Our team joined of the most popular events for the social care sector on 11 – 12 November in Birmingham and once again, connected with the key industry players. Care Show provided the opportunity to meet with our existing members and partners and embark on new, fruitful relationships with individuals and organisations from across the care sector.

Our Director of Communications, Strategy and Engagement, Helene Feger, had the pleasure of hosting a lively discussion on the role of information standards in building more digitised and integrated social care. Attendees could hear from some of the biggest voices in the social care field – Claire Sutton, our Non-Executive Director and Transformational Lead for the Independent Health and Social Care Sector at the Royal College of Nursing, Katie Thorn, Project Lead at the Digital Care Hub, and Nuno Almeida, Founder of the Care Software Providers Association.

The session started with the recognition that social care has made an important digital progress in the last few years, which should be praised– 50% of care providers use digital records, and this is expected to be 80% by 2024. Information standards are here to complement digital solutions and support this further progress, making sure that care providers have the right information in front of them to deliver the best care possible.

Currently, information in systems doesn’t flow seamlessly between hospitals and care organisation – using standardised sets of information will lead to more integrated communication and care, and will enable “healthcare and care to partner together” to improve outcomes for people, as Claire noted. Similarly, Nuno agreed that it is important that information travels with the individual as they move to different health and care settings – it helps them feel safe and confident that they will receive the care they need.

Personalised approach to care is fundamental to driving the positive change forward, and can be reinforced by the widespread use of the About Me Standard, which enables individuals to share non-clinical information that matters to them with care professionals, such as how they would like to take their medication, or who should look after their pets in emergency situations.

However, there is also a need for funding which would be spent on training professionals to ensure they have the right digital skills to be able to use technologies handed out to them and maximise their benefits. As Katie rightly pointed out, “if used correctly, technology empowers people.”

Thank you to everyone who attended our session and stopped by our stand!