In 2006, the SAGE & THYME foundation level workshop was developed and run for University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust (UHSM) staff to meet NICE guidance.

In 2007, Mike Connolly, one of the SAGE & THYME developers, entered the SAGE & THYME training into a TRUSTECH (NHS Innovation Hub for the North West) Innovation Competition.   Although ‘SAGE & THYME’ did not win an award in the competition, it was assessed by TRUSTECH in early 2008 to determine whether it could benefit other NHS organisations.

The market research conducted as part of the assessment indicated that SAGE & THYME filled a gap in the market for foundation level communication skills training.  The assessment also identified that to roll the SAGE & THYME workshops out across the UK, a train-the-trainers approach would be needed, along with a licence for each organisation, to ensure that the workshop was delivered as intended by suitably trained people.

The train-the-trainers course was developed by UHSM in collaboration with the Maguire Communication Skills Training Unit at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

In October 2017, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust merged with Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to form Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).

In June 2019, the organisation of TRUSTECH changed, and the NHS staff became part of MFT's Innovation Team.

We now have a SAGE & THYME core team made up of MFT staff that supports NHS Trusts, hospices, universities, charities and other organisations wishing to run the SAGE & THYME workshops for their staff, students and volunteers.

Find out more about what we do and our team