Last Updated: 2nd May 2025
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust Case Study
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust employs some 5,000 members of staff. Virtual College to ensure staff training is up to date. Read case study.
Safeguarding
Case Study
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About The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is proud of the range of general and specialist services provided by its dedicated staff.
They ensure patients get the best care across all four of its locations: Hertford County hospital, the Lister hospital in Stevenage, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood and the New QEII hospital in Welwyn Garden City. The Trust’s emergency department services see round 130,000 people and about 5,500 babies are born in the Trust each year. In total, the Trust’s staff treat around half a million people each year.
The Challenge
As the Trust employs some 5,000 members of staff, maintaining up to date training is a huge undertaking but vital in ensuring patient safety.
The NHS identified improved training for staff involved with diabetic patients as hugely important many years ago. In keeping with national NHS requirements, throughout the Trust, specific training is mandatory for large groups of staff dealing with diabetic patients.
/n/n### The Delivery
The Trust faced the challenge of providing comprehensive safeguarding training for over 3,000 staff across its 37 academies.
To meet this need, Virtual College delivered a robust solution that ensured unlimited access to more than 50 safeguarding training courses.
The LMS, designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, housed all training content in a centralised location, making it easier for staff to navigate and complete their courses.
Enhanced tracking and reporting features within the platform streamlined internal assurance processes, giving the Trust better control and visibility over training progress.
Additionally, the LMS’s content creation feature enabled the organization to upload and deliver their own tailored content, enhancing the flexibility and personalization of their training programs.
This approach complemented the Trust’s existing blended learning strategy by seamlessly integrating online and in-person training methods.
What Their Director Had To Say
The flexibility of Virtual College’s online learning is ideally suited to our 24/7 working environment, allowing us to reach a large number of learners quickly with minimum disruption.
For the NHS, e-learning works really well allowing us to reach large numbers of staff very quickly.
We have been well served by Virtual College and the National Patient Safety Suite offers very good value for money.
Angela Thompson
Director: East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Over 5000 members of staff trained
The flexibility of online learning suited the 24/7 working environment
High learner engagement with accessibility anywhere, anytime.
The Results
Staff across the Trust now have unrestricted training access to all courses in the National Patient Safety Suite.
The Trust achieved exceptional learner engagement, earning the first-ever Gold Certificate of Achievement from Virtual College.
Online training supports face-to-face sessions, streamlining in-depth instruction by covering foundational knowledge digitally.
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Course Utilisation:
- ‘Safe Use of Insulin’ is the most accessed course and mandatory for all doctors and nurses.
- Paediatricians complete ‘Caring for Children and Young People with Diabetes Mellitus.’
- Clinical support workers use ‘The Safe Management of Hypoglycaemia.’
E-learning enables the NHS to train large numbers of staff quickly, offering a cost-effective and convenient learning experience.
Our diabetic teams view education as a huge part of their role and appreciate the added value and support E-Learning brings in educating large groups of staff.
Emer Corbett
Continuing Professional Development Nurse for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust