Digital Health Support Officer in North East

The Digital Health Team are incredibly excited to advertise for a Digital Health Support Officer. The purpose of this role is to participate in the implementation, management and training of Health Informatics solutions to clinical staff in relation to Digital and mobile technology, including the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) to support improvements in patient safety and quality within County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Responsibilities

• Support the Digital Specialist Nurse Service in the delivery of the service, fully participating in the implementation, management and training of electronic solutions within CDDFT.
• Deliver EPR training formally and at the elbow across the organisation, from classroom‑based to onward ward supporting clinicians.
• Use specialist clinical knowledge of clinical processes to deliver a multitude of education packages across the Trust at all sites in relation to the electronic patient record, both electronically and face to face.
• Apply knowledge of the EPR across the patient journey from birth to death.
• Provide professional advice regarding the solutions used across the organisation through at‑the‑elbow support and respond to any requests for assistance.
• Assist with the organisation, co‑ordination and planning of a schedule of training.
• Deliver education programmes focused on the electronic patient record to a diverse target audience in formal classroom settings, junior doctor forums, engagement events, team meetings, and at‑the‑elbow training.
• Build and write teaching plans to suit the teaching situation and identify candidates who require additional support.
• Work in a manner that allows education delivery to all clinical staff, including weekend and night shift work.
• Participate in training needs analysis.
• Act as custodian for digital solutions provided to the clinical teams, ensuring they are in good working order, coordinating equipment maintenance and maintaining an equipment database.
• Be the first point of contact for the care groups in relation to product troubleshooting.
• Work clinically alongside registered and non‑registered clinical staff supporting the introduction of digital projects, demonstrating clinical competence.
• Ensure clinical competence is maintained, responding in a timely manner to meet patient needs and provide excellent standards of clinical care.
• Recognise limitations in clinical knowledge and skills and never undertake tasks that are not within the role of the Digital Health Support Officer.
• Exercise clinical judgement in response to emergency actions while undertaking duties in clinical environments and understand the underlying Trust policies and procedures.
• Enhance clinical engagement through effective communication.
• Conduct clinical audit and data gathering to provide appropriate information to the Digital Matrons / Digital Specialist Nurses when required.
• Check progress against agreed targets and highlight areas for improvement.
• Ensure an accurate database is maintained with regard to training records, achievements and updates in accordance with project milestones.
• Attend essential training as scheduled, comply with regular appraisals and meet the flexibility needs of the team.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• Well‑developed interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience of teaching a diverse range of staff.
• Ability to work on own initiative.
• Ability to fulfill all aspects of the role.
• Motivated and enthusiastic individual.
• Good understanding of digital health used in current solutions (e.g., EPR, eObservations).
• Ability to integrate knowledge and skills with the education elements of the role.
• Evidence of problem‑solving skills.
• Can communicate effectively with clinical/non‑clinical staff across a wide range of roles and specialties.
• Acknowledges and accommodates any perceived barriers and potential digital literacy barriers.
• Demonstrates competent computer proficiency (Microsoft Word, Excel).
• Knowledge of the Trust's EPR solution and applications is advantageous but not essential.

Special Requirements

• Must be able to travel to all areas within CDDFT.
• Required to deliver education programmes to all staff, including out‑of‑hours periods (night duty and weekends) on a rota basis.

Qualifications

• Minimum five GCSEs (Grade C) or equivalent qualification, or equivalent knowledge gained through work experience.
• ITQ / ECDL or other recognised IT qualification, or equivalent knowledge gained through work experience.
• NVQ Level 4 or significant equivalent knowledge gained through work experience.

Experience

• Interest in service improvement and governance.
• Awareness of patient safety and quality improvement projects and how a role in Digital Health could support that.
• Evidence of a working knowledge of EPR systems and their usage.
• Previously worked in an acute hospital setting.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under‑represented.