The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Transforming Digital Access for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
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Background
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is one of the largest acute and community providers in the West Midlands, serving a population of over 450,000 people.
With an annual budget exceeding £500 million, the Trust operates across multiple sites, including New Cross Hospital, West Park Hospital, and Cannock Chase Hospital. It provides a comprehensive range of services, including acute, community, and specialist healthcare. The Trust is dedicated to delivering high-quality care and improving patient outcomes through innovative practices and strong partnerships with local authorities, healthcare providers, and academic institutions. The Trust’s mission is to achieve excellence in healthcare, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and address health inequalities within the community.
The Need
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust sought an experienced technical partner to design and develop a new website aimed at enhancing digital engagement and accessibility for citizens, patients, and employees. The existing digital infrastructure was outdated and failed to meet user expectations for 24/7 access to services and information on personal devices. The new platform was intended to transition from simply providing information to enabling self-service and self-management, thus granting users more control over their interactions with the Trust.
Several key areas for improvement were identified:
- Development of an accessible, mobile-first website offering easy-to-understand content.
- Provision of 24/7/365 access to locate services, access clinical support, and manage care.
- Delivery of user-friendly, navigable online services that are cost-effective.
- Facilitation of collaboration with other public sector partners to implement best practices for online services.
The website also needed to incorporate intranet content for employees, ensuring an intuitive and secure user experience. The project scope included a new design, build, and implementation of a common publishing platform based on NHS digital service principles and the Technology Code of Practice. Essential components included content migration, social media integration, and comprehensive training for in-house teams.
Required features included:
- Excellent site search functionality
- Integration with social media platforms
- Support for video content
- Web chat and chatbot integration
- Subscription management and marketing tools
- Content tools with version control and workflow management
The goal was to create a modern, responsive, and personalised user experience that complies with WCAG 2.2 AA standards and significantly enhances the Trust’s digital service delivery.
The Solution
6B partnered with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to design and develop their new website, focusing on user-centred design and agile methodologies.
The project began with an agile discovery phase, where 6B conducted extensive user research to understand the needs and preferences of patients, employees, and other stakeholders. This informed the design process, ensuring the website would be intuitive and meet the diverse needs of its users.
6B employed a user-centred design approach, creating a mobile-first, responsive site that prioritised accessibility and ease of navigation. The design incorporated best practices from the NHS digital service manual and adhered to the Technology Code of Practice. Key features included advanced search functionality, social media integration, and support for various content formats, including video and live broadcasts.
Throughout the development phase, 6B used iterative testing and feedback loops to refine the website. They integrated quality assurance measures, such as accessibility checks and performance testing, to ensure the site met WCAG 2.1 standards and provided a seamless user experience.
The new platform was built on an open-source publishing framework, allowing for flexibility and future scalability. Post-launch, 6B provided comprehensive training and support to the Trust’s in-house team, ensuring they could manage and update content effectively.
The result was a modern, efficient, and user-friendly website that enhanced digital engagement and accessibility for all users, aligning with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust’s goals.
The Impact
The launch of the new website for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has significantly enhanced digital engagement and accessibility for patients, employees, and the broader community.
The user-centred design and mobile-first approach have led to increased user satisfaction and ease of navigation. Advanced search functionality and seamless integration with social media platforms have improved information accessibility and user interaction. The responsive design and adherence to WCAG 2.2 AA standards ensure the site is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
Overall, the new website has streamlined access to services, supported self-management of care, and facilitated better communication, contributing to improved healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
“We were incredibly impressed with 6B’s understanding from the outset of the magnitude and challenge involved in delivering a new NHS website. They quickly grasped our ambition to create a platform that is not only user-friendly and engaging for our patients but also easily navigable for our valued colleagues. The result of our collaboration is a website that truly empowers us, providing greater control in updating content and ensuring it consistently meets the evolving needs of the diverse communities we serve. We’re absolutely delighted with the outcome and look forward to continuing our partnership with 6B as we embark on the development of the new Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust website later in 2025.”
– Vaughan Browne, Communications Lead at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust