Kingston and Richmond in the British Journal of Nursing
Four nursing leaders at Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust have written about moving the trust's clinical competencies from paper and spreadsheets onto Compassly. Their article, "Moving clinical competencies from paper-based systems to a digital platform", is published in the British Journal of Nursing and is free to read.
At a glance
- 200+ clinical competencies reviewed and digitised, in the article
- 1,290 staff on Compassly when the article was written
- 1,800+ staff on Compassly at the trust today
- 35,000+ live competencies in their passports today
Why the trust went digital
Kingston and Richmond had managed clinical competencies on paper and spreadsheets, which made standards hard to keep consistent and assurance hard to give to the organisation and regulators. Going digital was a chance to standardise competency management, give leaders oversight from individual teams up to the trust board, keep a clear audit trail for regulators, and give staff a transparent way to own their development.
Starting with community nursing
The trust was introduced to Compassly in 2022 through the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator. Community nursing teams, adult and children's, were the first to go live, with around 100 staff on board in the first month. By the time the article was written, more than 200 clinical competencies had been reviewed and digitised and 1,290 staff were using Compassly. National competency frameworks were adopted where they fit, so updates made through national governance reach staff without the trust rewriting them.
What they found
Time back for patient care. "Significant time savings have resulted, allowing staff to spend more time on patient care." Removing duplication also meant knowledge was shared across community and hospital services, including allied health professionals.
Stronger assurance. More robust and consistent assessments, both for each person and across the organisation, strengthened the trust's position on competency assurance and gave its leaders clarity.
Engaged staff. The team reports a significant increase in staff satisfaction, with clinicians taking pride in their professional development and gaining greater recognition for their skills.
Oversight for managers. A reporting dashboard gives managers complete oversight of their teams, with valuable insight for managing competencies.
Where they are now
Since the article was written, Kingston and Richmond has extended Compassly into Kingston Hospital. More than 1,800 staff now use Compassly at the trust, with more than 35,000 live competencies in their passports (Compassly data, September 2026).
The trust has also been a key partner in co-designing preceptorship in Compassly, and in work on non-medical prescribing scope of practice. Next, it plans to bring more specialist teams and staff groups on board across community and acute services.
- 2022: Introduced through the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator
- 2023: Procured through the G-Cloud framework
- 2024: Community nursing teams go live
- 2025: Roll-out extends into Kingston Hospital
- 2026: Key partner in co-designing preceptorship and non-medical prescribing
Hear it from the team
The Kingston and Richmond team are happy to talk about their experience of moving to Compassly. If you'd like to hear directly from them, get in touch and we can put you in touch with the authors, or take you through how Compassly would work for your organisation.
Read the article in the British Journal of Nursing
Nicoli-Jones J, Moodley N, Evans A, Mack S. Moving clinical competencies from paper-based systems to a digital platform. British Journal of Nursing. 2026;35(8):434-435.
