Digital transformation for social care recommendations discussed at Skills for Care event
Recommendations for digital transformation in the social care sector have been moving forward following ‘The future of digital skills development in adult social care’ event hosted in March on behalf of the NHS Transformation Directorate.
Skills for Care hosted the interactive event to consider findings from the recent Adult Social Care Digital Skills Review. This work was commissioned by NHSX, which is now part of the NHS Transformation Directorate, and led by Ipsos MORI, the Institute of Public Care and Skills for Care.
The purpose of the interactive event was to discuss next steps for taking forward the review recommendations.
The Government set out its vision for digital transformation of the social care sector in the ‘People at the Heart of Care’ white paper, published in December 2021.
The Adult Social Care Digital Skills Review (conducted in parallel with The Adult Social Care Technology Review) is the starting point in delivering on this vision for digital transformation.
The review examined current use and effectiveness of digital technology in adult social care and the current digital capabilities of the workforce as well as potential future need.
The event to consider the findings of the review was attended by nearly 250 people in supervisory or workforce development roles in adult social care at different stages of their digital transformation journey.
The aim of the event was to help gain a greater understanding of recommendations outlined in the digital skills review. The event also offered an opportunity to provide feedback and insight on priority areas and included presentations from organisations demonstrating practical examples of digital skills development in action.
Following the event, Claire Smout, Digital Sector Programme Head at Skills for Care stated:
We were encouraged to see the level of interest and engagement in this event. Increasingly since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear digital technology will play an increasingly important role in delivery of quality care.
Skills for Care was heavily involved in supporting the digital skills review and we continue to work closely with the NHS Transformation Directorate, adult social care representatives, and wider stakeholders to develop a digital knowledge and skills framework tailored for the adult social care sector.
We have delivered pilot digital leadership and digital champions programmes commissioned by the NHS Transformation Directorate which are now undergoing a formal evaluation process and in 2022/23 we will continue to work with employers and the NHS Transformation Directorate to further develop the Digital Skills Framework which was launched at the end of March 2022.
More information about the NHS Transformation Directorate’s activities as part of the ‘Digitising social care programme’, including work with Skills for Care on a draft digital skills framework, will be published on the Digital Social Care website in the near future.
A recording of the event is now available to view.
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