New guide published on NHS digital leadership

NHS Providers has published a guide into NHS digital leadership to help trust leaders build on the momentum made during the coronavirus pandemic and support NHS boards lead their organisations into the next stage of digitisation.

A new era of digital leadership has been jointly prepared by NHS Providers and Public Digital as part of the new Digital Boards programme, supported by Health Education England. The guide includes a number of board-level case studies as well as key coronavirus reflections and lessons from other sectors.

It also sets out useful questions for board leaders as they reflect on their own digital leadership, including: does the trust have a shared understanding of what 'digital' means that goes beyond IT?; can you explain which areas you chose not to focus on in your digital strategy, and how you made these decisions?; does the trust's leadership take collective responsibility for the digital agenda, as it does for quality and finance?; does the trust have a shared commitment and vision for digitally-enabled health and care across its STP or ICS? Is the trust clear on the system’s investment priorities? And, are teams in the trust empowered to experiment with new ways of working, and is the organisation well placed to scale up innovation when it succeeds?

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: "We know Covid-19 has accelerated digital ways of working across the NHS. Trusts have made huge progress in a relatively short space of time, be it rolling out virtual consultations or adapting existing approaches to support clinical reconfiguration. We have also seen discussions about digital issues elevated within NHS board rooms. As we look to the next phase of the Covid-19 response and beyond, trust leaders want to build on their successes, lock in the learning of Covid-19, and sustain their new ways of working.

"Our guide, jointly prepared with Public Digital and supported by Health Education England, aims to help trust leaders build on this momentum and support them to lead their organisations into the next stage of digitisation. The publication explores the pre-conditions for success in digital transformation as well as lessons from other sectors. We look forward to extending our support to trusts as we continue to roll out our Digital Boards programme over the coming weeks and months."

In April, NHS Providers signed a three year contract with Health Education England to deliver a new development programme for boards to support them in leading the digital transformation agenda.