Let's get digital - meet the women helping transform the health board's key systems

A team of innovative and highly skilled women is breaking new ground by developing and delivering healthcare digital systems which are benefiting patients not only in Swansea Bay, but across NHS Wales.

Pictured above, left to right: Shannon Rees, Digital Project Officer. Yvette Lloyd, Product Specialist. Chantelle Webber, Senior Project Manager. Helen Thomas, Head of Digital Planning for Unscheduled Care and Cancer. Tracey Bell, Head of Digital Planning - Planned Care & Community. Kirsty Joseph, Digital Project Officer. Rebecca Jelley, Senior Project Manager. Deirdre Roberts, Assistant Director of Digital Transformation. Debra Clement, Senior Business Analyst.

On International Women’s Day, we’re proud to shine a light on our female-led Digital Transformation Team, which is responsible for implementing major digital systems designed to support patient care.

Not content with working on just one project, they are the leading players in four pivotal digital systems.

Working with clinical colleagues and senior managers from services and sites across Swansea Bay UHB, they plan and deliver digital changes which span a number of national, regional and local programmes.

Deirdre Roberts (pictured left), Swansea Bay’s Assistant Director of Digital Transformation, who heads the Digital Transformation team explained: “Every one of us is really passionate about our work.

“Digital systems, designed with the health board’s quality and safety standards embedded within them, can play a huge part in supporting clinicians and managers as they plan and deliver patient care every day.

“It’s this understanding that drives our team to work closely with our colleagues to truly understand the challenges and find innovative and practical ways to ensure the new digital systems are designed to enhance quality and safety 24/7.”

One such system, which has cut through forests-worth of paper, given staff more time to provide hands-on care, and improved safety, is the Welsh Nursing Care Record.

The Welsh Nursing Care Record has digitally replaced more than 70 paper pages which staff used to have to fill in manually every time each patient was admitted.

Now with information on screen instead, it saves time, duplication of effort, reduces the risk of paper files being lost and also gets over the difficulties of reading handwritten entries.

Deirdre added: “It’s a privilege to lead a team of remarkable people that include some incredible women whose creativity, commitment and expertise drive our success.

“On International Women's Day, it's important to reflect the invaluable contributions of all women in the Swansea Bay Digital team and reaffirm our commitment to diversity, equality and empowerment.

“Together as a Digital team, along with our clinical and operational colleagues, we are shaping a brighter digital future.” 

The Digital Transformation Team was also key in the creation of the National E-Prescribing and Medicines Administration Programme, and the first in Wales to implement and evaluate a health board-wide inpatient hospital electronic prescribing and medicines administration (HEPMA) solution.

HEPMA replaces paper medication charts with a digital solution for prescribing and charting inpatients’ medications.

Pictured left to right: Kirsty Joseph, Digital Project Officer. Yvette Lloyd, Product Specialist. Nerys James, Digital Programme Manager. Rebecca Jelley, Senior Project Manager.

Over 1.1 million medications have already been prescribed using HEPMA across Swansea Bay.

Starting at Neath Port Talbot Hospital in 2020, it is now live across all medical wards with most surgical wards due to have it in place by early April. It has also been deployed across all adult mental health sites.

Working with in-house developers and clinical colleagues, the team has also developed another clinical system, Signal, which is a real time digital map of inpatients’ journeys through hospital from admission to discharge.

It helps clinicians and managers get a full, at-a-glance, picture of a ward's needs, including key information such as bed status, clinical data and discharge plans.

Signal also helps facilitate timely discharges and post-discharge from hospitals for patients.

The team behind Signal picked up the Technology and Digital Impact Award at the 18th annual MediWales Innovation Awards in 2023.

Another pioneering project involving the team is the Swansea Bay Patient Portal. This is a secure online record of a patient’s health and care information that patients themselves, and their carers, can access.

It records pathology results, clinic and appointment letters and enables clinicians and patients to keep in touch via a secure messaging feature.

Pictured left: Chantelle Webber, Senior Project Manager.

The Patient Portal is now live across 32 services in Swansea Bay, with plans underway to register 100,000 patients. Feedback from patients has been extremely positive with 84% who have used the portal agreeing it has helped them manage their care.

The women love the challenges of their roles, but also acknowledge that digital services might not be an obvious career choice for many young women. However they are quick to encourage them to join the profession.

Helen Thomas, Head of Digital Planning for Unscheduled Care and Cancer said: “Despite being seen traditionally as a male dominated environment, Digital Transformation has an abundance of females.

“It’s an environment where staff feel comfortable, authentic and welcome. We are a team that embrace the health board values by supporting each other, our clinical colleagues and the wider organisation.”

Tracey Bell, Head of Digital Planning for Planned Care and Community, said: “As a woman working in the Digital Transformation Team, I can work in an environment that is inclusive and allows me to actively engage in digitally transforming healthcare, hopefully inspiring other women to pursue a career in technology.

“International Women's Day provides us with an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the success of the women across the health board who contribute towards a healthier more connected future.” 

Jo Davies, Digital Business Change and Benefits Lead said: "I was lucky to be given the opportunity over 20 years ago to join the digital team.

“The skills and knowledge I have gained during this time has been phenomenal. International Women’s Day will hopefully inspire others to look outside of their comfort zone and open different doors for their career paths. Just like I did, and I have never looked back."