Section 86(6) of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 requires the HSE to manage medical education and training services as ‘health and personal social services’ for the purposes of sections 38 and 39 of the Health Act 2004. This legislation led to the establishment of formal, highly structured contractual arrangements between the HSE and any agent providing medical education and training services. These requirements were first implemented in annual Service Level Agreements signed in 2010 between the HSE and a range of providers.
Producing Service Level Agreements between NDTP and the various training bodies is a formal process. NDTP strives to take collaborative and realistic approach when drafting these agreements. There are two SLA review meetings annually where both internal and external stakeholders can discuss the outcomes of the previous years’ agreement, and look forward towards achieving the current year’s outcomes. Stakeholder engagement is encouraged at this meeting as outcomes are set and reviewed, and key priorities are identified.
