Case Studies

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT and King’s College Hospital NHS FT

Summary

The Apollo Epic Programme was launched to transform operational procedures for 48,000 staff across Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It replaces historic IT systems and paper records to allow everyone involved in a patient’s care to have access to all their records, whether in hospital, in a community clinic, or at home. Go-live for the Epic Apollo solution went live on 5th October 2023.

Requirement

With a project of such magnitude, a highly experienced training partner was imperative to provide the right skill sets at the right time for each stage of the Programme’s implementation and go-live. Ideal Health was selected as training partner for the Programme due to our in-depth training expertise in digital transformation.

Approach and Solution

Ideal Health overcame the initial challenges of the Apollo Programme by assembling a team of trainers to support the development of materials and deliver classroom-based training. Using the Ideal Academy™, a platform specifically designed to address the shortage of trainers in the market, Ideal Health interviewed and assessed over 200 applicants who potentially had the right aptitude and personal skills.

After this rigorous vetting and selection process, 137 candidates were selected to commence the Ideal Academy™ training programme. The programme provided training in NHS processes, how an EPR supports patient care using our unique Blueprint™ sandpit EPR system, training delivery skills, and classroom management techniques. Over 8 weeks, the candidates were further shortlisted to over 150 proficient trainers required by the Programme.

To support the onboarding, team management and Epic Credentialling process, Ideal Health provided on-site management for the Apollo Programme Training Leadership Team to ensure they had the support they needed for such a large-scale project. Once the team passed their Credentialling and Panelling assessments, they became Apollo Credentialled Trainers and were well prepared to support the ongoing activities across the training workstream.

Outcome and Benefits

Due to the large numbers of end-users that required training, it was decided that eLearning would become a vital part of the learning journey. Over the course of 12 weeks, over 800 role-specific modules were created, reviewed, approved, and uploaded to the Learning Management System. This legacy of content will provide refresher training opportunities and new starter training, assisting them to familiarise and certify in the use of Epic Apollo.

On a Programme of this size, it is inevitable that needs will change. Ideal Health was able to flex the team as required by the Programme, keeping costs down and culminating in 99 Credentialled Trainers delivering classroom-based training from August 2023 to go-live on 5 October 2023, across multiple sites in and around London.

Ideal Health is very proud to have been able to support the committed and passionate Programme Team, to provide solutions to meet the unique challenges, and to ensure that staff across both Trusts are confident and committed to using the Epic solution at go-live and beyond.

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What Our Clients Say About Us

  • “We were most impressed with the calibre of floor walking staff supplied by Ideal. They were highly professional in their approach and demonstrated a fully comprehensive understanding of the system”

    CRS Training Lead Barts and the London NHS Trust

  • “The trainers Ideal provided have been brilliant. They not only provided the highest quality training and feedback, but were always prepared to go the extra mile when needed. Thanks for helping develop a relationship that we can rely on and when we’re looking for capacity to roll out the rest of eRecord we’ll be on the phone. Look after the trainers we’ve had – they’re a great bunch”

    Simon Holloway eRecord Training Manager, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • “Ideal made a big difference. By using Ideal as the foundation of our floorwalking support, and augmenting this with Trust staff, we were able to ensure a constant, capable presence with our end-users 24/7. This would not have been possible without Ideal and reduced the impact on the wider Trust saving us from having to pause additional activity.”

    Adam Wisdish ICS Senior Digital Programme Manager, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

  • “The E-Learning Development Manager from Ideal worked closely with my Training team to develop e-learning content for Maternity. The modules delivered were concise, thorough, and easy to absorb. The structure was clear, logical and effective, and included elements of interactivity and video. There has been a lot of praise by the SMEs and staff regarding the high quality of the work produced on a very complex specialty. I found working with Ideal to be a very positive experience. I would highly recommend for any related work”

    Michael Paul IT Training Manager, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS

  • “Perot Systems has worked with Ideal on provision of floor walking services to support large scale Cerner implementations. The success of the implementations and the smooth execution of the go lives have rested significantly on the success of the services that Ideal Training provide. The staff themselves are extremely knowledgeable in both the product and the NHS operations they support with specialist SME’s provided as demanded”.

    Gary Birks Perot Systems Europe Ltd

  • “Ideal has an excellent reputation as a top-class training provider working exclusively in the health sector. With their experience and demonstrable track record in delivering IT training solutions to NHS organisations, Ideal was the clear choice for BT and Connecting for Health”

    Jenny Craggs Training Lead, NHS Connecting for Health

  • “Ideal's Digital Maturity review has enabled us to refocus our Digital and Data Strategies post-Covid, appreciating which shared and individual activities could support our ambitions for digital healthcare in our area. We are now taking the recommendations forward via a series of workshops across ICS partners to reprioritise and plan our next phase of activities”

    Stuart Lea CDIO and Marc Talbot Programme Manager, Stoke and Staffordshire ICS

  • "Ideal Health contributed towards the success of our Apollo Programme. They provided a team of 100 trainers who collaborated with our programme leaders and trainers to develop training materials aligned to our training strategy. Together, they created 800 engaging e-learning modules and delivered face-to-face training to over 30,000 staff across multiple locations. This comprehensive approach ensured that our workforce was well-prepared for the Epic programme's go live."

    Emma Summers Head of Transformation – Workforce & Engagement | Readiness, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS FT

  • “The trainers supplied by Ideal did a very thorough job in preparing staff at the Royal Free, including adapting the programme to meet the needs and availability of the consultants. The trainers further enhanced the service by gathering information from the shop floor and feeding back to the training team. We were delighted with the service we received from Ideal”

    Sarah Kennard CRS Training Manager, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

  • “For the implementation of our EPR+ programme, the Trust needed a partner who we were confident could help us successfully deliver the system. Ideal demonstrated an approach which married up to our requirements”

    Cara Williams CDIO and SRO for the EPR+ programme, Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust (COCH)

  • “Ideal demonstrated great agility in supplying experienced support for the Trust’s EPR requirements and mapping exercises. They showed great flexibility in meeting the Trust’s needs, clearly articulating the approach and costs associated. This coupled with advice and experience enabled the ‘As Is’ and ‘To Be’ processes mapping to complete to time and quality”

    Peter Bradbury EPR Programme Manager, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust

  • "A big shout out to the Ideal Health team for being super friendly, flexible, and approachable. The more we work together, the better it gets. Familiar faces become part of the Go-Live team, learning the geography and culture of the organisation. Including the Ideal Health management team behind the scenes, we always feel fully supported with a "can-do" attitude that helps us make improvements every Go-Live. For those returning for the March Go-Lives, I look forward to working with you again!"

    Rachel Lock Digital Project Manager, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • “Ideal were a valuable partner as we engaged operational teams to translate our high-level ambitions into a meaningful vision and digital objectives. Their impartiality and customer focus meant they were able to communicate clearly with colleagues, identify common problems, and sensitively move past stress and ‘pet peeves’ to get to the heart of the difficulties our teams were experiencing in accessing the right information day to day”

    Claire Waite Care Integration Manager for Capacity and Flow Programme, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS

  • “We recognised the enormous impact a good floorwalking team has on the success of project implementation. With Ideal Training’s previous track record and experience in Cerner implementations, we felt confident in the service offered and would certainly consider working with them in the future”

    Carole Shuff Programme Manager West Somerset Family

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