Health Innovation KSS deliver Digital Fellows Programme for Maidstone Tunbridge Wells Trust

Summary

Health Innovation KSS was commissioned to deliver their CPD-Accredited Digital Fellows Programme to Maidstone Tunbridge Wells (MTW) Trust. The programme has been designed to support NHS organisations to invest in their cross-sector workforce staff, helping them to develop specialist digital skills and to learn about leading digital transformation. It also aims to give the workforce enough time and knowledge to lead digital health improvements and innovations.

The programme has been delivered since 2021 to Trusts within Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The content and style of delivery is tailored to each Trust’s preference, ultimately with the goal of building digital awareness and skills within the workforce. Alongside MTW, we have also delivered the programme to University Hospitals Sussex within the last year and continue to explore opportunities to develop and deliver this for organisations across KSS.

The fifth iteration of the programme was delivered for MTW Trust, from June 2024 to November 2024, through seven interactive sessions.

Challenge

The NHS Long Term Workforce plan stated that ‘the number of staff trained has not kept pace with demand for NHS service’ and ‘developments in science, research, technology, digital and data will continue’. As a result, the Digital Fellows programme has been developed to build skills into the existing workforce, particularly through the digital lens, recognising that this is an ever-evolving theme within the NHS.

Approach

The programme, was designed and delivered by a variety of subject matter experts within Health Innovation KSS, as well as drawing on expertise from Unity Insights. In total, 23 participants enrolled on the programme from across the Trust – including the Trust’s Chief Clinical Information Officer, Digital Transformation Change Analysts, and Digital Midwives. Participants received specific learning on the following topics:

• Introduction to Innovation
• Patient Safety and Digital
• Insights, Analytics and Evaluation (part 1 & 2)
• Communication and Digital
• Sustainability and Net Zero
• Digital Leadership, Digital Inclusion and AI

“Within our role in digital innovation, it has been a pleasure to be able to provide our health and care system partners, and their workforce, with the insights and knowledge to start and progress them on their digital transformation journey” – Kath Sykes, Implementation Lead, Health Innovation KSS

Impact

Positive feedback was received from the programme cohort, with 100% of respondents recommending the course to colleagues and feeling their expectations were met from a content, delivery, and facilitation perspective. Participants highly appreciated the facilitators, describing them as knowledgeable and approachable, which positively influenced their learning experience. It was also captured how the programme inspired the cohort to continue learning and are thinking about their future career paths in digital health, indicating a strong motivational impact of the programme. 100% of respondents said the programme boosted their professional growth.

Participants provided specific feedback on sessions, commenting how they “really enjoyed” the Introduction to Innovation session, “[starting] off very unconfident around innovation, what is was and how it is perceived in H&SC but I feel I have more knowledge of this and how I can apply this to me role”.

“Great facilitators, really knowledgeable and approachable” – Fellow

“Thank you for delivering this programme to us!…It has also encouraged me to think about where I would like to go next with my career in digital” – Fellow

It was also commented how the Communication and Digital session “related really well to my role” and how it was a “great session, loved the interaction, presentation and the exercises.”

“The Digital Fellows programme has been a transformative force for our Trust, equipping clinical and non-clinical staff with the skills, confidence, and vision to lead in the digital age. From enhancing patient safety and embracing digital innovation to harnessing data for insights and evaluation, the programme empowered our teams to communicate more effectively, lead with impact, and embed sustainability and AI into our future ways of working” – Johanna Kelly, Senior Nursing Informatics Officer, MTW Trust

Spread and scale

Feedback from the programme has been captured and will be taken onboard as we look to further develop the programme for future iterations delivered to Trust’s within KSS.

If you are interested in Health Innovation KSS delivering the programme for your organisation, please get in contact with us at: enquiries@healthinnovation-kss.com