The UK Government is investing £2.1 billion in digital solutions to modernise adult social care services and improve the user experience
In 2021, the Government announced it would be planning to reform adult social care in England, which has since been delayed. However, a white paper released earlier this year presented a new strategy containing a total spend of £2.1 billion over the next two years to support and improve the process of adult social care and discharge in England.
Within this plan was a particular focus on the significance of using digital to streamline the care pathway from referrals, as well as demystifying how one can access funding and support once discharged from the hospital.
Local authorities will work alongside Integrated Care Boards (ICB) and Integrated Care Services (ICS) to allocate the funding and support. However, working in siloes is quite common, and there is no quality digital outreach available or the understanding of the customer journey to ensure those in need are supported.
Digitally reform today, not tomorrow
An assessment established in April this year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) explored the social care responsibilities of local authorities to form assessment priorities.
This intends to simplify the transparency and local accountability of responsibilities, as well as produce a sharper picture of care and support quality regionally. Consequently, digital readiness will be a topic of special inspection.
The white paper motivates local authorities to supply care providers with the guidance needed to maximise digital readiness – involving skills building and cyber security. Not only will technical skills help to provide high-quality care, but they will also build a workforce with the confidence and infrastructure needed for the future.
Despite the good intentions of these new guidelines, a big issue still needs to be solved. Many councils need the digital infrastructure to embark on them. The processes currently used to apply for funding, secure referrals, or find out information on services are driven by siloed technology, risking being outdated and fragmented.
Service users currently face paper applications or ineffective online forms, triage emails, and have to reach out to contact call centres to bring them up to date on their referrals. Unsurprisingly, this process generates demand for local authorities, which takes a lot of work to complete. Additionally, it makes it extremely difficult to create a clear data picture Vital for service improvement.
Local authorities also need more self-service options for citizens or the ability to track their requests and their progress online. Service users are, therefore, often experiencing incredibly time-consuming processes.
To modernise and improve social care services in the UK, they will need to dedicate funding to their digital offering to build it up and upskill their employees.
Clarity around funding
By digitising your local government services, a centralised access point will be made available between those needing social care support and their council.
One way to effectively improve processes is by modernising the customer experience so they receive streamlined information in one place. An online self-service platform such as Granicus’ govService can supply councils with the means to simplify processes by being online and automatic in front and back office, creating a seamless citizen experience.
Such an end-to-end platform will mean local authorities only need to manage one centralised system. This system will be where service users and employees can form and access efficient, up-to-date digital referral forms online, with services accessible 24/7. It will also allow employees to quickly keep information up to date with ease and, thus, reduce admin time spent considerably.
Status updates also reassure service users by informing them of the stage of their applications or queries and the next steps regarding their social care plan, helping form a culture of trust between citizens and their local authority.
Using data to form insight
Another priority presented in the white paper was the importance of local authorities streamlining their digital offering to enhance data collection. The CQC is also set to consider this metric as part of its new ICS performance assessment and how local authorities are carrying out their adult social care duties.
From next year, by focusing on improving access and producing better insights from this data, everyone will feel the benefit. This includes those working in local authorities, care providers, and central Government, who will be given a more consolidated view of the key data relating to adult social care. This data will improve our understanding of people’s experiences, outcomes, decision-making, and commissioning.
This will also mean that people will benefit from their local authority, care providers and central Government, who will be better equipped to understand their care journey outcomes and plan for their future care.
A centralised self-service platform will enable local authorities to create new data collections and bridge gaps. This will result in clearer information about the experiences of people receiving care and support, our social care workforce, and unpaid carers so that support can be better targeted.
A joined-up approach
The Government is urging local authorities to implement new digital platforms, with the new social care funding resource, that can support the sector’s aims.
However, technology can only achieve these aims with help. Digitising services also means business improvement and redesigning services based on the unique needs of people, their carers, and employees. Applying human-centred design thinking to the digitisation of services will be pivotal to realising social care requirements when it comes to benefits. This also includes investment in understanding the needs of service users and other stakeholders, weaknesses in today’s processes and emerging opportunities for improvement.
These future state services must be built in collaboration with service users, carers, employees, and other stakeholders, involving them in the design process, including prototyping and user testing. If not, no matter of changing services will solve the deeper layers of systemic problems in poor experiences in social care. Digital is not an immediate fix for a bad process.
Great strides can be taken towards improving the lives of the individuals in your care and support when the approach is thoughtfully considered and planned. With a joined-up approach, we can ensure the success of integrated working across the NHS and local authorities.
This piece was written and provided by Jonathan Bradley, Head of Business and Practice, Granicus Experience Group at Granicus UK
