Outcomes from our first Digital and Data Confidence and Competence Special Interest Group meeting

The first Digital and Data Confidence and Competence Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting (held on 25 January 2025) was highly engaging and motivated, with participants driven by a shared goal of improving digital literacy and collaboration in healthcare.

With nearly 300 attendees it was obvious that there is a real appetite across the NHS to address the core digital skills gaps in the workforce, and acknowledgment that this is a key driver to the NHS properly embracing the opportunities of the shift from analogue to digital.

The sentiment within the group was overwhelmingly positive, with participants expressing curiosity, enthusiasm, and a commitment to making meaningful changes. Challenges like digital exclusion and workforce gaps were acknowledged but framed as opportunities for improvement rather than insurmountable obstacles.

The key themes included collaboration, digital literacy, workforce development, knowledge sharing, and innovation and improvement. A very active chat demonstrated the appetite for change and the willingness of colleagues across the system to be part of that change.

Following this kick off meeting, group members were also invited to participate in two sub-groups.

The first is to conduct user interviews within their own organisation to help us understand the specific digital issues and challenges that staff are facing within their work.

This group met at the start of February to discuss the best approaches to completing this research, and have drop in support sessions throughout the month while those user interviews are being completed. We expect to have completed them all by the start of March and be able to report back on the findings shortly afterwards.

The second sub-group will be looking at how we can best survey our colleagues – we need to identify methods which will ensure representative data is being captured, but within the limitations of a small volunteer base to actually complete the surveys and a small time window to do the work.

This group will be meeting on Friday 21 February for a workshop.

There will also be additional sub groups coming from this Special Interest Group, and the community within FuturesNHS is beginning to take shape including sharing some great ideas. Newcomers always welcome, so do get involved in the conversation.