November 2021
Digital nursing wins 'Best Healthcare Project' at UK IT Industry Awards
Wales’ digital care record for use in nursing - the Welsh Nursing Care Record - has scooped a major title at the prestigious British Computing Society (BCS) UK IT Industry Awards winning 2021's ‘Best Healthcare Sector IT Project of the Year’

Judges were seeking an ‘outstanding’ project that used IT to benefit the’ organisation and its clients’. Rapid roll-out of the WNCR has seen major changes to working practice with nurses swapping paper for digital records, streamlining care processes and freeing up nursing time.

“We’re delighted with this award," said Claire Bevan, WNCR Senior Responsible Officer. "This project has meant that, for the first time ever, nurses can complete national standardised assessments at a patient’s bedside on adult inpatient wards, on a mobile tablet, or other handheld device, saving time, improving accuracy, and minimising duplication. 
In October, staff at Neath Port Talbot Hospital in Swansea Bay University Health Board welcomed DHCW’s CEO Helen Thomas (centre front) to see the Welsh Nursing Care Record in action.

The staff at Neath Port Talbot provided positive feedback about the value of the service. Christine Evans praised the WNCR in a recent YouTube video, saying that it was “worth its weight in gold."
Want to learn more about how the WNCR is making a difference for both nurses and their patients? Visit our DHCW website or listen to Claire Bevan and Fran Beadle - National Clinical Informatics Lead for Nursing and Assistant Head of Clinical Informatics in Digital Health and Care Wales in our latest DCHW podcast - transcripts of which are available in Welsh and English.
Cwm Taf endoscopy and bronchoscopy test results now available across Wales
A recent update to the Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP) means that health professionals across Wales are now able to access digital copies of their patients’ endoscopy and bronchoscopy test results from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
 
The ability to view this data via a single log on to the WCP means clinicians in other health boards can now receive real-time updates on their patients’ test results within their single digital health record. This information would previously have only been available to access via a completely separate system.
 
Gastroenterology consultant, Minesh Patel, said the update was a significant advancement for the system and helps to save him time, as it, “allows all clinicians in Wales to view these [test results], which is a great improvement for patient care.”
 
The WCP is available to clinicians in all health boards across Wales and Velindre Cancer Centre. It shares and displays digital patient information from a number of sources, even if that information is spread across health organisations. The Portal allows clinicians to have access to up-to-date and accurate patient records at the point of care, removing the need to request copies or in some instances, repeating investigations.
 
Each month, over one million test results are viewed via the WCP by health professionals all across Wales. One in ten of these results viewed originates from another health board.
 
Endoscopy and bronchoscopy test results are currently only available from Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board within the WCP. However, work is currently underway to include endoscopy data from Hywel Dda, Powys and Swansea Bay health boards.
DHCW Service Desk shortlisted for globally-recognised award
Our Digital Health and Care Wales Service Desk team has been shortlisted in the Best Service Desk category in this year's Service Desk Institute (SDI) Awards.

The SDI represents thousands of companies and service desk professionals in over 150 countries. SDI's awards praise IT service and support teams that deliver the highest levels of customer excellence and service to each and every customer.

Our Service Desk services all of NHS Wales and acts as the single point of contact between local service desks and national support teams. It provides a focal point for reporting incidents and making service requests.
Bowel Screening Wales invites people aged 58 and 59 for screening

The Bowel Screening Wales programme has begun inviting people aged 58 and 59 years old for the first time for bowel cancer screening. The programme will continue to invite those aged 60 to 74 years old who are currently invited.
 
Software developed and supported by Digital Health and Care Wales is supporting the bowel screening programme. The Bowel Screening Information Management System (BSIMS) is a secure web application that supports the whole screening process, by selecting people from the Welsh population for screening.
 
Eligible people invited for screening are sent the home screening kit in the post which is returned and tested in NHS Wales laboratories. The labs use BSIMS to keep track of the kits, record the results and produce results letters. Anyone with a positive screening result is referred for further investigations and assessment by specialist screening practitioners. BSIMS supports this process with a clinic booking module and provides a diary and online assessment form for specialist screening practitioners.

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer of men and women in Wales. Bowel screening detects bowel cancer at an early stage, often when there are no symptoms, and yet when treatment is most effective.

The bowel screening software developed in Wales is also used in Northern Ireland.
You can find out more about bowel screening by visiting the Public Health Wales website.
Join us for November's DHCW Board Meeting

Digital Health and Care Wales holds bi-monthly Board meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for 10am on the 25th November.

We are committed to openness and transparency, and conduct Board meetings that members of the public are welcome to attend and observe. In light of the current advice and guidance in relation to Covid-19 we have decided not to hold our Board meeting in public at this moment in time, a decision we have taken in the best interests of protecting the public, our staff and Board members.  

However, we are 'live streaming' all our Board meetings via Microsoft Teams and you are welcome to view them, as well as all past meetings, via:


All meetings now include simultaneous translation in Welsh.
Professional learning opportunities available through your NHS Wales e-Library

The NHS Wales e-Library is holding a series of webinars and events throughout December including:


Email elibrary@wales.nhs.uk to request a webinar link or for more information, head to the NHS Wales e-library site.
Would you like to make a real difference to the lives of 3.1 million people?

We're looking for highly driven professionals to join our new Digital Services for Patients and Public (DSPP) team.

Roles are hosted by Digital Health and Care Wales. DHCW is proud to win the ‘Best Place to Work in IT’ Award at the British Computing Society’s UK IT Industry Awards 2020.

If you are interested in having an informal discussion about the programme and the people we would like to recruit, please email DSPPInfo@wales.nhs.uk.