NHS consultants are being forced to undergo ‘checkbox’ training that ‘an eight-year-old could do’ while patients languish on waiting lists, MPs have heard.
NHS leaders were told why staff need to undertake mandatory training in times of crisis, such as on computer and fire safety.
Dr. Caroline Johnson, an MP who was health minister during Liz Truss’ brief premiership, said she has had to complete 29 mandatory training programs – some annually.
At yesterday’s Commons health committee meeting, the consultant pediatrician questioned whether this was a good use of her time when the waiting list stood at 7.7 million.
NHS consultants are being forced to complete ‘checkbox training’ ‘that an eight-year-old could do’ while patients languish on waiting lists, MPs have heard (File Image)
She explains: “We get asked things like, ‘What should you do if you receive a phishing email? Do you choose the correct option: reply, open the attachments, forward to your colleagues or follow your organization’s procedures?’
“Another question we received: ‘It is important to lock your computer or mobile device when you are not using it, true or false?’ There are consultants who provide these training courses. I read them to my eight-year-old and he was able to answer them.”
Other examples included videos of gasoline being poured on a campfire and whether defibrillator electrodes placed on the abdomen were “in the right place.”
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, medical director of NHS England, said there was clearly ‘a balance to be struck’, adding: ‘We can discuss the quality of the questions and how it is asked, but I don’t think anyone has will disagree that cyber security is one of the biggest risks we face within the NHS and of course wider public bodies.
One pediatrician wondered if this was a good use of her time when the waiting list had reached 7.7 million (File image)
“So I think it’s perfectly legitimate to make sure that staff are aware of some of the risks around cyber security, and I think it’s right that that is part of mandatory training.”
Meanwhile, Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said the waiting list would have fallen significantly had there not been a series of strikes by medics. More than a million patient appointments have been rescheduled due to industrial action.
Ms Pritchard added: ‘It is the patients who are suffering from this.’