Digital Champion Award

This award celebrates individuals that have encouraged and supported others to use technology or digital tools and techniques to:

• Identify or better understand and/or solve a problem (or be progressing towards solving a problem).
• Improve quality or efficiency
• Reduce barriers and improve access

The technology or digital tools and techniques they have used don’t need to be cutting edge, but how they were used may be innovative for your organisation. 

Read our submission criteria and general guidance. Applicants were encouraged to consider the following information when making their nomination:

What was the problem that you were trying to solve?

• Why was technology/digital the right approach?
• Why was this approach innovative for the organisation?
• Did the Champion work independently or in collaboration with others?
• How did the Champion engage other people in the use of technology or digital ways of working. This could be colleagues, service users, customers, donors or others.
• If a particular technology or digital tool was used, was there a reason for choosing this instead of something else? 

What was the impact?

• Who benefitted?
• Was there a measurable benefit?

Applicability

• Could the approach be applied by other parts of the organisation or other organisations?

The winner has been announced at our National Conference in Glasgow.

Champions come from every part of our hospices, our nominations celebrated volunteers, educators, senior managers, techies, retailers, clinicians, fundraisers. 

The panel highlighted a quote from one entry that they believed is relevant to all the nominees and the many hundreds of digital champions across our sector. Digital Champions are 'humanising technology', which particularly important at a time when artificial intelligence in technology is on the rise.

Aaron Salter of Pilgrims Hospices is someone who epitomises that quote. The panel were particularly impressed with his tenacity to solve a data problem and create insights for colleagues in all departments, particularly focusing on improving patient care. 

They were impressed with his collaborative approach, working with colleagues from across Pilgrims, but also beyond into the Kent & Medway ICB, neighbouring hospices, and contributing nationally to the Hospice UK Data Analyst network. 

This included exciting thinking about using digital to improve patient experience and safety. Projects included the development of electronic prescriptions, a new patient record app, using VR headsets to reduce pain and stress in patients, as well as finding ways to join up access to patient records across the wider healthcare system.

Importantly, their work is helping to develop future IT professionals through a mentoring scheme for students.

The Panel added: “Duncan and the Mountbatten team are worthy winners of the Digital Champion Award. We were particularly impressed with their collaboration with neighbouring hospices to share IT services and develop future IT professionals through a mentoring scheme for students. Their commitment to sharing knowledge and learning more widely stood out as an opportunity to improve digital services across the hospice sector. Congratulations to Duncan and all the team at Mountbatten!”