Commercial Week 2023: what services does the National Performance Advisory Group (NPAG) offer?

Yesterday, we talked about NPAG and the benefit they bring to the wider NHS but also to EEAST as the host Trust. Today, we’re looking in more detail at some of the services they offer.

Best Value Groups (BVG)

Best Value Groups sit at the core of NPAG. They organise around 20 groups with members from Trusts across the UK, each focused on a specific health service area. 

The BVGs exist to support members in the continuous improvement of their services, although many also seek to influence central government direction and act as a ‘sounding board’ for central bodies.

Some BVGs cover the whole country, and some are split north/ south.  Increasingly, groups share through joint meetings or annual conferences.  The largest group is Waste Management with 102 members from 78 Trusts, followed by the Violence Reduction & Security Management Network with 77 members from 57 Trusts and then the National District Nurses Network with 71 members from 29 Trusts.

Each member-driven BVG comprises four meetings per year and provides a structured forum to share experiences, identify good practice, innovation and information to assist individual managers to develop their own service improvement action plans. 

The groups operate using Chatham House Rules so issues can be discussed in confidence and leaders in each field are welcomed to come and share knowledge, best practice and the day-to-day challenges they face.

The Best Value Group footprint is growing and NPAG currently reaches over 50% of NHS Trusts across England, Scotland and Wales. Their goal is to engage senior personnel in every UK NHS Trust.

 

National conferences

NPAG has created and managed national events for over 25 years, covering every aspect from event conception and planning through to delegate and sponsor recruitment, event management, completion and review.    

Today, they run three annual conferences with more topics being explored for future events. The conferences emerged from Best Value Groups and cover national district nurses, clinical engineering, operating theatres and decontamination. 

Their most successful conference to date was this year’s Theatres and Decontamination Conference 2023, which provided new insights into the hottest issues of the day in real time across these two closely related areas.

The conference saw around 100 delegates and several big-name industry suppliers, coming together to share best practice and listen to keynote speakers from organisations including NHS England, NHS Supply Chain, Acute Hospitals and leads in the field.

NPAG also facilitates a National District Nurses conference aimed at NHS Managers, integrated Managers and SPQ Students within District Nursing, bringing them together to share and learn as a National Network.

Now in its 14th year, the clinical engineering conference is another must-attend event for those in a senior role within Clinical Engineering. It gives trust managers that much-needed assurance that medical devices are being managed effectively and in an efficient and safe manner within set financial restraints.

“This was the first time that I had been to NPAG and I learnt a great deal and will be coming again. Thank You.”
Delegate


Workshops

NPAG offers a variety of training workshops, all of which are CPD certified, providing clients with formal evidence of continuing professional and personal development. Increasingly popular are ‘bespoke’ on site workshops which mean that staff do not have to travel long distances, minimize time away from their roles and, most importantly, ensures the training is tailored specifically to meet organisational needs.

The current workshops cover occupational health, customer care, self-management training and equality and diversity. Workshops are increasingly becoming a core area of focus in the growth of NPAG.  Their aim is to offer an expanded portfolio of facilitated training to the NHS on a national scale. This brings its own rewards – both financially as well as delivering on our promise of helping individuals in continuous improvement of their service.

‘Invaluable course – will prepare me for my future career in occupational health.’
Skin & Respiratory Surveillance History Taking and Case Management.


NPAGNetwork

The NPAGNetwork is a managed Q&A forum which gives members the opportunity to share information and best practice, ask questions, request assistance and information, share documents, and get professional and practical advice from their peers throughout the UK.

It is a closed group, for members only. Information requests are easily submitted via email or an online form where, on receipt, they are processed and disseminated amongst the wider network by an experienced NPAG team member.

The network currently consists of over 600 contacts throughout the UK and helps members with queries such as:

“We have a new EV Estates van arriving shortly and will have it branded with our Trust logo but we would also like to have EV/green branding – could anyone suggest a logo that we could use?” 
NHS Car Parking and Sustainable Transport Network Member

“Are we able to ask members what methods of pest control they use and what is perceived to be best practice?”
 Estates Member

“Would you please share any recently developed EV and EV Charging Policies / Strategies.  Thank you.” 
NHS Sustainability Leads Member

“Does anyone have any collections of historical anaesthetics equipment? I know of collections outside of hospitals, but any within Trusts would be great to have knowledge of.”  Arts, Heritage and Design Member.

For more information about NPAG, or if you’re considering becoming a member, please email: info@npag.eastamb.nhs.uk