Latest updates from North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust

Combined Healthcare, alongside other organisations within Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, are looking for organisations that are key contributors to serving our community’s health and social needs for our local population who would be interested in providing stretch placements for the 2026-2027 cohort of the High Potential Scheme (HPS).

On Thursday 4 June 2026 Combined Healthcare hosted an Oliver McGowan Training Recruitment Day. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is named after Oliver McGowan, whose death shone a light on the need for health and social care staff to have better training.  All colleagues at Combined Healthcare are required to complete the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. To help facilitate the sessions, the Trust is looking to employ more experts with lived experience of autism or learning disability, to support this essential training as co-facilitators.

As NHS staff across the country continue to work under intense pressure, Combined Healthcare will be able to provide crucial support to help improve the wellbeing of local NHS staff, both now and in the future, thanks to a £49,998 grant from NHS Charities Together and NHS England. The grant has been awarded as part of an £11 million programme – which includes a £5 million contribution from NHS England – and is one of 61 ambitious projects across England to receive funding from the programme since its launch in 2024.

The latest digital learning film from Combined - unveiled today - features its Digital Trainer FRED (Finance and Resources Expert in Delivery) explaining the principles and practice lying behind our Cost Improvement Programme (CIP). The film is available in two formats. The first is a traditional 16:9 film, suitable for screens, mobile devices and tablets. The second places FRED in a fully immersive 360 degree virtual reality environment, and can be watched online or for the full immersive experience via a VR headset such as Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest Pro.

The latest edition of the “Combined Minds” show features a presentation, led by Associate Director of Communications. Joe McCrea, showcasing how North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust is using innovation—particularly artificial intelligence (AI)—to transform risk management earning and training.