New content added to Perinatal Mental Health e-learning programme

Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has been working with the Institute of Health Visiting, the National Workforce Skills Development Unit at The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, maternity and general practice leads and HEE’s Mental Health team to add new content to the Perinatal Mental Health e-learning programme.

The Perinatal Mental Health programme is designed to help educate and develop the workforce’s confidence and competence in caring for people with perinatal mental health problems. The planned updates to the existing e-learning programme are particularly timely, aiming to support key health and care colleagues working with pregnant mothers and new parents, during the additional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two of the six new e-learning modules were developed by the Institute of Health Visiting, in partnership with HEE, and look at:

Perinatal Mental Health: Health Visitor Assessment
Perinatal Mental Health: Health Visitor Interventions

Melita Walker, Mental Health Lead iHV, commented:

“Here at the iHV, we really do believe that there is no health without mental health! And so, we are absolutely delighted to be launching these modules during Mental Health Awareness Week.

“Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) is, to coin a phrase, “ everyone’s business” and perhaps now, more than ever, it is even more vital that all those who work alongside families understand the importance of perinatal mental health: What it is, why it matters and what they can do to support good family mental health and wellbeing.

“It has been a truly collaborative effort, in getting these modules ready to launch during Mental Health Awareness Week and we would like to thank all our partners in making this happen – including Sylvia Woolley, Catherine Lowenhoff, Judy Shakespeare, Toni Turner, colleagues at Health Education England and the National Workforce Skills Development Unit at The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.”

The new content covers six sessions to complement the existing e-learning programme. Each of the six e-learning modules last around 20-30 minutes.

The following sessions are now available:

Introduction to Perinatal Mental Health 1
Introduction to Perinatal Mental Health 2
Perinatal Mental Health in the Antenatal Period
Perinatal Mental Health in the Postnatal Period
Perinatal Mental Health: Health Visitor Assessment
Perinatal Mental Health: Health Visitor Interventions

For more information about the Perinatal Mental Health e-learning programme, including details of how to access, please visit the link below:

Go to HEE eLfH Perinatal Mental Health e-learning programme

The link to this e-learning programme is also on the iHV e-learning resource page:

Go to iHV e-learning resource page

New content added to the Domestic Violence and Abuse e-learning programme

Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has been working with the Institute of Health Visiting to add new content to the Domestic Violence and Abuse e-learning programme.

The planned updates to the existing e-learning programme are particularly timely due to the expected rise in domestic violence and abuse cases as a result of the considerable social and economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A leading domestic abuse charity in the UK has already reported a 25% increase in contacts after the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Alison Morton, Director of Policy and Quality at the Institute of Health Visiting, commented:

“We know that COVID-19 is putting pressure on all families and we need to heed the stark warning from other countries like China and Italy, as well as emerging data from the UK, which shows that domestic violence increases during “lockdown”. It is therefore vitally important that victims of abuse are identified and supported at this time when their needs may be hidden. We hope that these timely resources will be helpful for practitioners working with children and families experiencing domestic violence and abuse; the content has been developed by experts in the field to support best practice.”

The Domestic Violence and Abuse e-learning package aims to equip health visitors and nurses with the skills and knowledge to enable them to provide a proactive, responsive and safe service to families experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

The new content covers four new introductory modules to complement the existing sessions. The e-learning has been developed following a refresh of the evidence, policy and legislation on domestic violence and abuse. Each of the four e-learning modules last around 30-45 minutes.

The following sessions are now available:

Understanding domestic violence and abuse
Identification of domestic violence and abuse
Risk assessment for victims of domestic violence and abuse
Safety planning and support for families

For more information about the Domestic Violence and Abuse programme, including details of how to access, please visit the link below:

Go to HeEE eLfH Domestic Violence and Abuse e-learning

The link to this e-learning programme is also on the iHV e-learning resource page:

Go to iHV e-learning resource page

Free, open access to HEE COVID-19 e-learning programme

Health Education England e-Learning for Healthcare (HEE e-LfH) has created an e-learning programme in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic that is free to access, without logging in*, for the entire UK health and care workforce, including those working in the NHS, the independent sector and social care.

The programme includes key materials to help the health and care workforce respond to Coronavirus.

The Coronavirus programme currently includes limited resources, but we will add more content in the coming days and weeks. The additional content will include new sessions and content curated from different sources such as existing HEE e-LfH sessions and materials from other organisations such as NHS England and NHS Improvement or the World Health Organization.

Content in the Coronavirus programme currently includes:

Essential Guidance from the NHS, Government and WHO
Infection Prevention and Control
Personal Protection Equipment
Critical Care Resources
RCGP learning
Invasive Ventilation
Intensive Care Medicine
Anaesthesia
Induction of International and Returning GPs
Statutory and Mandatory Training

*HEE e-LfH has removed the requirement to log in to access the Coronavirus (COVID-19) programme to make it as easy as possible for the health and care workforce to access the learning resources. However, be aware that accessing the content without logging in means that your learning activity won’t be tracked and you won’t create a learning record. If you wish to have a learning record to demonstrate your compliance you will need to have an e-LfH account and be logged in. You can register for an e-LfH account using any email address.

For more information about the programme, which is free for the health and care workforce to access without the need to register, visit www.e-lfh.org.uk/coronavirus.

Go to HEE e-LfH Coronavirus e-learning

Another HEE resource, SCRIPT e-learning, is now freely available to anyone with a NHS email address. For more information visit www.safepresciber.org, email [email protected] and or follow @safeprescriber on Twitter.