Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (PCFT) and Virgin Media O2 Business have set up a digital hub at Birch Hill Hospital to provide NHS staff with digital skills training and accessibility to technology resources.
The move comes after a digital maturity assessment of PCFT – which provides mental health, learning disability, and autism services across 88 locations – had one of the lowest scores in Greater Manchester.
As part of its digital strategy, PCFT has now rolled out three Digital Care Hubs, the newest being at Birch Hill Hospital in Rochdale. It offers walk-in tech support and digital training for NHS staff.
Monique Duffy-Brogan, chief information officer at Pennine Care NHS, said: “Technology plays such a large part in our day-to-day operations, so when it goes wrong, we need a quick solution for seamless patient care. By investing in enhanced connectivity, cybersecurity, and digital skills training, we are equipping our staff with the tools they need to deliver even better care.”
Virgin Media O2 said the partnership has also enabled PCFT to upgrade its IT infrastructure, with a transition to a software defined wide area network, over 4,100 new mobile connections and the introduction of a zero trust model for cyber security.
