NHS Education for Scotland publishes tech guide for healthcare staff

NHS Education for Scotland has published a learning resource for health and social workers to help them get to grips with new digital health technologies.

The Technology Enabled Care resource includes a series of online learning modules where participants can brush up on wearable devices, home monitoring and video conferencing.

The learning resource is free of charge to staff in NHS Scotland, local authorities, the voluntary and third sector and the housing sector. It has been introduced following recommendation of the Supporting Scotland’s Workforce report.

The report, published in November 2017, including findings from a survey of health and social care workers that suggested a lack of knowledge of technology hindered its use in the workplace.

It also reflected a feeling that there were limited opportunities to use technology and little perceived incentive to do so within some roles.

Dorothy Wright, NES workforce director, said: “Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy highlights the importance of digital skills across the whole health and care sector. It is important that staff have the knowledge and skills to work confidently with technology to support people manage their own health better, helping improve health, care and wellbeing outcomes.”

The Technology Enabled Care Programme was announced in 2014 as a three-year, £30 million Scotland-wide programme designed to support the integration of telehealth and telecare.

The programme has five areas of work, focused on extending the use of home health monitoring and video conferencing across all health and social care sectors, encouraging the uptake of telecare for preventative health initiatives, and providing citizens with direct access to health advice and assistance though digital platforms.

Margaret Whoriskey, Scottish Government head of technology enabled care and digital healthcare innovation, said: “We commissioned this learning resource as part of a national approach to workforce learning and development.

“Scotland has an opportunity to digitally empower our workforce so they have the necessary knowledge and skills to embrace digital technologies to enhance their life, work and learning opportunities.

“Supporting a digitally confident workforce, who are able to help citizens take charge of their own health and care, empowering them to live, communicate and self-manage better will help provide an essential foundation for more integrated, effective and efficient public services.”