The UK Digital Health and Care (UKDHC) organisation, a non-profit community interest company, has launched The Real Deal, a national digital skills initiative for healthcare and social care professionals across the UK.

The Real Deal offers free accessible, practical learning and assessment opportunities to support staff in developing digital skills.

Professor Angus Wallace, executive director of UKDHC, said: “The UK has embraced digital transformation across many sectors, but our health and care systems have struggled to keep pace. The Real Deal is about doing something meaningful, practical and free to support our workforce.”

The Real Deal offers remote evaluation and lessons which combine self-assessment with targeted training to help health and care professionals understand their digital skill levels and learn in a modular, bite-size format.

Key features of the Real Deal include:

• Self-assessment tool – A digital skills evaluation tool available online for all health and care professionals.

• Personalised reports – Participants receive a signed certificate outlining strengths and development areas.

• Tailored support – Guidance and signposting to appropriate training resources.

• Free mini-modules – Monthly online teaching sessions from UK universities, including the University of Central Lancashire, the University of Warwick, and others.

• Certification – Participants receive certificates upon satisfactory completion of each mini-module.

The teaching is led by Jane Fitzgerald, senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, who said: “We’ve designed the Real Deal to be accessible, relevant and respectful of the realities that health and care staff face daily. This is about enabling progress without pressure – giving professionals a way to grow their digital confidence in their own time and on their own terms.”

The first module, ‘digital self-assessment’, went live in March, followed by an introductory module on ‘health informatics’ in April. Modules on ‘Digital Safety’ and ‘Data Protection’ are also available.

As the programme develops, UKDHC intends to expand the Real Deal with further modules in partnership with a range of academic and professional contributors, building a growing library of practical, high-quality digital learning tailored to the needs of health and care professionals.

The Real Deal is free to access and is designed to be inclusive and supportive – not judgemental. Professionals can use their assessment results privately or share them with employers to request further training.

To sign up click here