How the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) streamlined training delivery with accessplanit

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) plays a vital role in improving patient safety across England by investigating systemic healthcare issues, providing actionable insights along with supporting training courses.

Managing such a high volume of courses with a small team presented significant challenges. By implementing accessplanit, HSSIB has transformed their training delivery; streamlining administration, improving reporting, and enhancing the learner experience - all while keeping costs under control.

About HSSIB

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) investigate patient safety incidents across the healthcare system in England to identify systemic issues and recommend improvements, without apportioning blame.

Out of these investigations, education became a natural focus. By training healthcare professionals in approaches such as human factors, after-action reviews, investigative interviewing, and the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), HSSIB equips staff with the skills to create safer systems.

The organisation now runs nine education programmes using a mix of methods; live virtual training, on-demand courses, and face-to-face instructor-led. In total, more than 5,000 learners enrol each year, predominantly from the NHS, with limited spaces offered to private healthcare organisations.

Running over 130 courses annually makes efficiency essential. HSSIB needed systems that supported scale without creating admin headaches.

The challenge

Before moving to accessplanit, HSSIB relied on a traditional learning management system (LMS). While it was effective for e-learning, it didn’t support the full scope of HSSIB's back office training operations.

The limitations quickly became apparent:

• Cumbersome enrolment: Learners couldn’t self-register, so the admin team had to enrol each participant manually. As numbers grew, this became unsustainable.

• Data challenges: Reporting was inconsistent and unreliable. The systems didn’t integrate properly, so pulling accurate data often took 6–7 hours of manual manipulation.

• High costs: With add-ons like catalogues, annual spend climbed - far more than was justifiable for a system that didn’t quite meet their needs.

• Lack of automation: no ability to send calendar invites, certificates, or reminders automatically.

• Limited support: The provider’s support team was based overseas, making UK working-hour support almost impossible without paying extra for 24/7 cover.

As a publicly-funded organisation with scrutiny on both spending and performance, HSSIB needed a system that was cost-effective, accurate, and designed for managing training delivery - not just an LMS.

Why accessplanit

As part of their procurement process, HSSIB reviewed around ten systems, narrowed the options down to four, and ran detailed demos.

Some were too simple, requiring multiple expensive add-ons. Others were too rigid, failing to adapt to thee way HSSIB worked. accessplanit, however, stood out as the right fit.

Key reasons accessplanit stood out:

• A course booking system that allows learners to self-serve and book directly.

• Powerful automation workflows that reduce manual admin.

• Reliable reporting tools for accurate, instant data.

• UK-based support and onboarding, with direct access to experts.

"Before we had accessplanit, we used a learning management system. It was fine, but because our programmes are run via Teams - with presentations and breakout sessions - it unfortunately just wasn’t fit for purpose. An LMS is built for assignments, online quizzes and e-learning. After a couple of years, I realised it was costing us a lot of money and we weren't getting the value . It used to take me about 6–7 hours to pull reports because the systems didn’t talk to each other. With accessplanit, everything is automated, accurate and instant. It’s just such a better fit.”

The solution

HSSIB partnered with accessplanit on a tailored 60-day implementation plan, designed to get them operational quickly without overwhelming the team. Training was hands-on and flexible, focusing on the features that mattered most while leaving room to revisit additional modules later.

The platform was configured to mirror HSSIB’s processes and automate their most time-consuming tasks:

• Automation at scale
  Workflows now handle enrolments, confirmations, reminders, follow-ups, and cancellations. For example, when a commercial (paid-for) learner enquires, the system automatically sends course details and a booking form. If there’s no response, reminders are triggered and the enquiry is eventually closed - all without admin intervention.

• Day-to-day course management
  Beyond the bigger automation wins, the small daily efficiencies have made a noticeable difference to HSSIB’s team.

“Day to day, we're verifying learners based on whether they’re NHS or external. If they’re fee-funded, the system automatically emails them a booking form. That’s saved us so much manual work. We also use smart grids to move learners from booked to in-progress, which automatically triggers their calendar link. I know it sounds silly, but the calendar link feels game-changing for us - we just never had that before. It’s one small thing that makes life so much easier.”

• Self-service bookings
  Learners now use an online course catalogue to register directly, receiving immediate confirmation and joining instructions. This has eliminated the need for the admin team to manually enrol every participant.

• Instant reporting tools
  Reports can now be generated in moments, removing the need to manipulate data across multiple systems. This ensures leadership always has the information they need.

 “For me personally as a manager, the most impactful feature was the data. Before, it was time-consuming, stressful and often inaccurate. With accessplanit, I can be confident the data is correct - it’s stress-free, accurate and instant. That’s probably the biggest saver for us.” 

• Finance workflows
  Custom fields and automated rules separate NHS-funded learners from external learners, ensuring compliance and accurate invoicing.

• Dedicated support
  From implementation to ongoing optimisation, HSSIB benefited from accessplanit’s UK-based support team, who provided rapid responses and practical advice tailored to their set-up. “It’s just nice to have your little cheerleaders behind you - ‘let’s get automated, let’s do this, let’s make this work’. That’s what the support team feel like", Lauren says. "I have regular catch-ups and no question is too hard. If I email, I get a proper response straight away. It’s never a hard ask", Lauren adds.

 “One of the best features is the support. I remember once, something went wrong on the day we first launched all our courses. It was 10:00am when I emailed support and by 10:06am they had fixed it. My director was so impressed. Honestly, the team are incredible. With our old provider, the support team were based overseas, which meant unless we paid extra for 24/7 cover, we couldn’t get help when we needed it. With accessplanit, you get a UK team who respond within minutes. It’s a game-changer.” 

The results

Since implementing accessplanit, HSSIB have experienced measurable improvements across every aspect of their training operations.

Significant time savings
Automation has replaced manual processes that once consumed hours of the team’s week. Tasks such as sending booking confirmations, chasing invoices, creating certificates, and managing waiting lists now happen automatically. This frees up the education team to focus on learner experience and programme development rather than administration.

“Accessplanit has given us back time. We’re no longer bogged down in repetitive admin, which means we can invest our energy into supporting learners and strengthening the quality of our courses.”

Reliable, accurate reporting
Reporting is now instant and trustworthy. With accessplanit’s reporting tools, the education manager can generate the data needed for leadership meetings, government accountability, and external scrutiny in seconds.

“We are publicly funded and it is crucial that our data is accurate for reporting purposes. With accessplanit, I can be confident our data is right every time. That peace of mind is invaluable.”

Improved compliance and governance
Custom fields and automated workflows ensure NHS learners are identified correctly and that external learners are routed into commercial (paid-for) pathways. This supports compliance and prevents unauthorised free access to training.

Enhanced learner experience
Delegates now receive instant calendar invites, joining instructions, and certificates without waiting for admin intervention. This has reduced confusion, improved attendance, and created a smoother journey from booking to completion.

 “The automation has just helped our team massively. We’ve got waitlists, certificates are automated, and it’s so easy to change workflows. Honestly, it just blows my mind every time we use it.” 

Responsive, UK-based support
Quick, expert responses from the accessplanit team have given HSSIB confidence in the system.

“The speed and quality of support has been second to none. I’ve emailed with an urgent issue and had it resolved in six minutes. That kind of responsiveness is rare — it makes a huge difference to us."

What’s next

While accessplanit has already delivered huge improvements, HSSIB see even more potential to expand and optimise their use of the system.

• Introducing card payment functionality: As the majority of HSSIB's courses are free of charge for those who qualify, taking online payments wasn't a top priority to begin with. At present, payments are handled via invoices and purchase orders. In the future, HSSIB will look to take payments online to further streamline transactions for private bookings and reduce administrative effort.

• Leveraging the Microsoft Teams integration: With many courses delivered virtually, automating register creation and attendance tracking through Teams will further reduce admin and provide richer engagement data.

• Advanced reporting and dashboards: Lauren has already had some training with us on getting the most out of our powerful reporting features. She is now looking to further her knowledge with our reporting masterclasses to refine her data analysis. These skills will allow the team to build even more tailored dashboards, giving leadership and trainers clearer visibility of performance and impact.

• Continuous optimisation: HSSIB see accessplanit not as a one-off implementation, but as an evolving platform. As new features are released, the team plan to adopt them to continuously improve efficiency and learner experience.

  With accessplanit embedded at the heart of their education delivery, HSSIB can keep focusing on what matters most: supporting healthcare professionals to improve patient safety across England.

Conclusion

For HSSIB, switching from an LMS to a dedicated training management system has been transformational. The difference is clear:

• Where reporting once took almost a full working day, it now takes a few minutes.

• Where learners once waited for admin to send confirmations, they now receive automated emails and calendar links instantly.

• Where compliance was difficult to manage, learner verification and custom workflows now provide assurance.

• Where support was once limited by time zones and costly packages, it is now local, fast, and personal.

HSSIB’s experience highlights the power of a purpose-built training management system. By moving away from an LMS and embracing accessplanit, they’ve not only improved efficiency but also strengthened compliance, transparency, and the overall quality of their training programme.

“Accessplanit has transformed how we deliver training. It saves us time, ensures accuracy, improves the learner experience, and gives us a support team we can rely on. For a small team managing thousands of learners, that’s a game-changer.”