training offer | December 2024
ZSA's (Zero Suicide Alliance) Suicide Awareness Training is a short, free, online course that can be taken by anyone who wants to learn basic suicide awareness and prevention skills.
ZSA believe suicide is preventable and they know that sometimes all it takes to save a life is a conversation.
More information on the training offer:
Who it's for:
The training is aimed at anyone aged 16 and over who wants to know what to do if they’re ever in a situation where someone they know or see may be struggling with thoughts of suicide.
What you'll learn:
The training will take you through suicide risk factors, suicide warning signs, coached scenarios sharing approaches for how you can talk to someone you’re worried about, videos from people sharing real experiences and where to find information about available support. At the end of the course, you’ll get a training certificate to download.
We hope through the training, more people will feel equipped and confident to talk to someone who may be struggling.
How long it takes to complete:
This is a short online course that can be taken at your own pace. You can choose the parts of the course that you interact with. We recommend allowing yourself at least 30 minutes.
Event | November 2024
HealthTec's Health Wing Launch
Buckinghamshire College Group has officially opened its state-of-the-art Health Wing, a pioneering facility designed to transform health education for students and professionals.
The Health Wing, which includes HealthTec, a dental suite, a hospital ward, an immersive suite and manual handling training space was unveiled during a launch event on Friday 29 November 2024, and formally opened by the College's Principal, Jenny Craig, alongside Juliet Anderson from Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy. The launch event, held at the College's Aylesbury Campus, brought together representatives from Buckinghamshire Council, the NHS, the residential care home sector, the dental sector, Bucks Business First, and Aylesbury Town Council.
During the event, attendees were given tours of the new facilities, which have been built to replicate real-world healthcare environments. Students training in the Health Wing will now have access to an immersive suite where complex scenarios can be simulated, a hospital ward for hands-on patient care practice, and a dental suite equipped with modern tools and technology.
Project Report | Posted May 2024
Developing collaborative partnerships with local faith groups to promote positive mental health and wellbeing
A new report sets out how health and social care professionals, faith leaders and members of faith communities can work together to identify new ways of partnership working to improve community mental health. Project Steering Group Chair, Professor David Sines CBE, and members of the project team explain the project, their findings, and recommendations in the report: Developing collaborative partnerships with local faith groups to promote positive mental health and wellbeing (Click to download the full report).
More about the pilot here:
The report also includes research from the University of Bedfordshire to better understand barriers some faith communities might have to accessing mental health support, and an evaluation of the co-design and co-development of a new higher education student placement programme in faith communities.
In the Foreword to the report Professor David Sines CBE advised that ‘Faith leaders and their teams have deep knowledge of their own communities and the ways in which mental health needs are perceived, understood, acknowledged, and best responded to. This project confirms how this level of insight and understanding can be further nurtured and aligned with the professional skills and expertise of mental health professionals to provide more meaningful and intelligible systems of support for our service users. This partnership not only enables us to develop a greater sense of purposeful engagement with members of our local communities, but it also enables us to grow, learn and develop a greater sense of cultural competence and capability’.
This project was commissioned by NHS England (previously HEE) and the concept endorsed by local faith leaders and members of faith communities in 2022. Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy is most privileged to have been involved in the design and leadership of this project which has been steered by representatives from faith communities and faith leaders, professionals in NHS, social care and voluntary organisations in Buckinghamshire, all contributing a wealth of experience and knowledge.
The recommendations outlined in the report will be used to shape the delivery of future engagement and awareness raising, education and training, and research initiatives. These will be actively supported by the Academy’s Volunteer Faculty in partnership with colleagues from the project steering group.
Our sincerest thanks to the faith leaders, community members and volunteers for their contributions to this project, for their insight, honesty, patience, and positivity about what can be achieved in partnership, and for their willingness to try something new. To our colleagues in our mental health services, frontline practitioners, commissioners, trainers, and managers for sharing their experiences and candid reflections, for their motivation to make positive change, and for their genuine passion to provide the best possible care. We are also exceptionally fortunate for the large number of colleagues who contributed as both leaders in their faith communities and as retired or current healthcare professionals, providing valuable insight to the perspectives of faith communities and service providers.
Funded Project | Initial funding period: April 2024 - March 2025 | Continued funding period: April 2025 - March 2026
Health Inequalities Communities of Practice
Do you work or volunteer with people who experience health inequalities?
Health inequalities are unfair, avoidable differences in health across the population, and between separate groups within society. Inequalities include how long people are likely to live, health conditions they may experience and care that is available to them.
What is a Community of Practice and how can it help address health inequalities?
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern (e.g. health inequality), a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfil both individual and group goals.
Event | June 2023
BOB ICS Education & Training Summit
Oxford Brookes University, Thursday 15th June 2023
An opportunity for key BOB stakeholders to come together and discuss the education and training of the BOB health and social care workforce, delivered by partners and led by BHSCA.
Webinar | Recorded 16th March 2022
Research & Knowledge Exchange's 'Evaluation Webinar'
Working on a service evaluation or thinking of starting one?
Look no further, this webinar is just for you!
Please enjoy the recording below of the outstanding speakers including Professor Gurch Randhawa, Dr Yannis Pappas, and Professor Angel Chater, and chaired by Dr Louise Grant from University of Bedfordshire, for the first BHSCA Evaluation Webinar!
Lecture Series | 2022
This series has been produced by [then co-faculty leads] Dr Yannis Pappas and Professor Julia Williams of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Faculty to offer short public-facing, informational videos on a range of topics concerning well-being.
- Chapter One: Ageing Well by Dr. Jitka Vseteckova (Open University)
- Chapter Two: Bowel Cancer by Manju Khanna (Senior Macmillan Colorectal Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at London Northwest University Hospital Trust)
- Chapter Three: Art and Wellbeing by Jo Vincent (stroke survivor, artist, and part-time art teacher)
Lecture Series | 2021
BHSCA's 10 Lecture Series 2021: Research & Innovations Supporting the Health & Social Care Workforce
The Research & Innovations Supporting the Health & Social Care Workforce Lecture Series comprised of 10 lectures which was produced by the University of Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire New University. Follow the link below to view each lecture!
Please note that previous events, training offers, vacancies, reports, projects and other items that have previously been hosted on this page may have since been archived and/or removed from the website. Please contact bht.bhsca-info@nhs.net if you would like to inquire about something specific.
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