Coleg Llandrillo and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) held a celebration for Healthcare Practice Higher Education learners.

The Venue Cymru event marked the academic achievements of more than 80 healthcare support workers who achieved the Level 4 Certificate of Higher Education in Healthcare Practice.

The programme results from a strong and committed strategic partnership between Coleg Llandrillo, Betsi Cadwaladr and Bangor University and has been commissioned and supported by Health Education and Improvement Wales.

It develops learners’ higher-level knowledge and skills, enabling employed Healthcare Support Workers to carry out higher-level duties within their posts and empowering them to apply for an increased range of roles that extend their responsibilities.

Many pursue careers in nursing, and the programme provides the potential for progression directly to the second year of the Bachelor of Nursing (BN) degree at all higher education institutions in Wales and beyond.

The programme has grown significantly since 2013, beginning with a single cohort of eight students. Health Education Improvement Wales now commissions Grŵp Llandrillo Menai to deliver the programme to more than 180 Healthcare Support Workers across health, primary care and social care in North Wales and across all of Wales through distance learning.

Speakers at the event included Paul Flanagan, Principal of Coleg Llandrillo, Dyfed Edwards, Chair of BCUHB, Sandra Roberts, Bangor University lecturer, emergency nurse practitioner and healthcare support worker practice lead, and Martin Riley, Deputy Director of Education, Commissioning and Quality for the Education Strategy and Transformation Directorate at Health Education and Improvement Wales.

Also speaking at the event were Rhiannon Jones and Dr Carolyn Middleton MBE, Band 4 Project (Nursing) leads for the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer, Welsh Government, Hayley Lloyd, Coleg Llandrillo Healthcare Practice programme lead and Healthcare Practice Higher Education alumni Daniel Baird-Clarke, Kelly Duff and Sandra Roberts.