Outcomes of the Digital Board Programme

25 April 2023

This month NHS Providers published a report summarising the key learning outcomes from the Digital Boards Programme that was launched three years ago. The programme was commissioned by Health Education England and supported by NHS England to offer free support, training and advice to NHS boards on how to effectively lead digital transformation in their organisation.

The summary report, and previously published guides and resources, outline key findings including:

• Collective responsibility for digital at the board level is essential.
• There is a need to build digital confidence and capability among leaders.
• Optimisation, as well as implementation, of Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) is an important step on the journey to becoming a digital organisation.
• Meeting the needs of users (both staff and patients) is of high importance when designing services.
• Digital inclusion needs to be considered so as not to exclude people from services.
• Digital transformation can not be seen as an add-on to staff responsibilities if an organisation is to successfully implement digital transformation.
• There must be continuous and focused funding to give stability to digital services.
• Great potential for transformation lies in merging existing expertise in digital and quality improvement.
• Reducing basic barriers to successful digital transformation is essential e.g. ensuring that the equipment is up to standard and that the bureaucracy (e.g. multiple logins) isn’t too onerous.
• Digital offers an effective mechanism to facilitate alignment and collaboration e.g. for integrated care systems.

Read the original article 10 key lessons for embedding digital in your trust | Digital Health, and more about the Digital Board Programme Effectively embedding digital in your trust (nhsproviders.org).