May 23rd 2023
Langdon, a charity supporting adults and young people with learning disabilities and autism to live independently, explains how their digital journey led them to apply for the Adult Social Care Digital Transformation Fund.
The Digital Transformation Fund is available to support the adult social care sector to utilise technology that can transform care. Providers can access the funding to adopt Digital Social Care Records (DSCR), or access the Technology Fund to implement and evaluate digital care technologies to add to the evidence base of what works in adult social care.
Operating across Manchester and London, the Langdon team decided to apply to the Greater Manchester fund with hopes of extending the new system to London if successful. As Alan Weinstock, who was Director of Business Development & Community Services at the time of interview, explains:
“We heard through Digital Social Care that the funding was coming out, and the Manchester team were very enthusiastic to understand how digital social care records could help to improve the service, so we thought it was worth pursuing.”
Langdon had already embarked on a previous digital initiative but were met with some challenges. As Alan explains,
“We visited care shows to see what was on offer but it was very difficult to make a choice. We adopted a piece of tech but it didn’t succeed as it didn’t have the buy-in from the wider staff team.”
The charity carried out some work to understand how well they were utilising digital technology and joined peer support networks to discuss experiences with other services and grasp an understanding of how projects have worked elsewhere.
The process
After accessing funding details through the Digital Social Care website, Langdon could easily view the briefing note to see if they met the criteria. As Alan explains,
“One of the criteria was to support people to live well at home, which is exactly what we wanted the funding for. We spoke to the ICS project manager who was very responsive and supportive.”
They explained the funding in more detail and Langdon were able to proceed with their application. After accessing the assured supplier list via the Digital Social Care website, Langdon made the decision to implement iplanit, a person-centred care management platform.
Challenges
Despite a smooth process overall, the Langdon team had some initial concerns regarding the rollout of the system and associated costs.
“We felt there was further need for implementation resource, as we knew from previous experience that the system would need a driver behind it otherwise it stalls.”
Although funding for staffing resource wasn’t available, the ICS were able to offer project management support as an alternative. Langdon are still considering facilitating a part time role for this delivery so that the set up and integration can be delivered smoothly with clear oversight.
Choosing iplanit
Langdon were keen to implement a solution that reflected the charity’s values and vision centred around supporting individuals to live independently. Alan explains how Langdon decided that iplanit would help to achieve this:
- Support that puts the person first.
“The platform lets the person decide when they feel a certain way. It doesn’t measure outcomes for them but lets them make the decision and is very much focussed on their life.”
- iplanit provides a real time user interface which supports management to have oversight of everyone at once and allows for stronger risk management capabilities.
Outcomes
Despite initial concerns with project management funding, Langdon are pleased with securing iplanit through the digital transformation fund.
“Having access to a user interface that gives you real time, consistent information will allow our management team to have an oversight of everyone at once. Providing easier ways to share information, iplanit will keep teams accountable and support better communication with families of the people we support.”
- Find out more about Langdon
- Find out more about iplanit
- Find out more about the Adult Social Care Digital Transformation Fund.