IT Training | Celebrating BWC Spirit

By Will Columbine, IT Training Manager, IT Training 

What was your experience of the pandemic? 

We had to adapt and diversify in the way that we worked and delivered training and to make decisions about what systems we could train remotely and what classroom training we still needed to deliver. There was a large surge in demand for training on some systems as the trust redeployed staff to the frontline and as other staff prepared to cover work that their colleagues would normally have done. 

What was the hardest part? 

We had a member of staff who left the team just as the pandemic started. They had a lot of knowledge of the processes and systems and it was difficult to train their replacement up whilst still delivering a good training service to the trust. In training we also have the privilege of meeting almost all of our clinical colleagues at some point, so it was very hard for us to see staff that we knew from training that had died from covid.  

How did you cope? 

I think we coped by taking things one step at a time. We cancelled training at first and then started to learn the tools that we would need to train remotely. We then made sure that we understood the precautions that needed to be taken to deliver classroom training. We changed the way we work considerably to make working from home easier and to make things more flexible for the staff we train – i.e. introducing drop in sessions and having sessions that don’t require booking. 

What did you learn? 

I think the pandemic forced us to make changes to our way of working that would have taken a lot longer to introduce at any other time. We were much bolder about introducing new processes and modernising some of our training delivery methods. Some of the different approaches worked well and others not so much but I think it has emphasised the importance of innovation and experimentation to the team. 

How do you think it changed the team? 

There were some members of the team that stepped up to the mark and really exceeded my expectations – namely Elaine Whyte (who transferred to us from PAS), Mandy Lennon and Atif Seedahmed. 

Beyond your team, who has inspired you during the pandemic? 

Undoubtedly, I’d have to say the clinical teams that continued to work at the start of the pandemic despite a lot of uncertainty about how safe it was – particularly in areas such as maternity where it was business as usual. 

I’ve also been inspired a lot by colleagues and staff that we train who have told us about how they used their time during the pandemic. I’ve heard about staff who got back on a bicycle for the first time in 25 years and who were inspired to lose weight, take up new hobbies or to speak to people they hadn’t had contact with for years.