Lead Organisation: Regional Partnership Board
The North Wales Regional Partnership board carried out a survey to help better understand the extent to which digital technology is being used, the barriers faced, and the level and type of support required moving forward, from the perspective of operational staff and managers.
The survey found that all organisations used digital technology, particularly for learning and development.
Participants used digital technology to help the people they support. The main uses highlighted by both managers and staff were to help people keep in touch with friends and family.
Overall managers and staff were positive about the use of technology with a majority agreeing that technology can help make services more efficient and has clear benefits for people receiving care.
Managers said that the biggest challenge to using technology was offering equal access to digital technologies for all staff. This was also highlighted by the staff survey which found that 91% of staff have access to a digital device for training or e‑learning but that 62% of staff use their own rather than one provided by their employer.
Most staff were reasonably or very confident in their digital skills with 18% of staff saying they lacked confidence in at least one digital skill. Staff would like more support though, with 73% saying that training and support to use digital technologies would help them do their jobs better. The most preferred ways to receive support were through coaching and help from colleagues and formal IT training, but all types of training received a positive response.