Health Education England


Health Education England is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health. Their function is to provide national leadership and coordination for the education and training within the health and public health workforce within England. It has been operational since June 2012.
Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive of East London NHS Foundation Trust, a psychiatrist, was appointed Chief Executive in March 2020, succeeding Prof Ian Cumming.

Functions

Key functions of HEE include:
In May 2017 the Court of Appeal decided that the organisation could be considered as an employer of junior doctors, in relation to whistle blowing claims brought via an Employment Tribunal, through the case of Dr Chris Day. Dr Day claimed he was discriminated against as a whistle blower but later acknowledged, as part of a settlement agreement, that HEE had acted in good faith towards him.. However there is evidence to suggest that the settlement was forced upon Dr. Day and he continues to appeal.

History

HEE was one of the new bodies set out in the NHS reforms of April 2012. Originally established as a Special Health Authority on 28 June 2012, it became a non-departmental public body on 1 April 2015 under the provisions of the Care Act 2014.

Plans

Its third national workforce plan, published in December 2015, provides for an increase of nearly 15% in nurses and doctors trained by 2020. This is planned to lead to an increase of 21,133 qualified adult nurses, 6039 hospital consultants and 5381 General Practitioners after allowing for retirement and staff turnover.

Junior doctors contract

In February 2016, the chief executive of HEE Ian Cumming sent a letter to all the chief executives of NHS Foundation trusts indicating that the organisation could cut funding for training posts in any trust which refused to impose the new juniors doctor contract. In January 2017, emails seen by the newspaper The Independent showed that HEE sent drafts of the letter to the Department of Health and that the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt was aware of the letter prior to publication.