Welcoming the award, the Agency's Chief Executive, Professor Pat Troop said: "It is encouraging to know that frontline staff value and are taking full advantage of the Agency's innovative approach to online training. This award shows that elearning is an effective training tool for health professionals. We are developing further online training modules which will enable frontline staff to access the training they need at times that suit them best."

The Agency, in partnership with Doctors.net.uk, developed an elearning program, Incident Management, to train doctors to respond to an unexpected major incident. This online training module enables doctors to undertake the disaster training at their own pace in an interactive environment. When the module is successfully completed, the delegate is awarded a certificate and two CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points.

The success of this elearning module, and other such modules, shows a significant increase in the number of doctors now using online training and elearning to obtain valuable technical training.

Following on from the success of their initial elearning program, the Agency and Doctors.net.uk are developing further training programs on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear topics for doctors, nurses and ambulance staff.

The latest in the series, the 'Burns, Blast and Major Incidents' module which was launched in September 2005, has already been successfully completed by more than 3000 GPs and specialists. Nurses and allied health professionals will be able to participate in the program from mid-November.

The award winning online training program can be accessed free of charge by any GMC registered doctor at www.doctors.net.uk or for further information please visit www.hpa.org.uk.