The Digitising Social Care programme has urged care providers to apply for financial support in digitising their care records before the November deadline.
This is part of the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) programme for 80% of care providers to have digital records in place by March of next year.
DHSC has allocated £25 million to support the digitisation of care records in the sector. In April the programme team launched a ‘Clock is Ticking’ campaign and it has now urged care organisations that need support to take the relevant steps urgently.
It also recommended a number of other steps, including talking to care providers already using digital care plans, thinking about the organisation needs from a digital record, working through the Data Security and Protection Toolkit, and looking through the list of assured solutions.
It added that over 70% of providers are now using a digital solution to plan and record care, compared with 63% in May when the deadline for the target was extended into next year.
Great benefits
Kerren Friend, senior programme manager at Digitising Social Care, said: “Every day, care providers are telling us just how beneficial a digital social care record solution has been for their teams and the people they work with.
“Whether they are team members supporting people in their homes and in care settings or registered managers, everyone tells us time saving has been one of the greatest benefits. Staff talk passionately about having more time to spend with people – often the reason they went into care in the first place – and of the relief of finishing shifts on time, without having to stay back to finish off paperwork.”
She added: “We have seen a really encouraging rise in care providers securing funding, finding and adopting digital solutions since we launched our campaign this spring.
“But the clock is really ticking now. With the final deadline for applications in November, it’s a good idea to contact your local ICS team now to secure their support and advice for both making your application and choosing the right solution.”
