Personal and Professional Skills / Development

There is a variety of personal and professional skills development. Before booking a place on the course, please read the course description to ensure the training is suitable for you role.

The Trust has committed significant funding into the development of the education and training offer. Some courses may have restrictions, including which staff groups can attend and that a learning contract must be signed by you and your manager before you can book onto the course.

You can find further information regarding the learning contract and a copy of the contract itself in the CPD section of this website.

Employees of Bedfordshire Hospitals are able to attend training on any site.

NHS Elect is a national member network organisation that has been providing NHS organisations with high-quality support and training since 2002.

Hosted by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, they are part of the NHS and work regularly with NHS England and NHS Improvement, social care and local government, and other national bodies. This gives an in-depth understanding of emerging healthcare policy and best practice from across the UK, which they use to support work with their members.

There are a range of live webinars, on demand courses and learning recourses for you to access.

You can register on the NHS Elect website.

We are pleased to offer our events virtually online, allowing you to attend safely from your workplace or home. Conferences and masterclasses include a combination of live webcam presentations, training materials, video presentations and interactive exercises.

​All you need is a quiet space, a good internet connection and PC or laptop with camera and microphone to allow you to see, hear and speak to the facilitator and other delegates. We will provide full instructions for accessing the platform along with login details. ​

  • Handouts: You will be provided with 3-months online access to workshop materials, case studies and activities, along with supporting background resources, videos and reading. ​
  • Q&A: Interaction is encouraged, you can ask questions as you would at a face to face meeting, there are breakout sessions for group discussion and polling to share experience and opinions.  ​
  • Breaks: There are breaks in our programmes including time for lunch and networking.​
  • CPD: Certified by the CPD Certification Service you will be emailed a framework for reflection pre-event  and a certificate post event.

This is available for Nurses, Midwives, AHPs, Nursing Associates.

Please email CPD@bedsft.nhs.uk to enrol.

Assertive people perform better. They have the confidence to move projects and tasks forward by making timely, logical decisions based on mutually beneficial outcomes. Hamilton Mercer’s Methodologies™ help people develop assertiveness skills that improve performance and relationships with colleagues and patients.

Course content

Upon completing this course learners will be able to:

  • Communicate with confidence, clarity and certainty.
  • Establish healthy boundaries and have the confidence to say no to requests.
  • Persuade and influence others in a fair-minded way, to achieve ‘win-win’ outcomes.
  • Apply the correct level of assertion when resolving discrepancies, managing conflict and dealing with manipulative people.
  • Reveal the consequences of a person’s unwanted/inappropriate actions in an – empathetic and non-threatening manner.

Target audience

People of all experience levels and seniority who want to improve personal performance, well-being and work/life balance.

Course delivery

Face to face and virtual sessions are available.

Pre-course requirements

You must book with CPD and be 100% compliant with statutory mandatory training. You must also have study leave approved and protected.

Course dates

Date Time Venue

Booking instructions

Please email your interest to CPD@ldh.nhs.uk

It’s not just what you say, but how you say it too. Effective communicators are keenly aware of this and are skilled in both verbal and non-verbal techniques. Hamilton Mercer’s Methodologies™ teach powerful techniques to help people raise their self-awareness, project natural confidence and positively influence others.

Course content

Upon completing this course learners will be able to:

  • Present information in a clear, concise and influential manner.
  • Confidently introduce themselves and sustain conversations with new people.
  • Listen and question empathetically to understand the needs of others.
  • Select the correct degree of assertion when giving feedback.
  • Summarise plans and next steps for each participant in a conversation.

Target audience

This course is targeted at people of all experience levels and seniority who want to improve their self-awareness, communication skills and influence when interacting with people at all levels.

Course delivery

Face to face and virtual sessions available.

Pre-course requirements

You must book with CPD and be 100% compliant with statutory mandatory training. Must have study leave approved and protected.

Course dates

Date Time Venue
9 April 2025 9:15 – 16:30 Luton – The Hat Factory
29 April 2025 9:15 – 16:30 Bedford – The Embankment Hotel

Booking instructions

Please email your interest to CPD@ldh.nhs.uk

Resolving conflict is about more than discussing facts – views and feelings must be valued, too. Remember: ‘The patient’s perception is their reality’. Hamilton Mercer’s Delegation Methodologies™ help people remain calm, empathetic and responsive during difficult interactions so they can arrive at favourable outcomes.

Course content

Upon completing this course learners will be able to:

  • Develop self-awareness and resilience, and not feel personally attacked.
  • Quickly establish the root cause of issues and the desired outcomes of customers.
  • Demonstrate genuine empathy, to help defuse conflict, build trust, and identify appropriate solutions.
  • Structure difficult conversations to keep them relevant and timely.
  • Assert themselves appropriately, to confront unacceptable / manipulative behaviours.

Target audience

People of all experience levels and seniority who have challenging interactions with external customers (clients / suppliers) and internal customers (colleagues / contractors) across all communications channels – face to face, telephone and written.

Course delivery

This course will be delivered face to face.

Pre-course requirements

You must book with CPD and be 100% compliant with statutory mandatory training. Must have study leave approved and protected.

Course dates

Date Time Venue
3 April 2025 9:15 – 16:30 Luton – The Hat Factory
8 April 2025 9:15 – 16:30 Bedford – The Embankment Hotel

Booking instructions

Please email your interest to CPD@ldh.nhs.uk

When we are efficient with our time, we get more done and improve the quality of our work. This results in a better work/life balance and improved wellbeing. Hamilton Mercer’s Methodologies™ help people get organised, remain focused, boost productivity, optimise efficiency and meet important deadlines.

Course content

Upon completing this course learners will be able to:

  • Set achievable goals and pinpoint opportunities for optimising work schedules.
  • Prioritise tasks based on their ‘importance’, ‘urgency’ and ‘significance’.
  • Manage a variety of ‘planned’ and ‘unplanned’ tasks.
  • Remain focused in office and hybrid working environments.
  • Quickly assess the suitability of ad-hoc requests and manage expectations assertively.

Target audience

People of all experience levels and seniority who want to improve personal performance, well-being and work/life balance.

Course delivery

This course will be delivered face to face and virtually.

Pre-course requirements

You must book with CPD and be 100% compliant with statutory mandatory training. You must also have study leave approved and protected.

Course dates

Date Time Venue

Booking instructions

Please email your interest to CPD@ldh.nhs.uk