NHS Arden & GEM’s Clinical Support team was engaged by NHS England to provide programme management and strategic leadership to digitalise paediatric critical care competency frameworks.
Following a two-month process of engaging with key stakeholders, mapping existing frameworks against nursing roles and working closely with technology developers, the Digital Paediatric Skills Passport is now ready to be piloted with Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) nurses. Identifying and capturing competencies in a digital format will improve the accessibility, accuracy and transferability of information on the skills and experience of this vital workforce.
The challenge
Providing safe and effective care for critically ill children relies on a suitably skilled and experienced workforce with the appropriate training, knowledge and flexibility. PICU nurses utilise a range of competencies in their delivery of care which are captured under a competency framework developed by the Paediatric Critical Care Society (PCCS). The existing paper-based format supported staff in understanding, documenting and acquiring the appropriate skills but competencies weren’t easily accessible and transferable.
NHS England’s Children and Young People (CYP) team needed support to develop a Digital Paediatric Skills Passport that could digitally capture competencies and become embedded in all 28 PICUs in England.
Additional capacity and capability in programme management and strategic leadership was needed to:
- Manage the overall programme
- Manage the interface between the digital solution developers and other key NHS stakeholders
- Convert existing paediatric critical care competency frameworks into a digital passport
- Engage with the PICU workforce
- Work closely with NHS Elect to develop an implementation plan for the pilot phase of the programme.
Our approach
The Arden & GEM team brought together experience of programme management, strategic leadership and critical care nursing to deliver this project by the end of April 2024.
Maintaining project momentum
To complete the project within the available funding window, the Arden & GEM team needed to deliver core outputs within just three months. To achieve this ambitious timeline, weekly project meetings were set up and regular highlight reports produced. The meetings were chaired by an experienced senior clinical manager to build relationships and secure collaboration between all parties.
"They took time to understand the importance and impact of the project and got behind us with passion and drive to make it happen."
Stacey Bedford, Operational and Nursing Lead for BCYP Transformation Team at NHS England
Meetings included representatives from NHS England and NHS Elect, who brought experience from previously implementing a digital skills passport for adult nursing.
Digitalising existing frameworks
The existing process for capturing competencies was paper-based and stayed with the individual. Not only did this limit accessibility and transferability – across and between organisations – but there was also duplication within records.
Before nurses could replace their manual records with a digital system, a number of steps needed to be taken.
- The full existing three competency frameworks were converted into an excel spreadsheet, with all skills mapped across different nursing roles, with advice provided by PCCS where needed
- Any competency standardisation issues were rectified with support from the NHS England programme team
- A process for manager validation was devised.
Tailoring the digital solution
Training was received on the adult version of the digital learning solution (DLS) so the team fully understood the platform’s capability and the potential user journey.
With support from the NHS Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team, the paediatric competency framework was uploaded to the DLS. A series of alterations was identified by the team and shared with NHS TEL to improve user experience and accommodate the needs of the pilot.
Collaborative implementation plan
Drawing on the experience from NHS Elect of digitalising an adult nursing competency framework, an implementation plan was co-developed. This included recommendations for the pilot programme which will ensure that PICUs of different sizes and within different geographies are included.
Outcomes
Phase one of the Digital Paediatric Skills Passport programme has been successfully delivered by the Arden & GEM team.
Competency frameworks utilised by paediatric nurses within Level 3 Critical Care Centres and acute medical wards have been converted into a Digital Paediatric Skills Passport. Stakeholders from NHS England, NHS Elect and NHS TEL were effectively engaged and managed to deliver the work required within tight timescales.
The NHS England CYP team now has the digitalised frameworks and implementation plan needed to take forward phase two of the programme. This will involve nursing staff at pilot sites beginning to use the digitised competency frameworks on the DLS platform, generating learning and feedback to enable a wider rollout across the CYP nursing workforce.
"We worked in partnership with Arden & GEM on a programme to digitise a paediatric critical care competency framework. The team brought their multi-disciplinary skills and experience, covering clinical, technical and project management skills. They were professional and friendly to work with, willing to flex and go above and beyond as required to get the project complete to a high standard. We would look forward to working with them again in the future."
Julie Coombes, Deputy Director at NHS Elect
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