Case Study : Social care and wellbeing
As Head of Innovation at Quickheart I led a team that created online ‘self-serve’ social care tools that resulted in…
- 30% savings
- 29% reduction in calls
- 38% reduction in abandoned calls
- 10s of thousands using the local online marketplace
- Increased user-satisfaction
- More time for social workers to focus on the most vulnerable people.
How we did it
Sometime in the late 2000s we arrived at the Social Care dept of a Local Authority in the North of England via a Child Benefit assessment we’d created for the DoH. They were suffering from the first wave of budget cuts and performance measures. They needed services and tools that would divert unnecessary demand and help build people’s independence, so they could more easily manage their own requirements - which is hopefully healthy for the person (and their community) and helpful for the LA; a win-win scenario.
Our early ethnography highlighted 3 simple states of green, amber and red. Green people were either ‘professional’ users (knew how the ‘system worked and were capable and proactive), Amber people (didn’t want to be ‘nannnied’ but were wary of the system) or Red (fearful or just wanted/needed the LA to sort it). We were also strongly reminded that people didn’t want to be viewed as a person of need.
We worked on language (written and visual) and form phobia - two things that work wonders for institutionalisation! We worked on demystifying, simplifying and gaming the process and some good old positive/’can do’ emotional content (aided by light hearted yet evocative imagery) - fundamentally modelling best social worker approach; helping the person to grow as an individual.
We focused on someone's personal goals before we went into the detail of their needs enabling a journey that listened to who they were/what they enjoyed not just what their needs were.
We interviewed, surveyed and focus-grouped people (service users) and their carers, providers, social workers, financial teams, call staff etc.
We worked with staff to develop best-in-class online Social Care tools that included Needs & Goals, Equipment, Carers and Financial Assessments (calculating £budgets & eligibility), transactional eMarketplaces and Info & Advice modules.
Accessible design was essential so each tool was highly visual (to aid people who found reading/comprehension difficult), W3C WCAG AA/AAA compliant and screen reader-optimised.
Within a year, over 20 LAs were using the tools - no small task if you knew how risk averse LAs were!
Our early ethnography highlighted 3 simple states of green, amber and red. Green people were either ‘professional’ users (knew how the ‘system worked and were capable and proactive), Amber people (didn’t want to be ‘nannnied’ but were wary of the system) or Red (fearful or just wanted/needed the LA to sort it). We were also strongly reminded that people didn’t want to be viewed as a person of need.
We worked on language (written and visual) and form phobia - two things that work wonders for institutionalisation! We worked on demystifying, simplifying and gaming the process and some good old positive/’can do’ emotional content (aided by light hearted yet evocative imagery) - fundamentally modelling best social worker approach; helping the person to grow as an individual.
We focused on someone's personal goals before we went into the detail of their needs enabling a journey that listened to who they were/what they enjoyed not just what their needs were.
We interviewed, surveyed and focus-grouped people (service users) and their carers, providers, social workers, financial teams, call staff etc.
We worked with staff to develop best-in-class online Social Care tools that included Needs & Goals, Equipment, Carers and Financial Assessments (calculating £budgets & eligibility), transactional eMarketplaces and Info & Advice modules.
Accessible design was essential so each tool was highly visual (to aid people who found reading/comprehension difficult), W3C WCAG AA/AAA compliant and screen reader-optimised.
Within a year, over 20 LAs were using the tools - no small task if you knew how risk averse LAs were!
A Personal Story
A guy in his twenties had to leave the army due to disability. He was suffering from depression and low self-esteem. He'd gone, in his mind, from being a very active contributor to our society to someone on benefits; someone needing support.
He reluctantly agreed to test our Needs and Goals ‘assessment’. Its focus on his Goals (what I can do and want to do) as well as his needs led him on a journey of rehabilitation and rediscovering what he could do with his talents, getting him “back to my old self”.
He reluctantly agreed to test our Needs and Goals ‘assessment’. Its focus on his Goals (what I can do and want to do) as well as his needs led him on a journey of rehabilitation and rediscovering what he could do with his talents, getting him “back to my old self”.
The Care Cloud
Conceptual care/health needs being met safely within connected communities
All Quickheart material copyright © Quickheart Ltd (Agilisys) 2007-2018
Ian JR Ward is part of Ward Creative Partners.
All rights reserved 2022
Ian JR Ward is part of Ward Creative Partners.
All rights reserved 2022