Public Sector Case Study – Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Initial introduction:

Aneurin Bevan was one of the first Trusts that responded to our initial communication with all NHS Trusts at the beginning of lockdown in April 2020. Mike Ogonovsky, Chief Digital Officer at Aneurin Bevan was intrigued by our proposition, but was cautious of what to expect from the initiative. We arranged an MS Teams call with Mike to clarify exactly what we were trying to do for NHS Trusts and the IT skills we could provide resource for.

Volunteer roles:

Aneurin Bevan required IT resource in a number of areas. MS Teams meetings were set up with multiple Programme and Project Managers within the Trust to qualify volunteer requirements and get processes set up.

VIQU placed 12 volunteers/reduced rate contractors into a number of roles including:

• Office 365 Technical BA

This volunteer assisted with the Trust’s migration and implementation over to Office 365. Initially, the volunteer was paid for minor expenses. After a period of time, the Trust wanted to secure the volunteer in a full-time contract. The volunteer was happy to reduce his normal rates in order to secure a paid contract with the Trust.

• Office 365 Project Manager

This voluntary role involved leading the migration and adaptation to Office 365 throughout Aneurin Bevan and collaborating with NHS Wales. The volunteer was paid expenses and then secured a paid contract with the Trust at a reduced rate.

• AI RPA Project Managers

These voluntary project managers assisted with the implementation of key and state of the art software in relation to Robotic Process Automation. The volunteers utilised robotics to manually transcribe key medical information and data entry where the healthcare system failed to do so. These volunteers were paid expenses until the Trust decided to secure them in full time contracts at a reduced rate.

• Attend Anywhere Trainers –

As trainers for a bespoke system, these volunteers enabled key NHS staff to reach vulnerable people through video conferencing. The system assists medical staff with conduct health and social care appointments from any convenient location, allowing services to operate in a safe and secure way. These volunteer trainers performed over 2,000 sessions between them.

• MS Teams Trainers

These volunteers provided vital training for the Trust’s full-time employees who needed to be able to work remotely due to the pandemic. Their training allowed the Trust to adapt to the impromptu situation with ease.

• IT Trainer

This volunteer provided IT training across the board, as well as performing IT support duties.

What Aneurin Bevan has to say about our initiative:

"When we were initially approached by the guys at VIQU regarding their NHS IT Volunteer Initiative, we were worried it was some sort of scam. Instead, what we found in our hour of need was masses of goodwill, expert IT volunteers and much needed help to support our health board, which was hit hard by COVID -19. The impact of these volunteers was felt by our doctors, nurses and provided much appreciated support to our Informatics team. I would like to thank our volunteers, and of course the VIQU team who we are delighted to continue to work with on our IT recruitment strategy.”

– Mike Ogonovsky, Chief Digital Officer and SRO TEC Cymru at Aneurin Bevan

Summary:

Over a short period of time, Aneurin Bevan’s trust in our team’s ability to provide highly skilled IT professionals concluded in the placement of 12 IT volunteers, 6 of which transitioned through a Framework to become paid contractors. This highlights the skill of the volunteers sourced for the Trust and the success of the initiative in assisting the NHS at a time of national crisis.

Our team continues to support Aneurin Bevan's Informatics department with their IT recruitment.