DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
which is often provided – in the case of microbiological testing of water, to a water treatment company, which then transposes the data (with the risk of transcription errors) into a spreadsheet, in such a way that it cannot be analysed and manipulated. This is bizarre, when one considers that the LIMS is perfectly capable of outputting in spreadsheet format. So, instead of the data going from database to dead PDF, to dead spreadsheet, they could at least go from database to spreadsheet for trend analysis and more sophisticated manipulation. An official opinion of ‘Where are we now?’ was
provided in August 2021, when the National Audit Office published a report entitled Six reasons why digital transformation is still a problem for government.5
I’ll
summarise them here, but expressed in terms of solutions, rather than problems: n Understand aims, ambitions, risk. n Engage with commercial partners. n Develop a better approach to legacy systems and data. n Use the right mix of capacity (people). n Consider the delivery method (use agile methodology). n Develop effective funding mechanisms.
The report highlights the need to understand the business problem before seeking a solution (i.e. no ‘trashcan strategy’). It emphasises the need to avoid unrealistic ambitions with no understanding of the associated risks. In order to determine ‘Where are we now?’ at a local
level, I’m guided by a paper written by Catherine Murray, in which she describes five stages of digital maturity.6
The 5 stages of digital maturity
1 Traditional n Legacy systems, processes. n Outdated ways of thinking. n Little use of digital technologies. n Lack the ability to drive change across the business. n Activities that support DT are usually accidental, not a result of strategic intent.
n Likely being disrupted by competition. n Must act quickly to build a strategic plan and organisation-wide awareness of why DT is critical.
2 Emerging n Embrace digital slowly. n Have modernised some aspects of their business. n Largely reactive, and only make changes when they have to.
n Unable to outpace digital disruption. n Must start addressing DT seriously to avoid creating more legacy issues.
3 Engaged n Experiment with some critical elements of a winning DT strategy.
n Limited foundational activities and pockets of innovation are in place, but often siloed, and lacking focus or leadership.
n Need a plan for driving adoption of a singular digital vision.
n Key stakeholders must be engaged to develop a structured and sustainable transformation roadmap that delivers measured value.
4 Competitive n Digital roadmap in place. n Starting to combat disruption. n Compete effectively in the current market. n Need a strategy for future growth. n Should start optimising and address any remaining blockers preventing them from launching and supporting new digital products or services that leapfrog competitors.
5 Maturing n Have a well-established transformation roadmap in place that effectively fends off disruption, and evolves as needed.
n They use digital technologies to run their business, and have the ability to drive continuous change.
n Must develop a roadmap for continuous transformation and delivery, in order to realise their full potential and become leaders in their industry.
n Finding ways to remove friction enables them to react swiftly to market trends, and speed up delivery of new digital experiences.
Survey of Estates managers In September 2023, I conducted a survey of 10 Estates Managers from different Trusts, using Slido – a software system which enables users ‘to conduct live polls to spark dialogue, check understanding, and get instant feedback’. The outcomes are shown in Figures 2 to 6. In terms of Murray’s digital maturity categories, the responses indicated that a large majority of Estates Managers felt that their departments were ‘emerging’, i.e. slow, reactive, vulnerable to digital disruption, and must take DT more seriously. None of the respondents had a documented DT strategy in place, and some stated they would only have one if directed from the centre of the NHS. All of the participants said they used data for exception and assurance reporting, and a large majority for trend analysis, but very few used data for root cause analysis or reliability analysis. In terms of integration, none of those
March 2025 Health Estate Journal 35
Above left: Figure 4. How is Data Used?
Above: Figure 5. The extent of digital systems integration.
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