Getting to Grips with Connecting Care / NHS Digital / Digital Security Toolkit
Keith Strahan, NHS Digital (Social Care) spoke eloquently at the C&SW Workshop today outlining the work going on to integrate social care providers into a digital framework that will allow secure digital communication and access to shared data. Our area is participating in a number of “Pathfinder” projects; these are smaller, local projects developing solutions and best practice.
Connecting Care is one of those projects and Harriet Soderberg (NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE CCG, harriet.soderberg@nhs.net , CCG lead on the overall CC work) tells us what Connecting Care is and why it’s important for care providers; Connecting Care is a digital care record for sharing information in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire which allows instant, secure access to up-to-date health and social care records for the professionals involved in care. You can read more on the Connecting Care website
The inclusion of care providers has to be an important contribution to improving continuity of care and promoting the integration agenda; and is indeed essential if they digitalise “The Red Bag”. Connecting Care will enable care providers to:
ensure care home residents do not have to tell their story more than once to different health and care professionals
improve transfers of care
To enable all care professionals to make the right decisions at the right time based on up to date information displayed in one place
C&SW members Richard Deverson of Windmill Care and Sam Hawker of AbleCare talk to us about the experiences they have had in taking this journey of digital improvements and connectivity offered by Connecting Care although it’s quite a task to get to grips with.
Richard Deverson tells us “Sam and I would be typical of a CSW member – we see CC as a great plan though with no big IT department to give us the checks and balances to understand the required IT criteria” Sam Hawker adds “We currently have a low reliance on this type of technology, unlike NHS staff who have been using systems for many years with big IT support units”
Sam continues: “In order to take this forward we have signed up to complete the Digital Security Toolkit. So far we have reached entry level which means we can set up an NHS email which we are currently looking into to enable us to communicate securely with health colleagues.” The next level is the “Standards met” level which will allow access to data frameworks. Interestingly Harriet Soderburgh comments that out of the care providers who have reached entry level very few have taken up the NHS mail opportunity.
So what is The Digital Security Toolkit? It is a ‘toolkit’ taking the care provider through the steps necessary to ensure digital security. It is being developed and offered through Digital Social Care . Their website has all the information you need.
The Digital Security Toolkit Pilot is a project being managed by Manor Community to help care providers to get to grips with the toolkit and to reach the standards required. Arnie King, project lead at Manor tells us: “Manor Community are carrying out a project to help introduce the toolkit and set out the key steps to take understand what you need for tackling the biggest areas involved – we have a number of resources about training, policy and processes - and will be available for direct support if you get in touch at digitalsecuritypilot@manorcommunity.co.uk.”
Arnie’s team at Manor Community are also working specifically on smartphone guidance. The current plan for the theme is – Value vs. Safety: what is best for your provider? This includes a breakdown about what type of processes you could use phones and devices for (communications up to care planning and management) and what decisions need to be made about software, training and promotion etc. that help you decide what is most useful level for you compared to the costs involved. - They are hoping providers with or without experience with smartphones in their services could help comment on the making of the guidance through this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GQXFNCH “
There is a clear agreement that to reach ‘standards met’, giving much greater access to health data, is a challenging project but that working towards achieving the standard will be worth it in terms of efficiency and quality of care.
The final message is that it is absolutely a challenge that care providers need to get to grips with and it’s important to take advantage of the support is available from Harriet Soderberg and her team and from Arnie King’s team at Manor Community.