Hospital technology initiatives generates more nominations for NHS staff
Posted: 31 August 2023
From left to right: e-rostering workforce team and virtual hospital team.
Staff at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are adding to their growing list of national award nominations after being further shortlisted for technological innovations.
Both the e-rostering team and the virtual hospital team are finalists in the category of ‘Best Use of Workplace Technology’ in the Nursing Times Workforce Awards.
The category recognises initiatives that establish the meaningful use of technology to improve the working environment for staff.
Our e-rostering workforce team have been shortlisted for implementing self and team rostering through the use of a system called Employee Online (EOL).
Using EOL, e-rostering allows staff to have more input on their shift patterns by letting them select their preference for the shifts that work for them.
Initial findings from the pilots of the programme in maternity and endoscopy departments indicated that staff were much happier with their working pattern. Up to 70% of shift preferences requested were also honoured.
The initiative has improved staff work-life balance and health and wellbeing by allowing flexible working, which also helps support recruitment and retention. The process is now in the early stages of being rolled out across the rest of the trust.
The virtual hospital team (some of whom are pictured above, right, with chief executive Matthew Coats) have been shortlisted in the same category. Their pioneering programme looks after patients in the comfort of their own home while still being closely monitored by clinicians.
Introduced as a response to the pandemic in December 2021, the virtual hospital has the capacity to monitor 65 patients daily. The programme has now monitored over 1,100 patients with respiratory conditions and heart problems.
The finalists join our teams and individuals shortlisted in the BAME Health and Care Awards, the Nursing Times Awards and Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards. Read more here.
Congratulations to all the trust’s finalists.
Ends
- For media enquiries, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. For out of hours media enquiries please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
- For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter (twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).
