Now is the time to go digital – here’s why

Find out why now is exactly the right time to make the switch– and it’s more than just the March 2024 digital deadline.

With the government set digital deadline of March 2024 now less than a year away, the deadline requires at least 80% of care providers to be using a digital platform for their care records, so now more than ever it is crucial to begin the switch to digital care planning.

For care providers still using paper-based care records, there is funding available to provide a helping hand with starting the journey to digital care records. Taking a care provider from paper to digital may seem a daunting and expensive task but with the ICS funding taking the brunt of the year one cost, there is no better time to make the switch to digital. The funding has been distributed to the 42 ICS’ across England for them to allocate the funding to adult social care providers to support them with adopting digital care records. CQC registered care providers can apply for grant funding from their local ICS which typically will pay for 50% of their annual licence fee for a DSCR. While there is no deadline for funding, there is a risk of the funding pot running out before every care provider has a chance to apply for funding, so now is the time for action. 

Nourish is a market leader for supporting services on their digital transformation journey. We have a dedicated ICS team that works with each funding ICS programme lead and we can help you to navigate the process of applying for NHSE ICS funding.

Continuing with paper care plans comes with risks. With paper care plans, paperwork can go missing meaning vital information about the people you support could be lost, reducing the effectiveness of the care they receive. Paper care plans also make sharing information among the care teams trickier and time consuming and can mean essential information can be missed if not handed over correctly and efficiently.

Using paper for care plans and to record care can make it more challenging to analyse the care delivered and spot trends in the behaviour or health of the people you support. With multiple staff members and records on paper, spotting a link in the notes is harder to do. By using digital, you are able to use the reporting and dashboard functionality and see trends in the care notes, enabling you and your care teams to take action.

CQC’s new strategy outlined in 2021 discusses the impact technology has on making rapid improvements in health and social care. The strategy lays out CQC’s plans to encourage innovation and a digital way of working throughout care services. As CQC and the Department of Health and Social Care acknowledge the impact technology has on care services and the outcomes of the people they support, there may come a time where not using digital may affect the CQC rating care services receive.

Using a digital care planning platform allows for more accurate on the go recording of care, transforming your care plans into detailed and accurate accounts of the care delivered to the people you support. Recording notes on the go saves time and ensures that every single member of the care team has the most up to date information in the palm of their hands.

If you have multiple locations across your care service, using a digital platform gives you a full overview of every single location in your service without having to visit each one. If the locations are based around the country, time is instantly saved. There are many more benefits of going digital which you can read about here.