NLAG NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
“ I know people will be uncomfortable about that , but you simply cannot deliver healthcare now without that digital enabling support ,” explains McMahon . “ Our business just happens to be focusing on helping people when they ’ re at their most vulnerable .
“ We definitely have the expertise and the knowledge ; we are here to help and enable , but it is actually all about people relationships and business transformation . When you bring digital together with people , you can really make a difference .”
Across the globe there is a large babyboomer population and life expectancy is increasing from the gifts that healthcare research brings . Being able to treat people faster and with better outcomes brings significant benefits .
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted this digital transformation . One thing the team observed is that , previously , a lot of effort was being put into desktop solutions . The pandemic changed the mindset around mobile technology and how critical that is .
“ We ’ ve shifted our thinking around using tablets , mobile phones and the Surface Pro laptops in a more robust way than we would have done beforehand ,” says McMahon . “ I think it ’ s changed our thinking about the delivery of healthcare and that it ’ s not static . It ’ s very dynamic now .”
The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have great plans for data and cybersecurity .
“ People sometimes think cybersecurity is just one thing – we have 22 different approaches we ’ re using in our cybersecurity plan ,” explains McMahon .
This includes a combination of in-house solutions , partnerships with external suppliers and internal staff doing more specific work .
“ The challenge now is bringing the solutions together across the two Trusts so that the end users have a seamless experience ”
SHAUNA MCMAHON CIO & EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER , NLG NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
“ We have focused on getting those 22 areas that create our cybersecurity wrap up to standard ,” she continues . “ Our focus now is on replacing all out-of-date hardware and modernising our local area network . We implemented the IT ManageEngine solution , which is quite robust , and part of it allows us to run patching more efficiently in an automated way . We don ’ t stand still and we continuously monitor and update our cybersecurity ecosystem .”
Weavill adds : “ In radiology we have devices like CT scanners and MRI scanners which are connected to networks . They are incredibly locked down . But we use systems like Cynerio which highlight vulnerabilities . What we found is that , again , the level of cybersecurity awareness was quite low .”
However , post-COVID-19 , healthcare professionals at NLaG are thinking far more about security , which has involved Weavill engaging with his colleagues in radiology .
“ They want to be more security conscious about viruses ,” he says . “ Our trust was sadly hit by the WannaCry ransomware attack . That was an eye-opener that made people appreciate cybersecurity and we ’ ve seen massive levels of investment in it . People are now more aware of their obligations
140 May 2023