The Birth of Blue Stream Academy: Home of eLearning

Think about what mandatory training involves. First of all you need to find a suitable course, make sure there’s available spaces and check the date. How will staff members get there? Who will cover their shifts? And how much does all this cost?!

At Blue Stream Academy we recognised these issues and began to develop a solution for healthcare organisations that would make some of their compliance requirements a little easier.

Blue Stream Academy was founded in 2012 with a small experienced team who were versed in providing healthcare training. The key aim was to provide GP practices with a training solution that would save them time and money without compromising on quality of care.

It began by creating a system that provided all staff members in a GP practice with relevant and required training, along with a Management of Information System (MIS) to track training and compliance. We worked with local GP practices, who still use our system today, to find out what they would like to see on the system and if they had any specific requirements.

The practice managers requested a training solution that would allow staff to complete training without the practice having to close. The system we developed allows any staff member to log on to their training profile from anywhere with an internet connection, effectively turning the world into a classroom.

Healthcare professionals also made suggestions about features and specific modules that would be beneficial to them. Ultimately, Blue Stream Academy created a system for practice managers that was developed by practice managers.

Following our success within the GP sector, we realised that other healthcare organisations were facing the same training and reporting issues, so we decided to develop solutions for nursing and care homes, urgent care providers, hospices and dentists.

A key facet of Blue Stream Academy’s success is our sales and customer support team; a bubbly, friendly group of individuals who are focused on helping each person they speak with. Our team members are experts on the eLearning suite and the MIS, so no problem is too big or too small.

They provide solutions to customer queries over the phone, by email or our new live chat feature via our website. They are the main port of call for all our users, and their helpful and friendly manner is an integral part of our excellent retention rates of 96%.

Here is our new exhibition stand which can be found at healthcare events across the UK. If you see us please feel free to pop over and say hello!

We regularly attend many healthcare exhibitions and conferences up and down the country to interact with people who use our system. Of course, these events are a great way to establish new relationships, but they’re also important to nurture existing relationships and gain valuable insight and feedback.

Our software developers are constantly working on new features and updates to ensure that the entire system is tailored precisely for evolving healthcare requirements.

Our powerful MIS is what sets us apart from the competition. Managers love the reporting features that allow an administrator to set up training profiles, view training deadlines, attach trackable policies and – using our revolutionary training matrix – examine a complete overview of their staff’s knowledge and compliance.

Our brand-new HR system and, from early 2020, a bolt-on payroll system within the MIS, are a sign that Blue Stream Academy listens to the needs of our customers and delivers. Unlike other HR systems, which offer paid-for extras, everything from leave requests to staff rotas are included in the package. Also, document management allows a manager to upload contracts, performance reviews, appraisals, DBS checks, and ‘right to work’ checks and sends the manager reminders to review these.

We are proud to be the only ISO 27001 accredited provider of eLearning, compliance reporting, HR, bookkeeping and policy management in the UK healthcare industry.

Our recent accreditation audited by the British Standards Institution (BSI) demonstrates our commitment to data security and continuous improvement. We have policies and procedures in place to give you the utmost confidence that your data is kept securely. In today’s digital age, when data breaches are a regular occurrence, why risk your organisation’s and users’ data with a company that hasn’t been audited or accredited?

Our content development team is a talented group who are constantly bouncing ideas across the office, sharing design ideas and working closely to develop brilliant new eLearning content that’s tailored to our users’ needs.

...Blue Stream Academy created a system for practice managers that was developed by practice managers

We understand that legislation and guidance are always changing and adapting, as is the nature of the healthcare landscape. We therefore ensure we review our existing modules regularly so that users are getting the most up-to-date information possible.

When developing modules, we search for subject matter experts to guide the content to be sure that our users are getting the most relevant information for that topic. In addition, all of our modules are accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) so our users can be confident that our training has been quality assured and independently assessed. This ensures it is a consistent and high-quality resource that will reduce risk and save time and money.

Thanks to our extensive experience in security and network design, we do not need to rely on third parties as we pride ourselves on our inhouse development. We also have the technical expertise to manage our own servers and, as a result, we can offer greater resilience.

Also, in the unlikely event of any issues, we have full control over remediation, the development process, and the security of our code. It also means we can be more flexible in order to meet the needs of our users.

So, where is Blue Stream Academy now?

Our team continues to grow, and though that means the office tea round has got a lot bigger, there are also more hands on deck to answer your queries, develop new features, and create excellent eLearning modules for our users.

We’re committed to continue developing what we have built in order to deliver original eLearning content, create tailored reports, and expand on the innovative features that are already available.

Our system is built around you and our development will always be centred on the needs of our users, because they are the reason the system exists

Fun Fact:

Our Mr Pose badges have become a huge hit over the past few years. They are awarded by managers to staff as a reward for achieving key mandatory training milestones.

Each badge -bronze, silver and gold- represents a certain amount of CPD hours completed by a trainee.

Please keep a look out for our newest edition to the Blue Stream Academy badge family, 'Blue Mr Pose'. In 2020 we celebrate the launch of our new BSA Ambassadors scheme with our exclusive blue MR Pose badges. More information to follow in our next issue.