What do nurses want systems to do for them?

Theresa Fyffe Director Royal College of Nursing, Scotland

Nurses want ….

• Better patient outcomes • Improved patient safety • Enhanced clinical team working • Data for quality improvement • Links to online learning opportunities

Better patient outcomes

• Supporting the delivery of seamless care 24/7 • Linking care planning to the best possible evidence base • Enabling patient, and carer involvement in care • Enabling access to high quality information for patients, carers and the public

Improved patient safety

• Designing in the checks that minimise errors • Systems which help build public confidence • Genuine learning from near misses • Systems which support fair blame

Enhanced team working

• Data standards developing common terminology • Ensuring all staff have the information they need to support patient care • Supporting inter-professional care pathways • Creating virtual teams and networks to for benchmarking and peer review

Data for quality improvement

• Harnessing the power of good clinical data • Enabling staff to measure practice and its impact • Tools to audit and benchmark practice against others • Clinical Quality Indicators project (SGHD, NHSQIS, NHS Boards)

Online learning opportunities

• Evidence based resources to help keep up to date and develop practice • Interactive learning opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes • Standards for gathering information for a professional development portfolio • Competencies and role descriptions to assist career progression • Case studies and examples of good practice

So, what are the barriers?

• Access to hardware • Access to IT training • Plethora of systems • Collecting quantities of data

In your immediate clinical area, about how many people share access to the computer?

I have sole use of it 29% I share it with one more person 8% 2 to 4 24% 5 to 10 16% More than 10 - 11% More than 20 - 12%

Scottish results Nursix survey 2007

“Computer access is completely farcical at work. One computer for the entire ward, needed by ward receptionist most of the time with doctors queuing behind her and nurses behind the docs. … We have no printer access ,no internet access. It’s laughable. All wards in the medical directorate are identical in this respect. This is a thousand bed general hospital.” Nursix survey 2007

How much IT training have you had within working time in the last six months?

Half day 20% 1 - 2 days 13% 3- 4 days 4% 5 to 10 days 2% 10+ days 2% None at all 50% None in working time 9%

Scottish results Nursix survey 2007

….. a plethora of systems

Need to commend

• Nursing leadership in Scotland • Work programmes of SGHD, ISD • In particular, data standards and CQI project

Looking forward to seeing the full implementation of e-health components of Enabling care, Delivering Health

What is the RCN doing?

• RCN E-health leadership and strategy • RCN Information in Nursing Forum • Nursix surveys (2004-2007) • Information needs survey • Online learning provision • Information literacy – working towards a knowledge competent workforce

Wake up call

RCN Scotland IT initiatives

• Continuing to modernise • Applying the lessons from e-health agenda • Developing knowledge management for RCN Scotland • Working with RCN UK to improve the RCN website and online resources