The NHS is moving away from paper and into cyberspace. The move will provide a whole raft of advantages, but there is also risk. Security of data is a key issue. In this feature Graeme Stewart looks at what can be done to limit the risk of condiential data falling into the wrong hands.

It is clear that a paperless NHS is coming, given recent government announcements. As and when the NHS goes digital, huge amounts of private and confidential data will be at great risk. The Trusts around the country are made up of a complex mixture of legacy systems and due to the provision of crucial services that it provides, different Trusts have implemented varying levels of and approaches to security. Operating this way in a modern society is inefficient and it is clear the NHS needs to upgrade. But, in order to protect its data and infrastructure at the same time, the NHS needs to ensure the implementation of a cohesive security policy across the board.

Read more on A SECURE DIGITAL NHS – CAN IT BECOME A REALITY?…

The top 20 companies supplying central and local government have been identified and the value of their contracts revealed. The scale of the contracts show why small and medium sized enterprises are failing to get government business.

Read more on TOP SUPPLIERS TO GOVERNMENT NAMED…

Dyslexia is widespread and it can cause problems in the workplace. In this feature Mark McCusker explains what can be done to tackle the negative effects of the disability.

According to the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects the reading and writing of 10 per cent of the British population. It occurs independently of intelligence and varies from person to person so that no two people will have the same set of strengths and weaknesses.

Read more on COPING WITH DYSLEXIA IN THE WORKPLACE…

The Labour party supports the principle of Universal Credit, but if successful at the election in May 2015, it will put the welfare reform on hold while it conducts an urgent review.

Read more on UNIVERSAL CREDIT TO GO ON HOLD IF LABOUR WINS 2015 ELECTION…

Working on emotional intelligence skills? can open the door to achievement ?argues Lynda Chervil.

Personal power is a core leadership competency that everyone needs to develop before they can lead others. It has to do with being able to lead yourself.

Read more on KEYS TO DEVELOPING PERSONAL POWER…

Massive open online courses, MOOCs, are being taken up slowly to educate 12-19 year olds in the UK, but there is potential for greater use if deployed in particular ways.

Research into MOOCs and their use within compulsory-age education found that there are a handful of school-age MOOCs currently operating in the UK, although mainly these have been funded by the government and social enterprise and mainly focused on niche key stage 5 objectives.

Read more on MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES PROVIDE POTENTIAL FOR SECONDARY EDUCATION…

This feature summarises the views of local authority chief executives, top transformational professionals, integration experts, and representatives of front-line service providers who shared a roundtable to look at ways of tackling the tricky issue of realising integrated care ambitions.

Read more on MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATED CARE…

Graeme Davies and Geoff Garrett offer advice to leaders in the professions.

In increasingly competitive, ‘knowledge worker’ environments, people working at all levels prize their freedom and resist direction. The challenging job of leading them can often feel like the business of ‘herding cats’.

Read more on HERDING PROFESSIONAL CATS…

Central departments, with 16% fewer staff, cut expenditure in the last year on commercial contracts, IT, property, marketing, temporary staff and consultancy. The total cost reduction was more than £14b and this cash has been recycled within departmental budgets to protect frontline services. None of the cash has been returned to the Treasury.

Read more on SLIMMER CIVIL SERVICE FOCUSES SPENDING ON FRONTLINE…

A new partnership between CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development and Towards Maturity, the learning and development research company, will deploy robust research to help drive better practice in the design, delivery and application of learning and development in the workplace.

Read more on PARTNERSHIP TO DRIVE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORKPLACE…