July 2022
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DHCW's Director of Finance wins Finance Leader of the Year at national awards

Claire Osmundsen-Little, Digital Health and Care Wales’ Director of Finance and Deputy CEO has landed the title of ‘Finance Leader of the Year’ at the Digital Finance Function Awards.

The Digital Finance Function awards recognise the hard work of innovative teams and their technology partners.

Claire attended the awards ceremony in London with members of her team, and commented,
“I am so delighted to have been named Finance Leader of the Year- it goes without saying that I couldn’t have done it without the wonderful team that I lead and I am very grateful to them all.”

The event was hosted by Generation CFO, an organisation that celebrates the individuals and teams in the finance and accounting industry that are using digital technology to help improve their business and their own careers.
DHCW signs Armed Forces Covenant pledging to support Armed Forces Community
Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) has signed The Armed Forces Covenant, demonstrating its commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community. 

Helen Thomas, Chief Executive of DHCW, signed the UK government-founded covenant earlier this year to progress DHCW’s relationship with the military community and help to build more career pathways for armed forces personnel entering civilian life. 

To mark Armed Forces Week, David Rees, Veteran and now a Learning and Development facilitator at DHCW, spoke about his time in the British Army and how the skills he learnt have transferred to his current role:

“In 2007 after leaving the Army I struggled to adapt to civilian life, I didn't have any idea what I really wanted to do with my life. Obviously civilian work ethic is different, and I struggled to find anything I really enjoyed. So, as I was an instructor in the military I decided to enrol on a university course to gain my teaching qualifications. I believe that the hard work you put in whether it is in the Armed Forces or civilian life can be rewarding and has enabled me today to become a key member within DHCW as a Learning and Development Facilitator.”  

Read more on our DHCW website.
Colorectal cancer services to benefit from new dashboard

 A new national dashboard has been launched that will identify trends in colorectal cancer and allow clinicians in Wales to adjust services for better patient care.
 
The National Colorectal Cancer Dashboard uses data from several sources, including the National Bowel Cancer Audit. It allows clinicians in Welsh health boards to easily identify areas that require changes for reducing wait times or to relieve service bottlenecking. 
 
It was developed collaboratively between the Welsh Value in Health Centre information specialists in Digital Health and Care Wales, the NHS Wales Health Collaborative and clinicians from the Bowel Cancer Initiative.
 
Clinicians are currently using the dashboard to provide early feedback on its capability. This feedback will further inform development that is already underway. The next phase, which will be completed later this year, will be to add surgical and oncological quality metrics and survival data.
 
Live data on Single Cancer Pathway Performance is planned for a future release.
National myleloma dashboard recognised at Moondance ceremony
 
A national cancer dashboard was in the spotlight during the nominations ceremony at this year’s Moondance Cancer Awards, highlighting teams and people across NHS Wales and its partners who innovate cancer services across Wales. 
 
The Wales National Myeloma Dashboard supports the expansion of existing myeloma services in Wales by recording the activity of clinical teams in terms of number of patients diagnosed with myeloma per year, a breakdown of the chemotherapy regimens that they receive and the impact of these treatments in terms of survival and quality of life. The dashboard can also be used to analyse how patients are diagnosed with myeloma and identify any gaps in the pathway which may contribute to diagnoses being missed or delayed.
 
The dashboard uses data from the National Data Warehouse and Haembase Cymru’s Outpatient Continuation Sheet, both developed in partnership between the Welsh Value in Health Centre and DHCW’s Information Services and National Data Resource teams. The dashboard is published in Microsoft’s PowerBI software and can be accessed to anyone in NHS Wales with a NADEX and Office 365 account.
 
Multiple myeloma is the biggest blood cancer killer in the UK and causes more than 100 deaths in Wales each year.
Have your say in our Welsh Language Scheme consultation

Digital Health and Care Wales is a national organisation committed to the use and promotion of the Welsh language. Our Welsh Language Scheme builds on the previous work undertaken as a hosted organisation under Velindre University NHS Trust. The Welsh language scheme allows us to demonstrate our commitment to the use and promotion of Welsh across our organisation and in the development of stronger bilingual services as the requirements across the NHS change and diversify.
This Welsh Language Scheme applies to the whole organisation, and we all have a responsibility to be familiar with the requirements outlined within it. We will continuously look for ways to improve our use and promotion of the Welsh language both internally and with external stakeholders.
 
Our new Welsh Language Scheme is open for consultation until 30 September 2022. 
We want to hear your thoughts about the scheme: email us to share your views.
DHCW's first Annual General Meeting
 
Digital Health and Care Wales will be hosting its first virtual Annual General Meeting on Thursday 28th July, and the public and stakeholders are invited to attend.

This year’s event will be hosted via Zoom and live streamed at 14:00. Further details are available on our website.