Following on from the recent LaingBuisson Digital Care Tech Conference Peverel Court Care’s Associate Director Preet Shergill recognised an opportunity for the sector and decided to reach out to Skills for Care and Digital Social Care.
With the rapid evolution of tech deployment in the sector, Preet recognised a gap in social care concerning digital skills. In particular, he noted that the equivalent of the NHS Digital Academy is not available in the social care sector. He decided to approach Diane Buddery at Skills for Care and Katie Thorn from Digital Social Care to see what training is available for the social care workforce.
As a result, an exciting partnership is on the horizon between Peverel Court Care, Skills for Care and Digital Social Care, who provide a dedicated space to provide advice and support to the sector on technology and data protection, to help shape the future of digital skills training in social care across England.
Innovation Key for Social Care
During the Digital Care Tech Conference, Chris Day, Director of Engagement of the Care Quality Commission outlined how “innovation will continue to be at the centre of the country’s response as we recover from the pandemic. To support the ongoing work in health and social care, national bodies working across the system have come together to develop a shared understanding.”
He set out six key principles – not just for innovators but for all system partners:
-
- Focus on outcomes and impact
- Develop a culture where innovation can happen
- Adopt the best ideas and share your learning
- Support your people
- Develop and deploy innovations with the people that will use them
- Be flexible when managing change
Reviewing the Current State of Digital Skills in Social Care
Ipsos MORI, the Institute of Public Care (IPC) at Oxford Brookes University, and Skills for Care, have recently been commissioned by NHSx to conduct a review on digital capabilities of the adult social care workforce. NHSx are the team within Government, (part of the Department of Health and Social Care), that are responsible for the digital transformation of the health and care sector. The purpose of the review is to address a significant evidence gap around the digital capability of the social care workforce, exploring current levels of digital skills, understanding of future need, and current provision and outcomes of training available. The findings from the review will help NHSx identify what support is needed across the sector, where further investment is required, and in doing so help NHSx plan its future strategy.
The review will involve a survey, in-depth interviews and discussion groups with social care staff. The staff included are: care workers, social workers, nurses and occupational therapists working in social care, people working in Local Authorities and care providers. The research is taking place throughout May 2021 and we want as many people as we can to respond. There will be a £10 shopping voucher available as a ‘thankyou’ for completion of the questionnaire and a further £40 (cash) available for those who take part in the discussion groups or interviews. Please look out for the survey link becoming live in early May, and we look forward to working with Peverel Court Care on this project.
Diane Buddery
Programme Head – Sector Digital
Skills for Care
A Framework for Developing Digital Skills in Social Care
Diane explained that Skills for Care will be iteratively building a framework of what it means to be using tech in care roles, for care business leaders and front line staff alike. They hope that the framework will begin to describe what technologies need to be understood and what skills someone should have to be a “digital social care worker”. This will enable the social care sector to have a framework upon which to base the development of a “learning hub” in the near future. This hub will provide a focal point where learning opportunities for social care workers to improve their digital skills can be accessed.
Skills for Care are aiming to be user lead in the development of this initiative and want to keep it small initially and then to expand the offering once they know it is making sense to users. As such, Diane added: “It would be wonderful to have your workforce’s involvement in our work in the coming months.”
Shaping the Future of Digital Skills in Social Care
At Peverel Court Care, we’re always looking for ways to provide outstanding care to the residents of our homes. However, when an opportunity arises to help not only our own employees but also to help shape the future of social care for workers across the country, it couldn’t be missed.
Therefore, we’re pleased to announce that we will be providing full support to help Skills for Care, Digital Social Care and the other stakeholders in developing a resource which can help accelerate innovation in social care across the country.
About Peverel Court Care
Peverel Court Care is a group of one residential and two nursing homes, located in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire: Bartlett’s Residential Care Home and Stone House Nursing Home in Aylesbury, and Merryfield House Nursing Home in Witney. We are a long-standing family business, providing exceptional, personalised care, delivered by talented and compassionate people, in exclusive and idyllic settings.
With happiness at the heart of our homes, we recognise and respect the contribution made by our residents to society during their lifetimes. Valued by residents and their families; our reputation, investment in each property, and approach to appointing and developing our staff makes each home unique and the benchmark in premium care.
