Virgin Media O2 Business: Connectivity & Better Patient Care

Mark Burton, Health & Social Care Lead at Virgin Media O2 Business, has been involved in the health sector for over 30 years, working across both medical and surgical specialities before moving into patient monitoring in the medical device sector. At Virgin Media O2 Business, he supports healthcare organisations on their digital transformation journeys. 

“My role centres around the development and delivery of commercial strategies to support our health sector partners achieve their goals of digital transformation and connectivity across the patient and social care ecosystem,” he says. “As a technology supplier, we should always work in partnership with the health provider. We need to listen to their needs and use our expertise to offer personalised advice to accelerate their digital plans. There is so much opportunity for knowledge and resources to be shared between the private and public sectors.”

Here, he tells us more. 

Why are healthcare professionals turning to technology for personalised care?

“In Virgin Media O2 Business’ research report, 'Bridging the digital gap in UK healthcare', 86% of NHS decision makers support further investment in digital skills for the NHS workforce. With the right technology, and the right skills to utilise that tech effectively, healthcare professionals can access electronic patient records and research notes to ensure that they are providing tailored and targeted care pathways to meet the specific care needs for their patients, resulting in improved patient outcomes and experience. 

“We’ve seen that there is now a greater appetite to learn and onboard more technology amongst healthcare professionals. The holistic care that’s provided to patients in the new Integrated Care structure is one of the biggest leaps for technological change in the NHS in decades. In a modern world that requires integrated care, to enable that, we need the right infrastructure and digital skillsets to reap the benefits of collaborative connectivity. For that, there needs to be equality across all systems and across all NHS staff to access that tech. 

“This growing attitude to improve digital skills is promising as in a sector where no two days are the same, it is vital that healthcare professionals have access to connectivity that is ready for anything.”

How can Virgin Media O2 Business help to create a successful personalised healthcare strategy?

“We see that the shift towards personalised healthcare will only strengthen the relationship between healthcare professionals and the community, with tech partners available to provide the necessary counsel and resources to assist.

“At Virgin Media O2 Business, we have launched two new solutions which aim to support healthcare professionals to foster a successful personalised strategy. Our Mobile Health Check reviews all devices across a trust or ICB, meaning that we can make recommendations as to how to improve efficiency, security and healthcare providers’ overall use of digital. 

“Healthcare organisations are also welcome to arrange a Digital Explore Workshop, a collaborative face-to-face session with our digital experts. During the session, our team of experts work to understand the current digital challenges and skillsets across the organisation, so we can create tailored solutions to achieve their specific goals. This supports both local and national health priorities by furthering digital equality for staff and patients. 

“We aim to empower digitally excluded citizens through our Connect More programme to ensure no one is left behind. This includes supporting access to virtual healthcare; our team of digital champions help individuals use the NHS app and any other necessary online forms, freeing up healthcare professionals’ time. 

“Technology partnerships can drive plans for personalised care forward and will be an essential component in achieving proactive and preventative care pathways – something that will play a key role across future healthcare.”

How can technology and strong connectivity drive better patient care?

“Better connectivity, digital education and smarter processes help healthcare providers to develop a digital culture across their workforce, in turn driving efficiencies across the care system. Staff can see improved application performance, record and share patient information with ease – all while experiencing improved job satisfaction and making it easier to deliver care for patients.

“Healthcare connectivity solutions facilitate better communication and data sharing across trusts and organisations so that healthcare professionals can make informed decisions with a full picture of their patients’ backgrounds. 

“At Virgin Media O2 Business, we have worked with trusts and healthcare providers to adopt a new digital strategy to replace their legacy tech, getting access to Software Defined-Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) cloud-based infrastructure, cloud collaboration tools and to improve digital knowledge of patients and staff by creating digital hubs. We have seen firsthand how replacing legacy tech and employing a clear digital strategy within trusts allowed them to meet the needs for their community.” 

How can healthcare professionals close the digital skills gap?

“Our latest research at Virgin Media O2 Business showed that over a third (34%) of NHS decision makers believe that it will take up to a decade to close the digital gap. 

“Resolving this inequality hinges on patients having access to the right technology, training and skills to effectively interact with NHS services. With Lloyds Bank’s Consumer Digital Index finding that 25% of the UK have the lowest digital capability and as a result are likely to struggle interacting with online services, it is vital that healthcare professionals and technology providers are working together to supply the community with the access to digital services to support the care they need.

“Digital skills underpin how healthcare professionals can fulfil their roles and ensure that patients are not excluded from reaching critical support services because they do not have the tools or skills to access them. Our Connect More programme is an example of a way organisations can support digital inclusion and make a real impact on communities. Empowering patients to manage their health through digital tools creates a win-win scenario, resulting in increased patient engagement and improved healthcare outcomes.”

Do you have any partnerships you can tell us about?

“Virgin Media O2 Business is also a proud member of the Digital Poverty Alliance, which works to end digital poverty once and for all by 2030.

“Partnerships like this allow us to help individuals to participate in an increasingly digital-led society. Our research found that almost half (48%) of healthcare professionals recognise the need to provide more support to patients when it comes to adopting new digital tools. Our partnership with CCS allows us to provide support to the public sector entities which are working with communities to enhance their digital literacy.”

What do the next 12 months hold for you and Virgin Media O2 Business?

“To transform and evolve into a truly integrated healthcare provider, the health sector must enable digital technology that is integrated, collaborative, and secure. This will help achieve the ambition of delivering preventative and proactive care to the population. During the next 12 months Virgin Media O2 Business will continue to partner with the Health Sector to deliver Care-ready connectivity. It’s what we do best. 

“As for me personally, the next 12 months I have the same guiding principles I have held for over 30 years and that is to provide the best service possible to support our NHS and the people receiving their care.”

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Mobile Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024

******

Mobile Magazine is a BizClik brand