Human Factors in Healthcare Trainer Course for NHS Trusts
A 5-day train-the-trainer programme that builds internal Human Factors faculty — aligned with PSIRF, SEIPS and the realities of NHS clinical work.
NHS Trusts need people who can teach Human Factors well: facilitators who can run credible, clinically relevant training, handle difficult conversations about error and culture, and keep the organisation’s safety education current as PSIRF and systems thinking become business as usual.
Global Air Training’s Human Factors in Healthcare Trainer course is the 5-day programme designed for that job. It has been used across more than 100 NHS Trusts and healthcare organisations to create sustainable in-house capability rather than a one-off external intervention.
Why NHS organisations commission a dedicated trainer course
Policies, toolkits and e-learning do not change behaviour on their own. Trusts that successfully embed Human Factors need a small faculty of internal educators who can:
Clinically relevant delivery
Deliver training that feels relevant to wards, theatres, maternity, ED, critical care and corporate teams.
Systems thinking in everyday teaching
Apply systems thinking and SEIPS language in everyday teaching, not only in investigations.
Support PSIRF culture
Build internal educators who can reinforce PSIRF culture as systems thinking becomes business as usual.
Case-based facilitation
Use case-based facilitation to handle difficult conversations about error, blame and culture.
Keep training current
Keep training current as national guidance, local PSIRPs and safety priorities evolve.
What the 5-day NHS-focused trainer programme covers
The course combines Human Factors content with the instructional skills required to effectively deliver it in a healthcare setting.
Human Factors content
- What Human Factors is — and is not — in a clinical system
- Human error, work-as-done versus work-as-imagined, and error management (avoid, trap, mitigate)
- Situational awareness, communication, leadership, workload, decision-making, stress and fatigue
- Teamwork, culture, SOPs and organisational factors
- Systems thinking, SEIPS and the domains used in the Patient Safety Syllabus
- How Human Factors supports PSIRF and just culture
Trainer skills
- Facilitation rather than lecturing
- Managing group dynamics, defensiveness and discussions about blame
- Using case studies and clinical scenarios
- Designing sessions for multi-professional groups
Graduates leave with materials, case studies and a practical model they can take back to their Trust.
Delivery options
UK Training Centre (Cheshire)
Open courses
Open courses for individuals and small Trust groups at our dedicated UK facility.
Live online / virtual classroom
Currently scheduled open dates
Interactive remote learning with currently scheduled open dates — ideal when travel is impractical.
In-house / bespoke at your hospital
Trust cohorts
Train a cohort of internal facilitators at your hospital, tailored to specialties, governance and your PSIRP.
Who should attend
- Education, simulation and practice-development leads
- Patient safety, quality, governance and risk specialists who will deliver HF teaching
- Clinical educators in theatres, maternity, ED, critical care, medicine and community services
- Existing Human Factors or CRM-aware staff who need a formal trainer pathway
- Teams building an internal faculty as part of a Trust-wide safety education plan
Why NHS Trusts choose Global Air Training
Partner to 100+ NHS Trusts
Used across more than 100 NHS Trusts and healthcare organisations.
30 years in clinical Human Factors
Three decades transferring aviation safety principles into healthcare education.
ISO 9001-accredited provider
Quality-assured training from an ISO 9001-accredited organisation.
Assessed 5-day format with toolkit
Graduates leave with materials, case studies and a practical model they can take back to their Trust.
Open, virtual and in-Trust delivery
Choose the format that fits individual development or a Trust-wide faculty plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does the course cover PSIRF and SEIPS?
Yes, as part of the Human Factors teaching agenda. The trainer programme and the 1-day refresher address systems thinking, SEIPS, Patient Safety Syllabus domains and how to teach Human Factors in a PSIRF environment. It does not replace organisation-specific PSIRF investigator training.
How long is the NHS Human Factors trainer course?
Five days for the initial trainer qualification. The refresher is one day and is only for previous GAT trainer-course graduates.
Can you deliver it in our Trust?
Yes. In-house cohorts can be tailored to your specialties, local incidents (used appropriately), governance structure and the language of your Patient Safety Incident Response Plan.
Ready to build internal Human Factors faculty?
Speak with the team about open virtual dates, a Trust-based cohort, or whether the 5-day trainer course or the 1-day refresher is the right next step.