Background

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust serves nearly 750,000 patients annually across five hospital sites and various community facilities in North West England. With a dedicated workforce of over 7,000 staff, the Trust is committed to maintaining high-quality healthcare and safety standards through rigorous training and compliance initiatives.

Challenges

The NHS Trust faced multiple challenges in training and compliance management:

• Manual and Costly Systems: The existing paper-based system was inefficient, making it difficult to track and ensure compliance across departments.
• Mandatory Compliance Requirements: The Trust needed a reliable way to meet nationally mandated training standards and conduct performance reviews to ensure patient safety.
• Ineffective Training Data Tracking: The previous system lacked reliable data integration, creating inconsistencies in reporting training completions and appraisals.
• Budget Constraints: As a publicly funded organization, the NHS Trust required a cost-effective LMS solution that could provide extensive tracking and compliance capabilities.

Solution

Edvanta implemented a custom Totara Learn LMS with Mahara ePortfolio integration to streamline training and performance tracking. Key solution components included:

• Centralized LMS for Compliance Tracking: Totara Learn enabled automated tracking of training completions, helping managers monitor staff compliance with real-time data.
• Integration with Mahara ePortfolio: The ePortfolio integration provided staff with a digital platform for logging competency evidence, supporting performance appraisals and salary determinations based on skill proficiency.
• Custom Badging and Appraisal Tools: Totara’s open badge functionality allowed for the issuance of course completion badges, simplifying compliance verification across multiple locations.
• Goal Setting and Reporting Tools: Totara’s appraisal and goal-setting tools provided managers with instant access to appraisal data, streamlining compliance checks and enabling better decision-making for patient safety.
• Automated Reporting and Scheduling: LMS reporting allowed managers to receive scheduled performance updates, even remotely, ensuring continuity in compliance and appraisal tracking.

Results

The deployment of Totara Learn resulted in substantial benefits for the NHS Trust:

• £120,000 Annual Savings: The LMS implementation saved nearly £120,000 compared to other proprietary options, meeting budgetary needs without compromising functionality.
• Improved Training Efficiency and Tracking: By mid-2013, 1,750 staff members were trained to use Totara, with plans for Trust-wide adoption by mid-2014.
• Enhanced Compliance and Patient Care: The centralized system ensured consistent training records, aligning staff skills with healthcare standards and improving patient outcomes.
• User-Friendly and Flexible Access: The platform’s intuitive interface and adaptive learning paths improved staff engagement, with users able to track their progress and access training resources as needed.

Conclusion

The NHS East Lancashire Hospitals Trust’s adoption of Totara Learn and Mahara ePortfolio marked a significant improvement in training and compliance management. By centralizing training data and implementing real-time tracking, the Trust met critical compliance standards, enhanced patient care, and achieved substantial cost savings.