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Health visitor training on electronic patient records is ‘insufficient’

9th October 2009

Training for health visitors on electronic patient records designed to co-ordinate patient care is still ‘insufficient’, the latest Make IT Happen survey by Unite has revealed.

In the eight years since the Make IT Happen campaign was launched by Unite/Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association, dramatic progress has been made.

Today, 99 per cent of the 530 of those who had responded had access to a desktop computer and 95 per cent access to the internet at work, but in 2001 a total of 66 per cent of community practitioners were denied access to the internet and 65 per cent were without email.

Unite professional officer, Dave Munday, said: "In 2001 community practitioners (including health visitors and school nurses) were on the margins of the internet age – now they are centre stage. The improvement in terms of access has been huge, but there are still areas of concern." 

A total 310 members stated that they had access to local electronic patient records, with 92 per cent having received training on their local system itself. However, 41 per cent reported that this training was ‘insufficient’ and 61 per cent that it was not done soon enough to when they would be using the system ‘for real’.

Dave Munday continued: "When asked about what involvement respondents have had in the design of clinical systems, 54 per cent reported no involvement. There is obviously a case for better ‘implementation’ planning in this area."

The 2001 survey found that seven out of 10 health visitors and school nurses would “significantly” improve their service to clients if they had full access to the NHS health informatics revolution.

The full results of the survey – the fourth since 2001 - will be launched at the Unite/CPHVA annual conference in Southport next week (14-16 October). 

ENDS