Ceredigion County Council went live with the system on 10 May 2004, with the system due to be operational at two other authorities by July and further authorities over an agreed timescale. This implementation is regarded as a flagship e-Government project for Wales, and is backed by the Welsh Assembly Government. Isle of Anglesey County Council's Director of Housing and Social Services, Byron Williams, said: "This contract represents a major investment in our service development programme. Front line staff will benefit from computer-based technology in identifying and responding to individual needs across the board, from child protection to caring for the elderly. Managers will have better information on which to base decisions and advise elected members on policy developments. By working with six other authorities, we are spreading costs, both financial and staff time, and will continue to do so as the software is developed to meet changing needs."
CareWorks are a supplier of health and social care information systems to a number of authorities. They are working with Wrexham C.B.C. and are now working in partnership with the WSC to deliver the system, which is based on a version of the CareWorks RAISE software suite. The agreement with CareWorks covers the ongoing implementation, development, maintenance and support of the software, and is worth £3m over a period of five to seven years – making it one of the biggest social services IT contracts in the UK over the last 12 months.
The WSC system is designed to improve the way in which social care professionals and their managers work by reducing paperwork, enabling better sharing of information via electronic record management, and encouraging ‘best practice’ across the consortium authorities. The aim is to speed up the decision-making process for users of social care services by streamlining case recording and improving communications between workers in different authorities and different areas of the public sector. The system will have security features and be accessible by authorised individuals involved in all aspects of welfare and care work, including social workers, GPs, mental health workers, community care workers, and the police. Initially available in English, the partnership plans to provide a Welsh language version in the near future.
The Welsh Assembly Government is keen to promote a co-ordinated and unified approach to care management and assessment, so that users of social care services do not have to repeat the same information to numerous professionals - this has major benefits for users and carers as well as improving efficiency and effectiveness for agencies.
Jane Hutt, Minister for Health and Social Services, welcomed the initiative. “The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to the promotion of closer working relationships between health and social care professionals,” she said, “and the development of this system in seven authorities is a significant step forward. The opportunities it provides to share information, reduce duplication and for local authorities and partner agencies to work together will bring better care services and better outcomes to communities across Wales”.
Allan Jones, Assistant Director of Social Services in Ceredigion and Chair of the Project Board for WSC said: “The WSC is absolutely committed to delivering a fully integrated electronic information system that not only makes our social care professionals more efficient in their jobs, but more importantly, improves the lives of all of our citizens by providing them with services that are more responsive to their needs. It is vital that social workers do not become overburdened with paperwork, or worse, waste time replicating information that already exists in other records and case histories. By standardising on one social care system across seven authorities, public sector professionals can spend more time with the people who really matter – the users of our services. This is a great example of joined-up eGovernment in action.”
“The flexibility of the CareWorks software means that each of the WSC authorities will be able to develop the system in line with their local needs and meet the requirements of the National Assembly for Wales, while also conforming to all of the electronic government security and software standards,” added Jones.
“Bridgend is pleased to have played the role of lead authority for the consortium’s procurement process. A key driver that made authorities like Bridgend co-operate on this project was that the consortium tender meant the solution would be standardised across authorities, promising greater cohesion and closer working arrangements for care work teams,” said Tony Garthwaite, Director of Personal Services, Bridgend County Borough Council. “Another key factor was that by acting as a consortium, we were able to enjoy economies of scale that would not have been possible if each individual authority had chosen its own system. We have ended up with arrangements that are very cost effective.”
In partnership with CareWorks, the scheme will see WSC authorities employing an operational case management system that is compliant with the new Integrated Children’s System and the Unified Assessment Process. Full back-office integration allows the CareWorks system to interact with payroll, HR, finance systems and Geographical Information Systems. It is also designed to work with call centre infrastructure which will allow the local authorities to extend further benefits to care workers and the public.
“Working in partnership with the WSC, we have an opportunity to deliver a market leading system for social care,” said Michael Dolan, Director of CareWorks. “The project is a major breakthrough for CareWorks, providing the opportunity to significantly enhance this software solution for social care and strengthening CareWorks position as a leading provider to UK social care.”
“At all stages in the social care processes, CareWorks RAISE presents operational staff with the standard forms they complete in the course of their work, containing personal and other details that may have been recorded previously – thereby minimising duplication of effort and allowing staff to focus efforts on service delivery,” added Dolan.
Quelle: PublicTechnology, 19.05.2004
