Digitising social care fund

NHSX is providing funding of £8.2 million to support the digitisation of social care.

The funding is to pilot digital social care technology with integrated care systems (ICSs) to include:

infrastructure to improve access to high speed connectivity and devices for care providers
fall prevention technologies that can reduce the frequency and severity of hospital admissions
digital social care records (DSCR) to ensure data is captured at the point of care and can be shared between care settings

Currently 13 ICSs have received funding of up to £679,500 each.

Approximately 30% of social care providers are partially digitised, with a further 30% still using entirely paper based systems. Digital transformation can dramatically improve the quality and safety of care, with real time data integrated into the NHS. This ensures people receive the right care, at the right time, and the right people have access to the information they need. The use of innovative care technologies, such as acoustic monitoring, could reduce falls in care homes by 20% or more, importantly, these falls cost the NHS over £2 billion a year.

This programme has the overarching aim of significantly increasing digitisation within social care by supporting the adoption of care technologies that will enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of social care.

The programme will pilot digital social care technology with ICSs to build an evidence base for their impact, develop implementation guidance and assure supplier solutions. The programme will then support ICSs to scale up the solutions that have the biggest impact.

Please see the list of successful ICS below and click for further information on their scope.

North Central London ICS

In partnership with:

North Central London CCG
North Central London Councils
Springdene Care Homes

Details

North Central London (NCL) will work with partners to pilot acoustic monitoring technology in care homes with the aim of reducing the risk of falls. This will be explored as a proof of concept for the possible expansion to use acoustic monitoring for elderly patients discharged to their own homes. The ICS plans to link the acoustic monitoring technology with their remote monitoring solution Whzan, which has resulted in a 53% reduction in A&E attendances in the care homes it has been introduced to.

South West London ICS

In partnership with:

NHS South West London CCG
South London Health and Care Partnership

Details

South West London plans to implement digital social care records and fall prevention technologies across their care homes to enable more relevant and timely data to be available to clinicians and care staff and to reduce the number of falls amongst residents.

Sussex Health ICS

In partnership with:

Sussex Health & Care Partnership
East Sussex Registered Care Association
East Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council

Details

Sussex Health will work across a multitude of projects including building on the work carried out by University of Brighton through the Living Labs project which uses a holistic approach to responding to gaps in the care of people aged 65 and over. Sussex Health will be integrating the approach of health and social care teams managing falls in the community.

They will also explore developing a pattern for supporting the migration from paper to digital social care records, deliver a map of available infrastructure to support Care Homes to develop their digital transformation plans and explore user centred design (UCD) data mapping to help digital systems to enable sharing of patient information across all partners.

Kent and Medway ICS

In partnership with:

NHS Kent and Medway CCG
Kent County Council
Medway Council
Kent Integrated Care Alliance

Details

Kent and Medway ICS will be testing a range of falls prevention technologies in different settings (care homes and community) to increase self-management and independence, providing peace of mind for family and friends of people in receipt of care, and ultimately working to help people remain in their own homes for longer.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS

In partnership with:

Hampshire County Council
Portsmouth City Council
Isle of White Council
Southampton City Council
Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG

Details

Hampshire and Isle of Wight will survey their residential care homes with an aim to provide improved wifi coverage that is fit for purpose. The upgraded wifi systems will be used to further digitise social care across the ICS. The improved wifi infrastructure will provide better foundations for social care businesses to continue to be sustainable long-term and allow the continuing digitisation of social care. A blueprint will also be developed through the project to support replication across other areas.

Healthier Together - Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICS

In partnership with:

North Somerset Council

Details

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire plan to develop an acoustic monitoring network across a number of care homes supported by a centrally monitored acoustic monitoring service which will reduce the number of falls for residents. They will provide match funding for two care homes to adopt digital social care records with the aim of improving cross-sector information sharing. They will also pilot ARMED, a monitoring system that predicts falls using AI and WHZAN Blue Box, a solution that monitors vital signs, in several care homes and community settings, with the ultimate aim of reducing unplanned hospital admissions.

Suffolk and North East Essex ICS

In partnership with:

Suffolk County Council
Essex County Council
West Suffolk, Ipswich and East Suffolk and North East Essex CCGs
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
Essex Partnership University Trust
Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
VCSE partners in SNEE

Details

Suffolk and North East Essex plan to pilot a package of IT provision enabling access to a ‘digital care infrastructure’ for 10 independent care providers and training for staff. They will also look to trail falls prevention technologies, and extend support for access to and use of digital social care records, thereby increasing the confidence and ability of care staff to use technology.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS

In partnership with:

Herefordshire County Council
Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG
Worcestershire County Council

Details

Herefordshire and Worcestershire plan to develop new care models which enable people at risk of falls to live as independently as possible, and to receive treatment and support closer to home. By focusing on the deployment of falls prevention technologies and projects, the ICS hopes to reduce both the number of falls and hospital admissions of both people in their own homes and within care settings. The project will include rolling out a remote monitoring system that predicts falls using AI, which will support individuals in their own homes and communities. The team will also explore the use of an acoustic monitoring device to support care homes to better detect and respond to residents who fall during the night, and physical activity sessions designed to keep people active, prevent falls and increase wellbeing.

Lincolnshire ICS

In partnership with:

Lincolnshire County Council
Lincolnshire CCG
Lincolnshire Care Association

Details

Lincolnshire plans to support the adoption of digital social care records by removing barriers to adoption. This will include offering all care providers a 50% discount towards the cost of a cyber security solution, establishing a funding pot for care providers to support connectivity, digital capability and improvement to digital maturity and working with providers to develop a consistent approach to extracting intelligence from care provider social care systems.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICS

In partnership with:

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG
Nottinghamshire County Council

Details

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are planning to work with select care homes to invest in infrastructure and digital technology to create digital exemplar care homes. They will also be piloting a proactive care home care remote monitoring service that will deliver a 24-hour home assessment and care service for an initial six week period following discharge from hospital with the aims of improving supporting patient safety and improving carer and family wellbeing and peace of mind.

Humber Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership ICS

In partnership with:

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Details

Humber Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership will focus on ensuring that care providers have access to the necessary infrastructure that they need to enable digital care, including access to high speed connectivity and devices. This project aims to encourage the progression of digital maturity across the ICS and ensure those in greater need are supported with the fundamentals of infrastructure.

Cheshire and Merseyside ICS

In partnership with:

ADASS and the Cheshire and Merseyside Directors of Adult Social Services
National Care Forum

Details

Cheshire and Mersey will be focusing on accelerating the introduction of digital social care records across the region and developing a shared care record across the ICS which will aim to improve direct care for service users. They will also be developing a proof of concept for acoustic monitoring to reduce the number of falls in adult social care settings.

Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership ICS

In partnership with:

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
Lancashire County Council

Details

Lancashire and South Cumbria will be focusing on accelerating the adoption of digital social care records by supporting 40 care homes to adopt an assured solution. The adoption of digital records will enable more person-centred care due to timely access to better quality information and better informed care decisions by having the right information available at the right time.