In any organisation, obtaining budget for new projects is difficult. In an envirnoment like the NHS where there are always more worthwhile projects than available budget, this exercise is always difficult. Clinical training is often delivered by existing staff in a traditional classroom environment and is therefore seen as ‘free’.
While this is technically correct in that budget is not required, it certainly is not free. Staff time does cost and will be represented in an existing budget. Travel costs are also a factor. An analysis of the real costs of training will reveal that the deployment of e-learning can lead to very significant cost savings. Every organisation will be different and rural organisations are likely to see bigger savings than city based ones. However, travelling 2 miles across London for example remains a time consuming activity that is surely better avoided if possible. One Director of Medical calculated that the deployment of EasiLearning’s Anaphylactic Shock saved his PCT the equivalent of 5 full time equivalents. Not only was the budget required for the deployment less than the travel costs, but the real savings were in key front line staff time.
Justifying the use of e-learning
In any organisation, obtaining budget for new projects is difficult. In an envirnoment like the NHS where there are always more worthwhile projects than available budget, this exercise is always difficult. Clinical training is often delivered by existing staff in a traditional classroom environment and is therefore seen as ‘free’.
While this is technically correct in that budget is not required, it certainly is not free. Staff time does cost and will be represented in an existing budget. Travel costs are also a factor. An analysis of the real costs of training will reveal that the deployment of e-learning can lead to very significant cost savings. Every organisation will be different and rural organisations are likely to see bigger savings than city based ones. However, travelling 2 miles across London for example remains a time consuming activity that is surely better avoided if possible. One Director of Medical calculated that the deployment of EasiLearning’s Anaphylactic Shock saved his PCT the equivalent of 5 full time equivalents. Not only was the budget required for the deployment less than the travel costs, but the real savings were in key front line staff time.
This cartoon illustrates the point: