NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has published a set of pathways for understanding the use of digital technology in health and social care.
Developed by the Digitally Enabled Workforce (DEW) team and title Thriving in a Digital Age Pathways, they have been highlighted by the health and social care spokesperson of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) Cllr Paul Kelly and deal with four themes – explore, embed, drive and shape – aligned to levels of responsibility.
Their purpose is to help people working in the sectors understand the role of digital, and they introduce key digital concepts with each pathway building on themes introduced in the one before.
They involve working through a set of curated resources with associated activities and practical ideas that can be applied within an organisation.
Publication of the pathways has come after NES’s launch of the Digital and Data Capability Framework in July. This identifies the digital skills, knowledge and behaviours the workforce needs to do their job and deliver safe and good quality care and support.
Widespread relevance
Kelly commented: “What is crucial about the framework and the pathways are that they are not specific to any profession, organisation or role and apply to the entire workforce across the sector (NHS, local authorities, health and social care partnerships, social work, social care, care and support providers, housing, third and independent sectors), including managers, leaders, and those in strategic positions. That’s because 80% of digital skills (depending on the skill level required) will be common to all roles with only 20% being role specific.
“This provides us with a great opportunity to collaborate across organisations and ensure that we use our resources as effectively as possible.”
