Case Study: East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust achieves massive training cost savings and improved patient care with Totara Learn

NHS Achieve Massive Savings in Training Delivery Plus Improved Patient Care

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs five hospital sites and community services with about 7,000 staff caring for nearly 750,000 patients a year, faced pressure to meet nationally mandated training and appraisal requirements. Their paper‑based system produced conflicting records, made it hard to verify staff competency, and risked patient safety and regulatory non‑compliance.

The Trust implemented Totara Learn integrated with Mahara, supported by Chambury Learning Solutions, migrating legacy data and training managers and staff to use ePortfolios and self‑managed learning. Within a year 1,750 staff were trained, implementation scaled further, and the Trust gained accurate tracking, appraisal tools and planned features like Open Badges; the change improved care quality and saved roughly £120,000 versus a proprietary LMS, with ongoing support savings in the tens of thousands annually.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Rita Ansbro

Learning Technologies Manager