During a recent Skills for Care work project, a research team asked over 500 managers and staff in various adult social care services about their digital capabilities, experiences and attitudes.
The results show that over 95% of those questioned use digital technology in their work, and the great majority are strongly positive about the potential of digital technology to improve efficiency and quality of care services.
Digital technologies are normally associated with business administration and communication companies, however, technology is also significantly impacting the delivery of care and support services.
Around 75% of organisations use digital technologies to plan and record services, and more than 50% use them directly with the people they support. They’re used to enhance communication between service users and their family and friends, to organise leisure activities for service users, and to help people plan their own care and support.
“Throughout the home we’ve got 10-inch tablet computers mounted on the wall and all information gets entered into them,” says the manager of one care home that was part of the survey.
“There’s very little in terms of paperwork now. We use the tablets for care plans, risk assessments, health assessments, safeguarding, medication – everything, really. From the moment a resident gets up in the morning to when they go to bed, it’s documented on the system in real time.”
Staff, even those who had been nervous when the system was introduced, are all in agreement. “The only negative thing would be if I left this job and had to go back to a paper-based system,” says one employee.
Digital Media Is a Natural Part of Everything We Do
“Digital media is a natural part of everything we do,” says the manager of an organisation providing residential support for people with autism.
“We use Google Docs for administration, and Facebook for communication. We have over 12,000 likes on our Facebook page. It is how we get our message out into the world and it is our main recruitment tool.”
Over 95% of staff who were questioned expressed confidence in their own digital abilities. The majority of them are used to using digital devices such as smartphones and tablets more extensively in their own personal lives, so the transition to using them for work has not been a major problem for most.
The research suggests that focus should be on supporting learning and development for staff in a range of ways, including peer support in the workplace via digital champions, and options for improving access to shared resources, knowledge and experience.
The whole world is going digital and it’s time for the social care industry to do the same. The care sector needs to continue to develop and show the best of its potential, and having a technology boost might be just what is needed to achieve that.
Do you think that digital advancements will prove useful for the care industry and what more can be done to train staff and care workers to be able to take full advantage of the technology available?
Please let us know your views in the comments below.
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