New Portal Opens Doors to ECDL

A new web portal for NHS staff offering basic skills training in IT and preparation for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) will go live on March 21.

The NHS Information Authority says the new portal, at http://www.ecdl.nhs.uk , will provide staff who need to improve their IT skills with a range of resources including training materials and practice tests for the ECDL.

Improved skills are needed to support the successful implementation of many of the new IT developments planned for the NHS including electronic booking and the Integrated Care Records Service. A report last autumn suggested that while IT skill levels were rising in the NHS, many clinical staff needed to improve to meet the required future standards.

The ECDL has been adopted as the standard qualification for the NHS in England and the NHSIA is itself an early adopter, offering the qualification to all staff and also getting its head office in Birmingham accreditation as an ECDL test centre. Authority staff have been using the pre-launched learning portal throughout its testing phase and research has shown that they value its flexibility.

One user commented: “Being able to access the learning modules and information from home at times that suit me, as well as in the learning centres at work has been great. I’ve been able to fit in the training with my job and family life which has kept me motivated and helped me get through the training quickly.”

A pilot study in Manchester has shown that staff who have achieved the ECDL save about half an hour a day by using IT more effectively. In addition 96% of ECDL holders say they now rarely call IT support compared to 71% who said they called regularly before achieving the qualification.

Because the ECDL is a formal qualification, candidates have to complete their tests at an accredited test centre, but the new portal will enable them – if they wish – to do all the preparation online, from any Internet connection, not just NHSnet. Other routes offering more traditional learning methods are available too.

There are 280 NHS learning centres around the country and over 200 are accredited to administer the ECDL test. “Satellite” centres are being set up at trusts which are a long way from their nearest accredited test centre. Staff who want to start training need a voucher from a learning centre or the national service team. Details are available at the ECDL site via the link above in paragraph two.