- Published:
- 30 March 2026
- Author:
- Dr Indu Thakur
- Read time:
- 4 Mins
The Infected Blood Inquiry report, published in May 2024, recommended that transfusion education should be implemented for all healthcare staff involved with the transfusion process to improve safety for patients, with particular emphasis on medical professionals.
The senior student assistantship (SSA) transfusion training programme has been delivered for about a decade by the All-Wales Transfusion Practitioner Group (AWTPG) in conjunction with the Blood Health Team (BHT) based at the Welsh Blood Service (WBS) to all final year medical students in Wales. The SSA is a 3-hour interactive transfusion education programme that delivers practical application of theory to develop understanding and knowledge of transfusion processes and transfusion safety.
However, not all medical students remain in Wales to practice following graduation, with many leaving Wales to practice in other UK nations or overseas, and others moving to Wales for Foundation training. A survey undertaken as part of the current ad-hoc 2023 Wales F1 transfusion education programme, showed that only 40% of those attending the programme had also attended an SSA. This has resulted in a variation in transfusion knowledge within the F1 cohort practicing within Wales.
Current transfusion education for FP doctors in Wales is unstructured and ad-hoc, with no formal allocation for transfusion in induction programmes. Transfusion education is, therefore, often delivered on an ad-hoc basis, particularly following an incident or error as part of the follow-up investigation.
In light of this, the WBS decided to pursue development of a training package for Foundation doctors and successfully applied for a Welsh Clinical Leadership Fellow (WCLF) at the end of 2023, even before the IBI report was published.
This led to the development of the F1 training programme, informed by stakeholder engagement and user surveys. A pre-pilot led to the completion of a plan for an initial pilot, which ran in Bangor in collaboration with the foundation training team, with helpful insight and guidance from Health Education and Improvement Wales. This allowed an opportunity for Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles ahead of a second pilot which is currently planned, to test the efficacy of the programme at a larger site with a greater number of foundation doctors.
All this activity is formally reported to the IBI Education Oversight Group. The eventual plan is to roll out this training programme formally embedded into the foundation doctors’ training programme across Wales. This would be an opportunity for Wales to set an example for the rest of the UK to follow. Liaison work is currently in progress with the other home nations to facilitate roll out on a UK basis.
The other educational programme currently active is the Independent Authorisation of Blood Transfusion, which provides comprehensive transfusion training to non-medical professionals (advanced nurse practitioners, operating department practitioners, Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, etc.). 2025 saw the launch of a brand-new programme in liaison with Bangor University. This is completely online to broaden reach and ensure colleagues in all parts of Wales can benefit, bearing in mind geographical barriers when training is only delivered face-to-face.
Midwifery education has been identified as a priority for the BHT. They are in the process of linking with the lead midwives and scoping requirements. The BHT is also reviewing the nursing education package, which still requires peer review.
The laboratory education sub-group is meeting on MS Teams regularly. The Hospital Transfusion Team (HTT) induction provided by the BHT at WBS is ongoing and has been extended to all transfusion staff. The education programme is supporting lab staff to be able to challenge clinical staff regarding patient blood management.
