Stephen Welfare explains LETBs
Stephen Welfare, Deputy Chief Executive for NHS Midlands and East, explains that the West Midlands LETB will be responsible for a budget of £500 million.
LETB stands for Local Education and Training Board.
It is the body that will be responsible for the education and training of health and public health workers at a regional level.
Since 2002, the West Midlands Workforce Deanery, now within the Midlands and East cluster of strategic health authorities, has been responsible for the education and training of healthcare staff.
When the strategic health authorities are abolished on 31 March 2013, that role will taken up by the West Midlands LETB.
The main difference between the old system and the new is that the responsibility for education and training will now lie with bodies like hospitals and mental health trusts, whereas before it lay with the strategic health authority.
The shadow West Midlands LETB was formed in April 2012. It will take up its full responsibilities in April 2013.