Digital Social Care

New Website and Helpline to Fast-track Digital Transformation in Adult Social Care

Digital Social Care is a new dedicated space to provide advice and support to the adult social care sector on technology and data protection. Run by social care providers for social care providers, Digital Social Care’s website launches at Health + Care on 27th June 2019.

Digital Social Care is a partnership project between members of the Care Provider Alliance, Skills for Care and NHS Digital. Funded until March 2021, the project aims to support social care providers with technology, data protection and appropriate information sharing with health and local authority partners.

There are 1.47 million people working in adult social care in England , working in approximately 25,000 services. Digital Social Care will be working to better understand the digital maturity of this important sector. This will be done by developing a self-assessment tool for social care employers to measure their organisation’s digital maturity.

As well as supporting the uptake of existing national IT solutions such as the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and NHSmail, the project will develop a set of core requirements to support social care providers in choosing IT suppliers.

Ian Turner, Chairman of the Registered Nursing Home Association, representing the Care Provider Alliance said: “We are really excited to be working with NHS Digital on this project. We know just how critical it is that social care providers across the country are able to maximise digital and this project and website will provide them with vital information and advice to make that happen.

“What’s also really positive is the fact that all of the work will be done in collaboration with the social care sector, enabling the sector to drive the agenda.”

Pam Garraway, Senior Responsible Officer for the Social Care Programme at NHS Digital said: “We are excited to support this collaborative work with the social care provider sector. Improving information sharing between the care provider sector, NHS and local authorities has the potential to improve care quality for individuals”.

For more information contact hello@digitalsocialcare.co.uk

The organisations involved in Digital Social Care are:

Care England
National Care Association
National Care Forum
Registered Nursing Home Association
Skills for Care
United Kingdom Homecare Association
Voluntary Organisations Disability Group

Digital Social Care launch phone helpline

Helpline launched to provide digital support to social care providers affected during coronavirus pandemic

Digital Social Care has set up a new helpline to support the adult social care sector with harnessing technology during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our team of digital experts are here to help social care providers access practical advice to troubleshoot a technical problem or give in-depth one-to-one support.

Our helpline will be open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday by calling 0208 133 3430 or by email on help@digitalsocialcare.co.uk

It’s a challenging time in social care and we want to do all we can to share our skills and knowledge to help you. The aim of the helpline is to provide you and your staff with technical advice, so that you can continue to provide care to those who need you during the outbreak.

From developing your remote technology, supporting your teams to use digital tools and assistance in utilising online training, we’re here to help.

Our team has expertise in:

MS Teams and video conferencing
Remote monitoring
NHSmail and secure email
Data protection
E-learning
Care planning software
Assistive technology
Technology for recruitment

Over the coming weeks as the pandemic continues, we are expecting an increase in people needing technical help and support, so we encourage everyone who needs advice to get in touch.

Alongside answering your queries, we’ll also be collecting feedback from the helpline to rapidly collate best practice on how technology is being used in the sector. Then we can share the ways providers are using technology to support them during this difficult time.

We hope everyone in the social care sector stays safe and healthy. Please do get in touch with our helpline with any questions you may have about technology and digital solutions.

Call 0208 133 3430 or email help@digitalsocialcare.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.