External Evaluation of the Out of Programme Pause Initiative for Health Education England

About

Health Education England awarded a contract to Cardiff University for the external evaluation and research of the Out of Programme Pause (OOP-P) initiative.

The evaluation will rigorously record, measure, explore, and evaluate the outcomes of the initial phase of the OOP-P initiative across four HEE local areas: East Midlands, North East, NCEL (London), and Wessex, covering a spectrum of medical specialties.

The evaluation will capture the impact over a three-year period on trainees taking Out of Programme Pause, focusing on trainee wellbeing, retention, impact on service provision, impact on those in supervisory roles (capacity and capability), the impact of counting capabilities in non-training placements, and the impact on trainees' anticipated CCT dates.

A cross-cohort and cross-speciality approach will be used, comparing process and outcomes across different contexts, such as multiple OOP-P local office sites and specialties.

The findings will inform improvements to the initiative and the wider roll out.

The contract value is £89,972.