Case Study: Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust achieves fairer access to CPD with NHS Employers

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust improves CPD equity with NHS Employers in 3 time horizons

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (eput) faced a challenge in ensuring equitable access to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) funds for its staff. The trust needed to improve transparency, governance, and the tracking of its CPD investment to provide fairer development opportunities, particularly for staff with protected characteristics, and to better align spending with workforce priorities.

NHS Employers worked with eput to implement a structured solution, which included broadening the membership of its Extended Study Leave Panels through a rotational model and integrating finance representation for better scrutiny. NHS Employers also supported the move to a digital appraisal system on ESR for centralized reporting. This resulted in more equitable access to CPD, stronger financial oversight, improved workforce planning, and enhanced data-driven decision making, ensuring CPD investment delivered measurable impact aligned to service needs.

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (eput)