March 2024

Welcome to the latest update from the Digitising Social Care (DiSC) team. We’re funded by the government to help social care providers make the most of digital technology, wherever they are on their digital journey.  

Over £4 million for smart tech to improve care, support independence and reduce hospital admissions announced

Earlier this month, the Minister for Social Care, Helen Whateley announced the latest projects to be awarded funding through wave two of the Adult Social Care Technology Fund.  

The Adult Social Care Technology Fund was first launched in April 2023 with the purpose of building a robust evidence base for care technologies. This evidence base can support the care sector to make investment decisions to improve the lives of people in receipt of care and support. 

The objective of the fund is to bring together some of the key players who are critical in scaling digital technology to support care.  These include adult social care providers, local authorities and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) as well as evaluation and technology partners.  

The four successful bids to receive funding were selected following a detailed evaluation process which we have outlined in this previous update. 

Share your experiences with us! How have you found using Digital Social Care Records? 

As we enter our third year of the Digitising Social Care programme, we will be encouraging providers to take advantage of the funding available to go digital before it’s too late.  

If you have already taken the step to go digital, we are keen to hear more about your experiences of using Digital Social Care Records so we can share them with others. What have been the advantages for you and your colleagues? Please email Steph Nimmo, Communications Lead, with your stories: stephanie.nimmo@nhs.net  

Neurodiversity Week and how Digital Social Care Records (DSCRs) can support neurodiverse colleagues 

Neurodiversity Week took place this month. Did you know that according to the Royal College of Nursing, neurodiverse groups may be more highly represented in health and social care professions than the general population?   

Neurodiverse people will often have difficulties with what’s known as 'executive function'. This will frequently present as difficulties in planning and managing tasks, prioritisation, organisation and time management.  

Care providers who have moved away from paper to use digital social care records (DSCRs) are finding that not only are they seeing benefits around time saving, information sharing and efficiencies, they are also finding that neurodiverse staff are finding the change beneficial. 

Read the full article.

CQC launches new provider portal 

All providers registered with CQC are now able to create an account on their new provider portal. 

If you have a role registered with CQC you can use your email address associated with your CQC registration to create an account on the new portal. 

The new portal will offer a better experience when submitting statutory notifications and completing some registration actions. 

Watch this video to find out more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=behTnGPhMXE  

Digital Gurus need not apply – how the Topol Digital Fellowship can make a difference in social care 

Read our latest blog where Dr Gill Horne, a registered nurse and Programme Director of care services at Rowcroft Hospice in Devon, outlines the difference the Topol Digital Fellowship is making to her hospice team and the people cared for and their families. 

Mission Possible: the power of digital in health and care 

Mark Nicholas, Clinical Director and Chief Social Worker, NHS England, has written a guest blog with Anne Cooper, Clinical Director, Ethical Healthcare Consulting, for Tech UK.  

They combine their frontline and strategic experience to reflect on how health and social care can be better integrated through digital technology. Read more.

Showcasing work across events in March and April 

Spring is always a busy time for conferences and events and 2024 has been no different. A number of DiSC colleagues have been sharing the latest updates from the programme across the country; it is always a pleasure to connect with colleagues in the sector in person at these occasions: 

• Kerren Friend, Senior Programme Manager, was a panellist at the Care England Conference in London as part of the ‘digital panel discussion: how can we deliver a tech-driven future?’ 

• Louise Pearson, Senior Benefits Manager, shared her learnings with delegates at UK Care Week in Birmingham about all of the benefits seen so far in the programme. 

• Mark Nicholas, Clinical Director and Chief Social Worker for NHS England was at Healthcare Excellence Through Technology (HETT) North in Manchester in two keynote ‘fireside chats’; one where he shared progress in primary and social care transformation, and another where he explored what the future of digital looks like in social care. 

• Peter Skinner, Programme Director, was at the ITEC Conference in Birmingham, in a session on making a safe transition to digital. 

The Care Show London 2024 is fast approaching on 24 and 25 April and we hope to see lots of you at the Digitising Social Care stand. In addition to that, two of the programme’s Senior Programme Managers will be speaking: 

• Kerren Friend will be part of a panel: Funding the future: unlocking government support for digital transformation initiatives. Find out more.

• Nick Goodall will be running a session and asking the question ‘Does digital transformation hold the key to unlocking better integration between health and adult social care?’. Read more.

Dates for your diary

Remember to check the events section on our website regularly for more training and development opportunities!

• 24 - 25 April 2024 - The Care Show, ExCel, London

Digital Care Hub webinars: 

Things change in social care, and the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) should be updated annually to reflect any changes in your business. The deadline to use the DSPT for 2023/24 is 30 June 2024. Check if you need to review and republish your DSPT by the 30 June deadline, and attend Better Security, Better Care’s webinar on the 16 April to get free support:  

• 9 April, 3pm – 4pm - Completing the Data Security and Protection Toolkit for the first time
• 16 April, 3pm – 4pm - Review and Republish your Data Security and Protection Toolkit - Digital Care Hub

Stay in touch

Follow us on LinkedIn and twitter/X  and bookmark our DiSC website where you'll find lots of useful information and resources to support your journey to digital ways of working!

If you are a social care provider you can contact the Digitising Social Care team at england.adultsocialcare@nhs.net  with any questions and we'll help point you in the right direction. 

If you are a supplier of digital solutions to support adult social care please get in touch with us at england.dscr.enquiries@nhs.net.