The Digital Social Care Programmes and Care Inspectorate partner, Nicky Cronin, provides a vital link into improving outcomes for individuals in home or community setting through the application of technology.
Their current focus is on:
PainChek
Key Objectives:
- To demonstrate the value that using a pain monitoring App, which uses automated facial analysis supported by artificial intelligence, can have to individuals who are not able to verbalise the extent of their level of pain.
- Monitor improvements through the use of the app by staff, quality of life indicators and changes to medicines prescribed and used.
- Facilitate a small scale test, initially in four homes so that national learning can take place and potential scale-up planned and executed.
Latest update:
All test homes are now live with PainChek at varying stages. Home one is further along in their test and has seen an 100% increase in regular pain assessments being done, with no regular assessments done prior to PainChek, to 100% of residents having at least one pain assessment done per week. Staff continue to use resident’s pain profiles from PainChek® to personalise recognition and assessment of pain and guide care.
The other three homes are in their first two - three months of using PainChek with data being collected and still to be analysed. Another three homes are expected to be onboarded by May 2023.
TEC Good Practice Guide
Now published and available here
Key Objectives:
- To create and raise awareness of the good practice guide for digital use in care providers in Scotland
- To provide examples of the use of digital to support care and provide individuals with independence within a range of social care groups of providers.
- Developed by the Care Inspectorate for use internally in the care inspectorate as an exemplar of good practice and for external partners in order to see good practice in services so that improved digital practice can be realised.
Latest update:
The final guidance will be published in early 2023 through the Care Inspectorate communications team and onto their 'Hub' page, and webinars will be taking place to deliver informative and interactive sessions based around the new guidance.
Webinar Launch of the Guidance for all Services 21 March 2023:
Using Technology to support people experiencing care webinar
People in Scotland who experience care are increasingly relying on digital connectivity and technology to support their wellbeing and daily activities. The Care Inspectorate has published a technology good practice guide to:
- highlight good practice that supports good outcomes
- help care services, their staff and Care Inspectorate staff to achieve positive experiences of digital technology to support care
- support care providers to better understand and offer good quality digital engagement.
We are hosting a webinar for all services on Tuesday 21 March 2023 from 14:00-15:30 via Microsoft Teams to formally launch the guidance and discuss how it can be used to support good practice. Participants will hear from three services about how they use technology to enhance people’s wellbeing. The SSSC will also share the digital skills resources they have for care staff. There will be opportunities to ask questions and interact with the speakers throughout the session.
You can register for this webinar here.
Supporting Digital Technology in Social Care through Scrutiny and Improvement
Key Objectives:
To support the use of digital technology in social care through scrutiny and improvement practice and the care inspectorate. This will be achieved through a number of initiatives which will be reported under this workstream.
Latest update:
Professional Development Award (PDA) in Scrutiny and improvement practice (SCQF 10 for SSSC registration)
- Review digital content of the course and support PDA delivery team to improve if necessary. This could be for scrutiny activity (virtual inspection elements, digital information exchange etc) and to develop inspector confidence in digital conversations and evaluating care providers use of technology to support outcomes for people.
Improvement project – Increasing involvement of children and young people in regulated care inspections - Glasgow city council
- Continue to work in partnership with Scrutiny and Assurance, Involvement team and Glasgow city council to improve children’s involvement in CI inspection methodology.
- Implement evidence-based improvement across the sector working in partnership with Scrutiny and Assurance leadership.