Building digital skills at Moorfields Eye Hospital
Overview
Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, one of the leading NHS trusts in England, identified a need to improve digital literacy among its workforce. With over 2,500 staff members and a transition underway from paper-based systems to electronic platforms, including a new electronic patient record system, the trust recognised it needed to ensure all employees could confidently use digital tools. It worked closely with its local further education provider, South Bank Colleges, to develop a bespoke digital programme to upskill staff.
Key benefits and outcomes
- Improved digital confidence and competence among staff.
- Active engagement with staff helped foster a positive attitude toward technology across different teams.
- Recognised as a pioneer in digital upskilling.
- Plans for programme expansion and sustainable long-term impact.
What the organisation faced
The trust was keen to bridge the digital skills gap across all staff groups and foster a culture of confidence and inclusivity in technology adoption. A small number of staff self-identified as having limited digital skills, creating barriers to efficiency. The nursing team, which has the highest retention in the capital, has always worked in a largely paper-based way which needed to change. This complements the new NHS 10 Year Health Plan’s focus on the shift from analogue to digital and the emphasis on building digital confidence in the workforce.
What the organisation did
To support the transition to electronic systems the trust focused on addressing digital exclusion and wanted to ensure that no profession was left behind. It conducted a baseline survey (online and paper based) as an initial assessment, asking fundamental questions such as “How confident are you using a mouse?” and “Which systems do you use?” to take it back to basics and understand the needs of its staff. A no-blame culture was embraced, with union representatives involved to build trust. Staff were engaged by explaining that change was coming and highlighting this as an opportunity to gain support in developing essential digital skills and confidence.
The Associate Director of Education at the trust was already working with South Bank Colleges on functional skills and thought this could be an opportunity to collaborate further on developing a digital skills programme. Together they developed a bespoke 14-week (three hours on one day each week) curriculum focused on Microsoft packages and essential digital skills that had surfaced from the engagement with staff. This programme is delivered on site at the trust by the college partners with government funding through further education.
The trust prioritised staff with the lowest confidence scores and ensured multi-disciplinary participation for the first two cohorts. The cohorts continued to be surveyed during and post training to understand confidence level changes and measure the impact of the programme. The programme established sufficient evidence of learning with participants by developing a project as part of the curriculum to demonstrate learning.
Results and benefits
- Significant improvement in confidence and competence among participants with digital skills embedded into everyday practice, supported by ongoing surveys pre, during, and post training.
- Reduced technophobia and improved staff engagement across staff groups at the trust.
- The trust has been recognised as a pioneer in digital upskilling, inspiring other trusts to follow suit by being a catalyst of similar initiatives through the digital skills network.
- Moorfields plan to expand the programme and offer the next cohort the opportunity to participate.
- They will also continue to measure long-term impact with past participants and share best practices with other NHS organisations to drive a nationwide digital skills improvement agenda.
Overcoming obstacles
Culture change is essential for successful digital transformation. Continuous engagement and visible leadership support helped overcome any resistance. Engaging with staff eased nervousness and built confidence. This approach broke barriers to technology adoption and encouraged a more positive attitude toward digital tools.
Releasing staff time for training was prioritised by line managers due to the perceived longer-term benefits to the individuals and wider team of the programme. Once the pilot was complete this demonstrated positive outcomes, so both staff and managers recognise the value. Delivering tailored onsite training ensured accessibility and relevance, while making it easier for managers to allocate time for participation.
Takeaway tips
- Collaborate with your local partners to find innovative ways to fill identified gaps.
- Engage staff early when it comes to change and they will be more likely to get on board.
- Establish what funding is available as there may be no cost to upskilling staff.
- Be a pioneer and shout about what you do so that others can learn and adapt.
- On site delivery made things easier, if there is space and laptops available for the cohort, it is achievable.
- Work with managers to outline the long-term benefits to releasing staff for training.
Contact details
For more information about the work in this case study, contact Christos Tsounis, Major Projects Nurse Lead at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust or Daniel Gonzalez, Curriculum Head at South Bank Colleges.
