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NHS Providers publishes latest building and enabling digital teams guide

NHS Providers has this week published its second guide as part of its Digital Boards programme.

The publication, building and enabling digital teams, aims to support healthcare leaders make continued progresses with the digital agenda and become digital organisations. It has been produced by NHS Providers, with support from NHSX, Health Education England and Public Digital.

The guide highlights challenges faced by trust boards today and includes a detailed approach to building digital teams. The guide covers how COVID-19 changed the digital agenda, how to lead digital teams and good governance for digital delivery.

It sets out the practical steps boards can take to build effective, open and responsive digital teams. The guide states “successful digital teams are largely defined by three main characteristics: user centred design, agile ways of working and a knowledge of how to build and operate modern internet technologies.”

The deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said: “Trusts are looking to build on the progress made during COVID-19. The need to deliver digital developments during the pandemic gave trust boards a clarity of purpose and focused minds. To embed these positive cultural shifts, trust boards need to build and empower digital teams within their organisations.”

“To embed these positive cultural shifts, trust boards need to build and empower digital teams within their organisations, to deliver the next phase of digital transformation. Our guide provides practical next steps in terms of recruitment, governance and digital leadership.”

James Freed, chief information officer at Health Education England, said: “Building and appropriately supporting your digital team is one of the most important things board-level leaders need to know how to do in this rapidly changing world. It is an area that presents huge challenges and opportunities and we are tremendously pleased to see the publication of this guide for health leaders to help them.”

View the latest publication here.