The guide to buying AI for care and support providers was written by our Director of Data and AI, Sudha Regmi. Sudha has 15 years of experience in AI. Prior to Nourish, she spent 7 years at an international consulting company, helping large and midsize companies across the world design and implement their Data & AI strategy.

Everyone and their brother wants to sell you AI at the moment. Which means buying AI is fast becoming a mandatory skill for decision makers in care and support services.

That was the conversation behind my session at the Nourish Partnership Conference. There is plenty to be excited about: helping teams review care information, identify concerns and spend less time on administration.

Before joining Nourish, I spent years as a Data & AI Strategist, advising clients on technology decisions, including whether to build or buy. Those conversations always started with understanding the requirement. Working in social care has made the importance of that particularly tangible.

For many providers, buying an established solution will make more sense than building and maintaining their own. But advances in generative AI have made it much easier to build a convincing prototype. Developing a robust solution that people can rely on in a care service remains considerably harder. A polished demonstration tells you very little about the validation and engineering underneath it. So, beware the shiny demo!

I work closely with my colleagues at Nourish, such as our Director of Partnership, Denise Tack, and Head of Legal & Compliance, Jess Osmond, in evaluating AI vendors in the market, either for our use, or while advising our customers on choosing the right AI vendors for them. Here are the six questions we typically ask while evaluating.

What are we actually asking AI to do? 🔗

What information does AI need, and where should it live? 🔗

What happens when AI gets something wrong? 🔗

What has the AI supplier made dependable, and what is left with us? 🔗

What happens to our data, and what control do we keep? 🔗

What will it actually take to be worth buying AI? 🔗

Many care providers want to use AI in care planning. That can mean quite different use cases, potentially involving different AI techniques.

You might want help turning a carer’s observations into a clear draft. You might want to identify inconsistencies in a plan, or bringing together evidence that someone’s needs are changing. Each requires different information, evaluation and professional involvement.

Being clear about the task makes it easier to choose the right product. If you understand your objective, it is easier to understand what AI applications you need. Who will use the output? What will they do with it? What would improve for the service or the person receiving care?

The intended use also matters when assessing regulatory requirements. The AI and Digital Regulations Service’s social care guide directs providers towards Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guidance on intended purpose and whether a product qualifies as a medical device. Ask suppliers to explain which requirements apply to their product and your proposed use.

For AI to be useful in care, it needs a strong foundation of data underneath it. When buying AI, even a capable model can produce poor results if the information it receives is incomplete, outdated or missing the relevant context.

Consider understanding a change in someone’s needs. The evidence might sit across daily observations, their preferences and previous reviews. The system needs to connect those records correctly and distinguish a recent development from an old concern. That context must stay current as care continues.

This is where data gravity matters. As information accumulates in a system, moving it elsewhere, as well as preserving the context that makes it useful, becomes more complex. There is a practical reason to bring AI closer to where care information already lives and is maintained.

An integration can connect systems, but someone still has to keep records current, preserve permissions and handle changes. In practice that costs more than just you initial setup fee when buying AI. It creates ongoing responsibility, which in turn creates ongoing cost.

AI within an established care platform can build on existing data foundations and workflows. Specialist partners can add valuable capabilities too. In either case, ask how the supplier maintains the quality of that context and brings findings back into the work of the care team.

A care-plan summary can read beautifully while leaving out an important detail. An audit review can produce sensible findings while missing the vulnerability you most needed to know about.

That is why a promise of “zero hallucinations” should make you pause. Finding no errors in a test does not inherently establish that a generative AI product is infallible; it could still produce unsupported information.

There are ways to reduce this risk, including selecting appropriate source material, limiting what the system is asked to do and checking claims against the record. Those measures require deliberate engineering and evaluation.

When buying AI ask the supplier what it tested, who assessed the results and whether the cases reflect your service. What did the system miss? How did it handle contradictory information or gaps in the record?

Users should be able to inspect the evidence behind a finding. An explanation that sounds reasonable is not enough!

Responsible AI principles should influence how the product is built and what happens after it reaches your service.

Take bias. Could differences in the quantity or style of care notes influence who gets flagged for attention? Has the supplier tested performance across the people and settings the product is intended to support? How does it address uneven results?

Care expertise should inform what a good result looks like. There should also be ongoing monitoring, clear responsibility for investigating failures and evaluation when models or rules change, including a way to withdraw an update that causes problems.

Then ask what “human in the loop” means for the person doing the work. Can they understand the finding, inspect its evidence and challenge or escalate it? Or do they have to repeat the whole analysis to decide whether it is reliable?

Good governance should make innovation useful. It should not become a way of transferring the supplier’s quality assurance work onto carers.

A UK-based supplier or a “UK-hosted” product does not necessarily mean all your information stays in the UK or EU. An AI product may involve several services, each with different processing and storage arrangements.

The care record is only part of the picture. Where does the information sent to the model and its generated answers go? What about logs and metadata recording how information was processed and how an answer was produced? Those can contain sensitive information too.

At Nourish, these questions have required deliberate technology and supplier choices. Our work on EU hosting has included examining processing logs and metadata, alongside the underlying care information, across the services involved.

Ask your supplier to explain that journey, including access, retention, training use and deletion. The ICO’s international transfers guidance explains why access by a separate organisation overseas can matter even when the database itself has not moved.

EU hosting alone does not establish GDPR compliance. Involve your data protection lead to assess the lawful basis, conditions for processing health information and contractual responsibilities. Establish whether a data protection impact assessment is required, and understand what happens to your information if you leave.

A product needs to deliver value in everyday use, once the work of implementing and operating it is included.

If AI saves time generating a draft but adds substantial checking and correction, measure both. Include integration, staff training and ongoing support alongside licence or usage charges.

A focused trial helps establish whether the benefit is there. Agree how the task works today, what improvement would justify adoption and when you would stop or adjust. Involve the people who will use the product, and assess the quality of the outcome alongside the time involved.

I remain excited about what AI can contribute to care. At Nourish, that means considering the information already available, the care context and how intelligence can support professionals within their existing workflows.

Providers should expect suppliers to explain how they make their products dependable and provide evidence for the benefits they claim. Ask what has been tested, understand the responsibilities you retain and assess the benefit in your own service.

Those questions apply to Nourish too.

Technology can change inputs, outcomes and overall understanding. When an organisation changes its technology, the impact ripples out across their connections. In the deeply intertwined world of social care, these ripples can quickly become waves, such as with the increasing adoption of Total Mobile by commissioning bodies in the UK impacting providers positions on their framework, and by extension funding rates and contract allocation.  

Over the last few years Total Mobile has been implemented in six Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCP) in Scotland, including Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Fife. As well as several councils in England and Wales such as Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.   

The impact of this adoption is felt in several areas. In some regions, such as Inverclyde, providers need an integration between Total Mobile and their digital care record. This is particularly pronounced in Scotland, where an integration with Total Mobile is necessary to be considered as providing Self Directed Support (SDS) Option 3. And as such receive the appropriate funding for providing a ‘monitored’ service. 

We spoke to providers effected by this integration to understand the full picture. 

Evergreen Home Support have been operating in Greenock for 25 years, the past 18 of which as a charitable organisation. We spoke to their Compliance Manager, Janis Delaney, to learn more about the need for this integration. 

“Our local HSCP implemented the Total Mobile electronic care monitoring system last year. That contract included the requirement for external providers to link their information to Total Mobile. The HSCP have sent recent correspondence  advising us when we had to be compliant with the contract. They advised that if the service didn’t have this link, our payments would be reduced. This is because we would then be classed as being a ‘non-monitored’ service, as the HSCP had no visibility of the visit  information they require.  

“Approximately 95% of the services Evergreen provide are funded by the council. The funding difference between providing them as ‘monitored’ Option 3 and ‘non-monitored’ Option 2 services would have a huge financial impact on our ability to support our community.”  

“The software supplier we were with for rostering and call monitoring didn’t have an integration with Total Mobile,” explained Janis. “After a few months of not seeing any development from them on that front we started to look for other options. That led us to Nourish. A provider local to us, Cottage Care, already used Nourish so we asked could we visit them and see it in action. 

“They were kind enough to let me do a site visit with them and I was very impressed by the Nourish system. After seeing it in a live environment, we decided to go with Nourish because I was impressed by the system. I was impressed by the demos and I didn’t get the hard sell, which I really appreciated. I got basic facts, anything that I questioned, I got an answer for it. And I felt confident that I was going to get the system and that the integration with Total Mobile was going to be there.”

“In the end we met the HSCP’s deadline and didn’t receive any financial penalties, which was our main goal. At the end of the day, from a financial point of view, the difference between being classified as providing ‘monitored’ and ‘unmonitored’ support is important to any business.  

“But even from a person with support point of view and a family point of view, the monitoring allows us to evidence that that service has taken place. We can show somebody has been in, the duration of the call and that they have logged out. This is also great for keeping our lone working staff safe. The tracking lets us know where staff are, and what their next planned location will be.

“Obviously as a business the financial side of it is vital. You don’t want to be paid at a reduced rate for providing the same service. But there’s other advantages as well. It’s not all just about the money. It also helps us improve our support for lone workers and family engagement. It builds confidence throughout the service, because we can clearly see so much of what’s happening.

“All of us at Evergreen are very happy with the pre-sale and the after-sale support from Nourish. It has been exceptionally good. You’ve been very patient with us and helped us through things. All the feedback so far from our office staff and the carers has been excellent. Nobody’s had any negatives about the Empower system, which is very good.”

We also spoke to Karen Gallagher, Registered Manager for Cottage Care. Another home health service that works with Inverclyde council. 

“The bulk of our work comes from the framework at Inverclyde Council,” said Karen. “If we were in breach of the contract, we would lose that work and we would have been in breach of the contract if we didn’t have our system up and running with theirs. 

“Now that the integration is place, going forward our staff will only have to sign into calls with the Nourish system. Previously we would have to sign in with two separate systems.” 

Social Care is digitising at an unprecedented rate. Solutions erupted across our sector following Covid, with funding and functionality helping drive adoption. When the sector reached 80% adoption of digital social care records, it showed an aptitude and appetite for digital solutions to support improved outcomes and more efficient services. Now, that same impetus is driving the development of integrations in social care, a direction we are fully committed to at Nourish. 

Our integration with Total Mobile reflects our commitment to building connections across digital systems, services and institutions.  

Digital technology has rooted itself in social care over the past few years. There are a lot of options for care providers looking for digital social care software, ranging in size, shape and functionality. 80% of providers have some form of digital social care records, with more digitising every month. This shows the adaptability of the care sector as it utilises new tools to address long standing challenges. However, with these new tools come new challenges too, and many providers are starting to realise not just the power of using digital technology, but the potential of using the right digital technology. 

Finding the right technology is like finding the right people. You must know who you are and what you want, to get what your service needs. Are you looking for cutting edge innovations and reporting to transform your processes? Do you want to shape your system to your community and improve how you engage with the people you support’s circle of care? Is reliability, in both technology and people, your focus? Does your system adhere to the 14 DSCR standards?

Your requirements list may include all of these and so much more, your current digital system may meet some of your requirements but might fall down in other areas. It’s important to review whether your current system is working for your service and if there might be a better system out there that truly enhances the important work you do. In this blog we cover why it might be time for you to switch to Nourish. 

Social care is in a state of change. Departed from the old standards but still developing its true form. This can breed uncertainty as much as excitement for digital social care software users. That is why Nourish are always engaging with decision makers, researchers and care sector leaders to make sure our user’s voices are heard. We have consistently led the way for digital innovations in care at both the technical and legislative level. Nourish were the first digital social care records system to join the NHS England Assured Solutions List, as we wanted to make it as easy as possible for care providers to go digital. We are fully compliant with all 14 DSCR standards released by Digitising Social Care last year. Additionally, we are the first supplier to attain level 3 conformance against the Professional Records Standards Body’s (PRSB) standards for personalised care and support planning.  

We lead the discussion about future developments of digital social care through our role with Care Software Providers Association (CASPA). While taking steps to innovate the relationships between existing software suppliers in social care with our Partnership Programme. We accept it is not possible to know for sure what form the future will take. But it is well within our powers to prepare for it.   

One of the major benefits of increased digital system application in social care comes from how we use our data. Every interaction generates data, each appointment, activity and report. Many care providers are sitting on a wealth of information with no way to spend it on the people they support. Nourish’s robust reporting suite empowers users to take control of their data. We give you the tools to identify trends, respond accordingly and review the success of these changes. With more information at their fingertips coordinators and carers can respond effectively to the needs of the people drawing upon your service, in a safe, well led manner. 

We include several prebuilt dashboards within our system, to help our users get what they need. These dashboards can become a cornerstone or a starting off point for your team’s application of data. We want to demystify digital and help everyone in your organisation use a digital system to improve human care.  

Care is human and so are we. That might seem like a strange thing for a software supplier to proclaim. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from years of developing technology, it’s that people drive everything. That’s why people remain central to the Nourish experience. With us, there is always a human on hand to help. From your onboarding stages, through to our comprehensive Customer Success Managers and support teams. We maintain a high standard for user experience and support because we appreciate the people that drive social care. For all the impressive and effective technical advancements we make, there are some things that will always require a personal touch.  

The people who utilise your service require a personal touch too. We know that no two care providers are the same. Geography, demography, psychography, the number of varying factors is off the charts! That’s why Nourish is built to be customisable. You can match your system to your service and ensure it delivers exactly what you need. This customisability empowers your team to provide truly person-centred care, with more information and less effort than ever before! There’s no need to force your community to fit into a box off the shelf. Our team will work with you during your onboarding to make sure Nourish is set up exactly how you want it to be. We can even help introduce you to new features and functionality that align with your service! 

Introductions can be tricky things in fairness. Especially when it comes to those we love. With the increase in digital social care solutions there has been an increase in accessibility. Naturally, interested family members and friends are curious to learn more about the care their loved one receives. Family portals offer a great opportunity to share this insight. However, it can also be a challenge. With Nourish you stay in control. Welcome people into the world of care you provide, while still maintaining control over what they can and can’t see. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution in care, but thanks to our customisability you can easily find the size that fits your community. 

Of course, you only want the people with invitations to have access to your system. Security is paramount to us here at Nourish. With 83 million rostered appointments in last 12 months in home care and 10 million residential data records updated on care plans every day in Nourish we know how crucial security is and we are dedicated to protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your system. 

Nourish backs up data continuously to a cloud-based system. We do not use onsite data stores and all our cloud-provided solutions are backed up automatically and built into our disaster recovery plan and testing. This ensures the highest standard of security for the data of our users and the people they support. 

We worked with the PRSB to develop standards for social care. We are also fully ISO 27001:2022 certified in line with Local Authority commissioning best practice and Cyber Essentials Plus certified. 

Digital social care systems have come a long way in the past few years. So have the people using them. Digital literacy is at an all-time high, and care providers are experienced enough to ask software suppliers detailed questions they wouldn’t have thought of previously. These are important questions to finding the right system for your service, and ones we’d be delighted to answer if you contact us.  

With so many options available to care providers today, is it time for you to branch out? 

AI can help care teams work more consistently and spot risk earlier. However, social care is a deeply personal service that is both context-heavy and filled with risk. Which means we need strong governance and clear guardrails for AI. The English social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission, recently released their guideline for the safe and effective application of AI in care settings. In this blog we explore how to design AI for social care that exemplifies these standards so it can best elevate the quality of care and support available.

In practice, safe AI is more than just a ‘model’, it’s a product. When we view it as a product, it is easier to make deliberate product decisions for the application of the model. Decisions like, what the AI is for, how it’s presented, and where humans need to stay in control on the output. We must put sensible processes around our reviews. As well as adding automated checks and record‑keeping so we can learn and improve over time. 

Think of responsible AI as an end to end workflow.

Inputs > AI suggestion > safety checks > human review > learning loop

The details vary by product, but the principles don’t.

Data input: Define boundaries and responsibilities 

Start by being clear about boundaries. What information the AI can use, what it must ignore, how up-to-date the inputs are, and who owns data quality. This prevents false confidence and makes issues easier to investigate. 

Expert context: Encode clinical intent before inference 

Care quality depends on domain knowledge. You should build and maintain clear guidance on ‘what good looks like. This is in terms of terminology, standards and policies. Crucially, with named owners and a review cadence. So the AI stays aligned with your service as practice and policy evolve. 

AI analysis: Require evidence, not opinions 

Whatever the AI outputs, it should be available to review. Which means showing the relevant source text and including a brief explanation. You want to avoid the logic of ‘because the model says so’. It is vital that the evidence the model utilises is identifiable and interrogatable.

Automated guardrails for AI: Validate before humans see it 

AI can be trained to add lightweight automated checks. These are useful for catching the obvious problems before a human sees them. For example, unsupported claims, inconsistencies or repeated items. These checks don’t need to be fancy or overly detailed, however, they do need to be reliable. 

Human-in-the-loop: Keep clinical judgement in the driver’s seat 

We must keep humans in control. You should design the experience so reviewers can quickly understand the suggestion, accept or reject it, and escalate edge cases. Then use real-world feedback to improve the system on a regular cadence. 

The goal is simple, make it easy to do the right thing, and hard to do the wrong thing. The reality is simpler than you’d suspect to achieve.

There are a number of risks in AI that are well documented. It is important to note some of the AI risks in social care don’t come from ‘the model’ alone. They come from product decisions like wording, defaults, missing context, and unclear accountability. 

It is important that you address these issues with your product teams. Once these basics are set, governance becomes repeatable.

Governance is how you earn trust over time, and sets the standard for your guardrails for AI. It is vital to test, monitor, update safely, and keep an audit trail of your actions.

Evaluation: Agree what “good” looks like, then keep testing it!

Before you ship any new features it is crucial you test against a reference set of real cases reviewed by experts. After you ship, keep sampling and checking performance so any drift that occurs doesn’t surprise you. A good way to do this is to define a small set of ‘go/no‑go’ checks for your releases. Be explicit about data handling and access. If you can’t explain those basics, you can’t govern the system. 

Change control: Make updates safe (and easy to roll back) 

Treat updates like a high-stakes product release. Ensure you are doing everything thoroughly, document changes, getting the right sign-off, and make rollback a straightforward process. 

Metadata and auditability: Make every finding explainable 

Audit trails are essential aspects of guardrails for AI. You need to keep an audit trail so you can answer important questions and evidence your working. Questions like, ‘What did the AI see?’ ‘What did it suggest?’ and ‘What did the human decide?’. 

The effectiveness of any AI system depends on the quality, relevance, and governance of the data it uses. Organisations should be able to clearly explain what data is being used, where it comes from, and how it is curated to ensure it remains accurate, current, and appropriate for the task at hand. This curation process is critical, as it provides the AI with the right context, rules, and safeguards to support decision-making in complex care environments. Rather than relying on vast amounts of unstructured information, responsible AI carefully selects data sources that reflect best practice, regulatory requirements, and the realities of delivering care.

Equally important is the security of that data. Care providers, practitioners, and the people they support place significant trust in the organisations that handle their information. AI vendors should be transparent about where their products are developed and hosted, how data is stored and processed, and the measures in place to prevent unauthorised access, misuse, or data leakage. This includes robust technical safeguards, strong governance frameworks, and ongoing monitoring to ensure sensitive information remains protected at every stage.

Safe AI in social care comes from disciplined choices. Teams that design for review, keep humans in control, add sensible checks, and maintain an audit trail. With these guardrails for AI it can quickly become a practical support for care teams. One that they can trust because they can understand it without asking them to accept the findings of a ‘black box’ at face value. Below is a basic checklist for your team to utilise. This is designed as a starting point for your team and is not definitive. After all, AI models, like care communities, are at their best when they champion their unique perspectives!

If you’d like to learn more about how we’re designing AI to help care teams work more consistently and spot risk earlier contact us directly.

The Care Strategy Forum brings together senior leaders from across the social care sector for two days of discussion, collaboration, and strategic thinking. The event combines keynote presentations, peer-to-peer networking, and focused conversations on the issues shaping the future of care. Fresh from attending the event at De Vere Cotswold Water Park, our Chief Customer Officer Paul Barnes reflects on the conversations, insights, and standout moments.  

The Care Strategy Forum is a uniquely engaging and energising event. One that I always leave feeling genuinely inspired. 

There is something special about being in a room with senior leaders from across the social care sector. For me, one of the greatest privileges of my role is the opportunity to connect with decision makers with diverse perspectives and experiences. These conversations, whether they’re during sessions, over lunch, or in the corridors remind me why this work matters so much. 

If I had to name one thing that makes social care genuinely unique as a sector, it would be the willingness to collaborate. Unlike many industries where competitors guard their insights jealously, social care leaders openly share what’s working, what isn’t, and how they’re navigating the challenges ahead. This commitment to co-production lies at the heart of how we approach technology at Nourish Care. We help each other to succeed. Because ultimately the people we serve are better off when we do. This spirit was on full display across both days at the Care Strategy Forum. 

The need for collaboration between the NHS and social care was perhaps the defining theme of the forum. Understandably so. 

Clare Pelham, CEO of the Epilepsy Society, spoke to this issue with earnest openness. She is, in her own words, cross. Also, understandably so.  

The barriers that continue to exist between health and social care have persistent consequences for people utilising both services. Hearing that frustration voiced so clearly and unapologetically by a sector leader was powerful. And it set the tone for important conversations over the next two days. 

Matthew Douglas from MHA shared a thoughtful and practical path forward for how the two systems might work more effectively together. His contribution reminded the room that while the frustration is entirely justified, there are leaders already doing the hard work of building bridges. There remains a substantial gulf to cross in places, but it is energising to see how much work people are already putting into it. 

Marianne Wanstall from Tricuro added real depth to the conversation. She shared some excellent examples of good practice in Local Authority collaboration. Hearing concrete, working examples of what’s possible was a reminder that the solutions exist. The challenge now, is scaling them. 

Our sector is facing significant pressures. Financial sustainability, workforce challenges, and operational complexity are weighing heavily on providers of all shapes, sizes and specialisations. 

Lynette Barrett from National Star shared some valuable guidance on how to navigate this difficult landscape. Her grounded, practical perspective, informed by her first-hand experience, was exactly the kind of insight that makes this forum so worthwhile. The message was clear. The pressures are real, but with the right approach and the right mindset, they can be managed. 

If one theme cut across almost every session at the forum, it was connected care. To the delight of every attendee, myself very much included, the conversation is moving beyond aspiration and into action. Many discussions covered the practicalities of building connections. That means systems that talk to each other, data that flows where it needs to flow, and information arriving in the right hands at the right time. 

The sector is acutely aware that fragmented technology and siloed data are among the biggest barriers to truly person-centred care.  

I was encouraged by the growing sense of momentum throughout the forum. A recognition that this is more than a technology problem to be solved. It is a cultural and organisational challenge as well. We need to continue to develop strong foundations to harness this momentum. Getting the data right, understanding what needs to be shared and with whom, and building the trust between people to make that sharing happen. These are the foundations on which truly connected care will be built. 

No sector gathering in 2026 would be complete without a conversation about artificial intelligence. What was refreshing about the discussion at the Care Strategy Forum was the quality of the conversation. Kate Doodson from Brandon Trust did a superb job of keeping everyone grounded. She helped the room cut through the noise and focus on what AI can realistically and responsibly offer social care. Both in the future and right now.  

It was a timely reminder of the power of thoughtful, critical engagement with new technology. A particularly striking perspective against the backdrop of breathless enthusiasm and reflexive scepticism filling our social media feeds. (Or filling mine at least!) 

Two days, a huge amount to think about, and the usual warm sense of community that makes this event one I look forward to every year. Particular thanks to Lyndsay Atkinson-Swales from St Anne’s Community Services, who chaired the forum with skill, warmth, and just the right touch of wit throughout. 

I left the Cotswolds with a notebook full of ideas and a renewed sense of purpose. I remain deeply grateful to be part of a sector that truly looks out for one another. The challenges ahead are significant, but so too is the willingness to collaborate, innovate, and learn from one another. That’s what gives me confidence in what we can build together! 

On Tuesday, May 26th, our Chief Technology Officer Jamie Hibbard attended the Social Care Interoperability Platform Hackathon hosted by Digitising Social Care. Below he shares his experience and takeaways from the day.

Yesterday our CTO Jamie Hibbard had the opportunity to spend time at the NHS England office to discuss interoperability across health and social care. 

As a digital care platform, we see every day how important connected data is. At Nourish, we have invested heavily in our integrations hub and we are leading the sector in helping care providers connect systems, reduce duplication and make better use of the information they already hold. 

But connection into the NHS and shared care records has been slower than it should be. It has also, at times, been a real frustration 

Despite best intentions the complexity of the landscape remains a challenge 

Each trust, region and shared care record can have different technology providers, standards, pathways and governance requirements. Even where the goal is the same, the route to get there is often different. 

At Nourish, we are fortunate to have successfully connected with several shared care records, but maintaining each individual connection is hard, time consuming and expensive. 

And if that is true for an organisation of our scale, it raises an important question. 

In many ways, social care is already far ahead. It had to be more agile, more responsive and more willing to adopt technology because the pressures on the sector are immediate and constant. Care providers are capturing rich, timely information every day, often much closer to the person than any other part of the system. 

That necessity is why this interoperability matters so much in social care. 

Championing a single point of interoperability is not a new idea for us. It is something we have been talking about at Nourish for the last eight years. We know from first-hand experience how a lack of interoperability creates unnecessary barriers between health and social care.  

For too long, providers have had to build and maintain multiple routes into different parts of the system. Each one comes with its own standards, governance, pathways and cost. That slows progress down, limits participation and makes it harder for social care to play its full role in the wider care ecosystem. 

That is why the conversation around the Social Care Interoperability Platform (SCIP) feels so important. 

The idea of a centralised point of connection for providers like Nourish has the potential to make a real difference. As both a way to read information from the NHS, and critically, as a way to write information back. 

Understanding is a two-way street. Across the Nourish platform, around 20 million data points are recorded every day. These are not just numbers in a system. They represent observations, care interactions, risks, changes in condition, outcomes and moments that could help build a fuller picture of someone’s care. 

If that information can flow safely and appropriately into wider health and care pathways, the potential is significant. 

We could help prevent issues earlier, give clinicians and care teams better context and reduce duplication. All in service of a person’s lived experience of health and care as we create continuity across settings through joined up services. 

For interoperability to work properly, social care cannot just be a passive recipient of NHS data. Social care generates vital insight every day, often from the people closest to the person receiving support. That insight needs a route back into the wider system to achieve maximum impact. 

This is where a single, scalable point of interoperability could change the direction of travel and transform lives. 

Currently every provider having to navigate a different route for every shared care record. The ambition should be to connect once, meet a common standard and allow information to move safely between the people and organisations involved in someone’s care. 

This is not just theoretical. 

By the end of day one of the hackathon, we were already able to read and write “About Me” and person support profile data between the providers in the room. These are part of the NHS Minimum Operational Data Standards (MODS) framework. The MODS framework is the new standard for helping structure and share key information in a consistent way. 

That is a powerful proof point. It shows that when the right people come together around a common goal, and when we align around a shared standard, real progress can happen quickly. This kind of momentum matters. It moves the conversation from aspiration to practical delivery. 

 The benefits are clear. A single point of interoperability would reduce cost and reduce friction. Unlocking participation for providers of all sizes through their existing workflows. Which means the system could focus more energy on outcomes rather than integration mechanics. 

The hackathon felt like a positive and important conversation. There is still a lot to work through, particularly around standards, governance, supplier participation and making this practical at scale. But it felt like the right people were in the room, asking the right questions. 

The opportunity now is to move from good intent to scalable delivery. 

Because if we want a truly connected health and social care system, social care needs more than access. It needs a voice, a route in and a way to contribute the insight it holds every day. 

SCIP, built around shared standards such as MODS, is an important step towards that future. 

In 2017, the Public Health Outcomes Framework reported that 220,160 emergency hospital admissions were related to falls in the over 65 age group. A fall can have enormous repercussions to someone’s life, affecting their mobility, independence and health. Utilising Nourish and making some key changes can minimise the risk of a fall within your care service.  

Oversight is essential for quality care, whether you’re in a family run business or a franchise. Our Insights Dashboards are built to highlight the most relevant information on your Nourish platform, in the most accessible, and actionable way for your team. Creating a clear workflow from point of data recording, through review, decision making and back to positive impact for the people you support.

Staying hydrated and drinking enough fluid is important. Drinking consistently throughout the day, rather than attempting to hit the desired fluid intake in the latter half of the day, will decrease the risk of other health complications. This can include urine infections which can cause delirium and increased confusion, increasing the likelihood of a fall. Desired fluid intake and MUST scores are incorporated in Nourish, allowing you to keep an eye on the hydration and nutrition of the people you support.  

According to the NHS, exercise can decrease the risk of a fall, particularly strength and balance training. Strength and balance training can involve activities as simple as walking or dancing. Tai Chi is another exercise that can prevent falls as it emphasises on movement, balance and coordination. Activities can be logged in the Nourish app as can the level of participation and enjoyment. This will allow you to see how and if exercise has made any improvements to a person’s mobility. 

Appointments can be logged on the Nourish app and can be viewed as part of the daily care plan of the people you support, giving greater visibility for your care team. Seeing the podiatrist to check that nails are not overgrown or suffering any ailment that may make walking difficult. Also on footwear, you can add into the daily care plan a requirement that checks the people you support are wearing suitable and well-fitting footwear. Regular check-ups with the opticians will check the people you support are wearing the appropriate eyewearfor their needs. You can also add a note into the care plan. This gives your care team the ability to easily view who wears glasses.  

It may be useful to identify a Falls Champion for your service. Some local NHS trusts and councils hold training for Falls Champions. Champions are advocates for prevention and management of falls. They can ensure that staff are following fall management protocols. Champions can analyse data to see how and why falls are happening and implement measures to prevent this. Champions additionally ensure risk assessments are being followed for those at greater risk of a fall e.g.the use of sensor mats or alarm pendants.  

Some types of medication and combination of medications can increase the risk of falls. Having the oversight via an eMAR solution alongside other care records and information gives the ability to monitor, manage and evaluate a person’s medications. With a view to reducing falls risks and associated complications. Being able to monitor this medication and provide visibility of symptoms among your team can increase awareness and reduce the risk of falls. As well as regular medication reviews to assist in ensuring side effects and symptoms are monitored. Nourish integrates with various eMARs, allowing you and your team to see what medication the people you support use.  

We designed Nourish to be the base for your digital ecosystem. We integrate with various eMAR solutions, pain management apps, eRedBag and GP Connect, encouraging interoperability in health, care and support. Additionally, we are always looking to integrate with technology supplier who can improve the lives of the people we support.  

Many of our team members have had first-hand experience working in health, care and support settings. We’ve walked in your shoes, faced the challenges you face, and celebrated the victories of providing quality care. This wealth of experience continues to shape Nourish Care platforms into what they are today. Our experience gives us unparalleled insight into the sector and allows us to deliver software solutions that truly makes a difference. 

The care experience in the Nourish team ranges from carers and activity coordinators to registered nurses and registered managers. The importance of having care experience is essential throughout our team and has shaped our focus with the introduction of roles such as Clinical Lead and Safety Officer. We also have team members with nursing and care experience including Quality Assurance. In addition, our Customer Success teams truly put the impact and outcomes for people supported by care at the forefront of everything we do. 

Nourish founder and CEO, Nuno Almeida spent time working in care services before the idea of Nourish had been formed. He saw care teams struggling to find time to fit their handwritten notes into their already tremendously busy day and how sometimes issues that needed to be reported slipped the net because there was no opportunity to record those concerns in the moment. He saw how many notes needed to be written to record every care interaction and to prepare for the always-looming CQC inspection. 

Nourish began with the mission to give those receiving care a voice and input on the care they receive and to give the team supporting them time to deliver truly person-centred care. 

“I volunteered with a care home and I was just a Portuguese chap that had a good enough English, able to come on in and help us with baking competitions on a Wednesday for example. When I started spending time in care homes, it became very obvious that care workers were writing a hell of a lot of notes. It is clear that carers genuinely have caring as a vocation but aren’t always confident writing notes and this can really remove motivation or joy out of the job they do. That’s where the idea of Nourish came from.” Nuno Almeida, Nourish founder and CEO.  

There are things you learn while working in care that can only come from that environment. From operational sustainability challenges like how much it costs to use agency carers and how the shifts run. To risk reduction for people supported such as statistics around falls. Crucially, how knowing essential information about a person receiving care immediately can change how a person experiences care. The Nourish team started out their careers in the sector in a variety of different care services and job roles. Which means as a team we have great coverage of the sector. We can and regularly use our experiences to enhance our abilities at Nourish. 

“I have only ever worked in care and cannot imagine working in another field. I worked as both a care coordinator and a registered manager. Both job roles gave me an insight into the pain points that care providers experience in their day to day. As well as how digital platforms can support you in providing person-centred, safe, quality care.

“I draw upon my experience providing care everyday when supporting my users as a Customer Success Manager. Whether that’s training them on how to fully utilise the rostering and scheduling or supporting managers to run reports from the system in line with their compliance. If you have worked in care you will know the feeling of joy you get at the end of the day knowing you have made a difference in someone’s life. I still get that feeling now knowing I am helping my customers provide an impactful, safe and person-centred service.” – Jessica Atkinson, 10 years’ experience in care, Senior Customer Success Manager at Nourish.

We know the importance of the little things. We know the difference between feeding someone lunch and assisting someone to eat their lunch. The crucial difference between giving someone a choice regarding the care they receive and assigning care based on an assumption. We know the importance of personalising care notes over the same text being copy and pasted. We know because we have experienced it first-hand.  

“Each time I deliver a Nourish training session, people will want to know how a certain feature relates to their sector specifically. By being able to personally draw on a large number of previous experiences across a multitude of care and support sectors, this helps the people being trained to use Nourish more effectively as I ‘get’ what they are needing. This creates a mutual trust pretty quickly and those being trained know that they will get what they need to put Nourish into action in their services.” Jason Hengler, 29 years experience in care, Trainer and Project Manager at Nourish. 

Working in the health and social care sector is a skill that regularly goes underappreciated. The narrative surrounding the sector is often negative and the selfless hard work that goes on largely goes ignored. Many of our team have worked in care and know that it is so much more than its reputation. Health and social care is a rewarding career with a clear career path. It relies on emotional intelligence, the ability to build relationships and spot signs of change. Our experience in care has given us the ability to communicate effectively with and about the people you support. We cherish the first-hand experience in the feeling that comes with delivering great person-centred care.  

Nourish exists to ensure that care teams get the opportunity to provide the best care they can by reducing administrative burdens, enhancing communication across the whole team and giving carers back time to spend on person-centred care.  

“As a Community Team Manager previously, my journey has been a blend of compassion and adaptation to the digital age. Transferable skills and experiences have enabled me to have a deep understanding and empathy to the needs of my customers and this has ensured that I am able to suit their needs as a Customer Success Manager in a more effective and speedy manner. Working for Nourish has allowed me to tap into my experience within the home care environment. As I have experience as a care coordinator, a carer and a manager, I am able to adapt and tailor my training sessions and support to ensure that the content is relevant for the individual.” Katie Loader, 5 years’ experience in care, Senior Customer Success Manager at Nourish.

Because so many of us have worked in care, we know that each service is truly unique in its approach and working ways. That is why Nourish is unique and a leader in the digital social care sector. Nourish platforms are shaped by lived experience, from the people who work at nourish, to the communtieis utilising it, and everyone in between. Our solutions are customisable and can be tailored to your service’s needs to ensure your care service retains what is unique about it.  

“Having been involved in a family run care home from a young age gave me a respect and understanding for the sector like no other. Knowing the pressures, the pain points and the sheer variation of the day to day really helps when thinking ‘is this new feature in the platform going to work in practice‘. The team will often hear me repeating the same thing ‘benefit vs burden’ and that comes from understanding the sector. Here at Nourish, we don’t just create a product, we genuinely aim to improve the lives of the manager, the carer and most of all the person receiving support.” Dan Hollingworth, 10 years experience in care, Product Owner at Nourish. 

“My experience of working in care homes helps me to understand the daily struggles carers face. That everything is documented correctly. That everyone has had their care delivered properly. That medication has been administered at the correct times. That tasks have been completed, all within a particular timescale for multiple clients with different needs. I try to use that experience every day to make sure we deliver a quality product. One that alleviates the stresses that come with being a carer so they can offer great support for their clients.” Curtis Cridland, 5 years experience in care, Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at Nourish.

Find out more about how Nourish can enhance the care you provide by booking a personalised demo with our team. 

Value is a vital when operating a care home. It is imperative for providers to make the right decisions, with the right returns, to maintain a successful service. Which is why finding the right digital partner is crucial when choosing technology for small care homes.

We spoke to Subhaan Iqbal, IT Director and Compliance Lead at Principle Care Homes, about his experience. Subhaan has extensive experience supporting care providers with their digitisation, and has learned the importance of getting started at the right time. They wanted to establish their technology before expanding their locations, and they found the perfect partner in Nourish.

Watch the video below to learn how Nourish Care works with the team at Principle Care home to deliver the results they want. Including how the Nourish Partnership Programme helps them build the right digital ecosystem for their service. There are a lot of different types of technology for small care homes. With so many options to choose from, and so many decisions to make, the NPP can help you find the best technology for your community.

You can watch the Principle Care Homes case study here below.

We hosted our AI and Data Conference at Bletchley Park this January. The historic backdrop inspired us to look to the future potential of AI and data in social care. Over the course of the day we heard for customer panels, product managers and Nourish users on and off stage. It was an inspiring event that energised all attendees for the year ahead!

The day started once everyone had settled in to the historic venue. Our Chief Product Officer Matthew Stewart opened the proceedings with an overview of our position on AI, our ambitions for care intelligence, and the odd season joke here and there. This was followed by our Director of AI & Data Sudha Regmi detailing the Nourish view into Analytics, Insights and Nourish AI.

We had two panels with customers, one on either side of lunch. The first panel, led by our Chief Customer Officer Paul Barnes was focussed on Nourish Analytics. Paul was joined by Emma Lindblom, Head of Quality Improvement at MHA, Gareth Williams, Flexible Workforce Manager at Brandon Trust and Benjamin Winfield the Product Owner Lead for Quality and Business Systems at Lifeways Group. They built upon Sudha’s point about moving descriptive to prescriptive with Analytics and the journey of embedding the functionality in an organisation.

Mark Gray, Nourish AI Product Lead, hosted our second panel. It focussed on our new AI platform Nourish Confidence and it’s co-production journey. Our Clinical and Safety Lead Carrie Taylor and Emma Brazier, Business Analyst for Sanctuary Supported Living joined him on the panel. They discussed our journey to finding the right application for AI. As well as how we can change the ways of approaching audits to drive continuous improvement for people with support in addition to how we can bring together different functionality to provide holistic, truly person centred care and support.

Over lunch attendees were treated to a tour of the venue. Getting to take in the history and groundbreaking work that took place in the birthplace of AI.

The best discussions happened in between all of the sessions. We took the opportunity to display many of the new platforms and features of the Nourish ecosystem. Talking to people from across the wide range of care and support services represented by our attendees is always the highlight of these events. We closed on a discussion of our roadmap. And our Chief Technology Officer Jamie Hibbard making a special announcement about our AI Labs!

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who joined us in Bletchley Park. Some of our attendees even jumped on camera with us to share their experiences and perspectives. You can see these Nourish users in the video, and look out for longer versions of their interviews on our social media!

Ozayr Patel, Development Manager, Lancashire County Council
Steve Bowler, Digital Transformation and Implementation Manager, Greensleeves Care
Sian Smail, Health and Social Care Data Analyst, Care Dorset UK
Elliot Goodwin, Area Director, Consensus Support Services
Alicia Ingham, Operational System Improvement Lead, MHA
Jay Harper, Head of Communications and Projects, Rehability UK
Jane Hayden, Head of Technology, Treloar’s
Ross Watson, Senior Product Manager, HC-One
Gemma Pitman-McGrath, Clinical Development Nurse, Barchester
Steve Daniels, Operational Change Lead, iVolve Care & Support

We are so excited for the future of AI & data in health, care and support technology. Find out why on our Nourish AI page.