ILX Enables Sussex Health Informatics Service (HIS) To Save Significant Funds And Improve Training Provision & Delivery To 25,000 NHS Users

…ILX e-learning courses enable the UK’s largest HIS to support staff development and career progression within the NHS…

Thursday 17th March, ILX Group plc (ILX), the training services company, has enabled Sussex Health Information Service (HIS) to achieve significant savings while greatly enhancing training provision for its 400 staff.  Sussex HIS is the UK’s largest HIS and is using flexible e-learning courses delivered online via ILX’s Best Practice Portal to aid staff progression, and support front line carers to deliver enhanced patient care.

The portal framework has enabled Sussex HIS to create a unique learning pathway to project management, stipulating that users must progress through the APM Introductory Certificate (APMIC), through PRINCE2™ Foundation to Managing Successful Programmes (MSP™) Foundation. This approach ensures that staff can offer sound project management skills and methodology which in turn supports front line NHS carers to deliver enhanced patient care through the application of the latest technology.

Wendy Dearing, Senior Lead for Training, Change & Process Continuity, and Head of Education Training Development (EDT) for Sussex HIS said, “Delivering best practice e-learning courses via the ILX portal has really enhanced our training provision. We now have central visibility of the access, progress and performance of our 25,000 users, based over 17 sites.  Access to courses is improved, and an internal survey has shown that our pass rate is still as high as it was with the classroom-based approach. The significant cost savings and the ability to provide more training to greater numbers of staff is a huge bonus, especially for an organisation such as ours.”

Sussex HIS is using ILX e-learning courses to provide staff with competencies that are a requirement of the mandatory Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF), a structure that supports personal development and career progression within the NHS. “The ILX portal is not only helping us to ensure that our staff are effective, but also supporting their development. If there is a gap between the skills or knowledge that an individual needs for a position – either their current one or one they hope to progress to –  then we can quickly and easily deliver training to that individual, in their own time, at their own pace and at their own desk,” continued Dearing.

Sussex HIS is offering its e-learning courses via the ILX portal to its two neighbouring HIS in Kent and Surrey.  Although separate organisations, they share a close working relationship. “The ILX portal has provided us with a way to deliver the benefits of e-learning to our partner organisations, enabling us to share both best practice and cost savings. This is excellent practice; after all, if we in the informatics service don’t fully embrace new forms of learning, how can we expect anyone else in the NHS to?” concluded Dearing.

The Sussex Health Informatics Service (HIS) provides IT and associated services to NHS member organisations across Sussex. 

Eddie Kilkelly, Operations Director, ILX Group plc said, “There is a compelling business case for using best practice e-learning courses and Sussex HIS provides a great example of this. Not only did they solve the immediate problems they had with visibility of staff progress, but actually enhanced the standard and scope of their learning programmes while saving significant funds. We’re really proud to have been involved in that process.”

The ILX best practice portal offers a range of fully accredited project, programme and IT service management training, aimed at all levels of students to access on demand any time. In addition to APMIC, PRINCE2 Foundation and MSP Foundation, the portal can also give students’ access to ITIL® V3 Foundation and Finance for Non-Financial Managers courses.

The portal is available to new and existing customers through an annual licence based on the number of access keys purchased. This pricing structure will give customers flexibility when purchasing the licence, as there is no restriction on course titles that can be used.