Berkshire Healthcare have a successful Citizen Developer Programme.
In Berkshire Healthcare, more than 1600 individuals, who are not IT experts, use easy-to-use tools like the Microsoft Power Platform and other Microsoft 365 applications. These tools allow our colleagues to create custom solutions and apps without advanced technical skills.
The Microsoft Power Platform takes it a step further, enabling them to build more advanced apps that seamlessly connect with a variety of data and services. These tools empower our colleagues to tailor solutions for their teams, streamline operations, and make informed decisions using data. In simple terms, even if they don't have advanced technical knowledge, individuals acting as low-code developers using the Microsoft Power Platform can quickly create the solutions they need.
Within Berkshire Healthcare, regular employees, known as citizen developers, use these low-code tools to create digital applications for themselves and their colleagues, even if they are not part of the official IT or business departments.
While they may not have formal programming training, they contribute from various areas within the Trust, and some may choose to eventually transition to full-time developers.
When our Doctors and Nurses are not burdened by administration, they have more time to provide better care to our patients.
Governance training is crucial for citizen developers, especially in healthcare settings like Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust, to ensure the security of patient information and compliance with essential rules.
This training helps them understand and mitigate risks in app development, leading to better and safer apps for patients. It also ensures a consistent and high-quality approach to app development, improving functionality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Citizen developers are encouraged to align their apps with the goals of Berkshire Healthcare, emphasising the importance of meeting organisational objectives.
They are expected to participate in our mandatory governance training titled "Becoming a Responsible Citizen Developer."
To explore the Power Platform, they can use the App launcher and familiarise themselves with Microsoft 365 applications like Forms, SharePoint, and The Power Platform, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.
Learning Power Platform Low Code Features
Support and Study
Through official documentation, tutorials, and training materials, they can acquire an understanding of power platform low code features. They can also benefit from online courses and community-generated content on platforms such as Microsoft Learn, YouTube, and other educational websites.
They can begin with Power Automate, a tool to automate processes and create workflows to streamline tasks. Then they can progress to Power Apps, a low-code development platform that allows them to build simple apps using a visual interface. Working on real-world projects helps them comprehend core concepts and functionalities.
As their skills improve, exploring advanced features becomes essential. They are welcome to join the Citizen Developer Community, where they can network with fellow citizen developers, seek answers, share insights, and learn from each other's expertise
Citizen Developer in Berkshire Healthcare, have the opportunity to create applications that can improve their work and the work of their team.
However, they also have to be aware of the limitations and responsibilities that come with this role.
Some of the things they can do:
- Make apps that help remove repetitive and burdensome work from you and their direct team.
- Make apps that help with office work, such as comparing spreadsheet data, collecting staff information, filling out forms, and talking to other staff members.
- Make tools that support employee onboarding, with reminders and information sharing.
- Make tools that collect and show information that is not private, such as how happy the patients are with our care and how well we are doing our work.
- Make some tasks easier and faster, such as sending reminders to patients and keeping track of supplies.
- Make apps that help you and other staff members learn new skills and follow our policies and governance.
Some of the things they cannot do:
- Create apps that are used outside of your immediate team, or ones that become so essential they cause problems to your team or patients, when they stop working.
- Create apps, for use outside of Berkshire Healthcare.
- Make apps that affect how we take care of patients, such as tools that try to tell us what is wrong with them or how to treat them.
- Make apps that use or show private information about patients, such as their names, addresses, or medical records.
- Make apps that connect to our main systems, such as the ones that store and manage patient records, or financial information.
- Make apps that have to follow special rules for healthcare, such as the ones that require compliance with our GDPR, ISO 27001, DCB0160 & DPIA, responsibilities.
NHS RPA Blueprint
Discover how we apply Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in the National Health Service by reading our Blueprint.
NHS RPA Governance Strategy
Our governance strategy shows how we ensure Robotic Process Automation in the National Health Service (NHS) is safe, secure, and well-managed for patients.