Digital Support for Social Care
The response from the healthcare sector to Corona has been a compassionate and inspiring one. No-one would deny, however, that it has taken a considerable toll on frontline staff. Technology is a powerful tool in our collective action against coronavirus. Which is why we have come up with a brief overview of some of the apps that have launched recently. Our social care app guide contains descriptions of recently released apps in the sector. They are all free and are designed to help social care do what it does best: take care of people.
Care Workforce
The UK Department of Health and Social Care has launched an app in England to support social care workers. The app is designed to be a compendium of resources for care workers. It will provide updates, information on infection control and personal support for mental wellbeing. It will also provide users with discounts from organisations and initiatives like Discounts for Carers and the Blue Light Card.
Hancocks says: “As part of our continued work to back the care sector, we have launched a new app specifically for care workers to make sure they have the most up-to-date guidance to keep them safe, connected with their colleagues across the country, which also allows them to access discounts like their NHS counterparts.”
The app aims to provide practical relief and assistance to care workers on the frontline. It may come as a welcome resource to a beleaguered sector. As the government aims to expand the social care workforce through their recruitment campaign they hope this app will simplify the process of training new hires.
The app is one of the first major initiatives launched under the government’s CARE brand. For now it will serve as a practical resource for the social care workforce. However, there is the intention to evolve the app into a networking platform in the future should it prove successful. So look out for that in our next social care app guide!
You can find out more about the app and download it here.
C19 Control
C19 Control is a free app you can use to record and report on COVID-19 statuses and PPE use. It is designed for care agencies to use internally. Through recording COVID-19 instances it provides a similar service to NHSX, but on an agency-specific level. It can also create heatmaps to simplify the data you record. Information is straightforward to share from the app to your own reports as well as wider public services.
C19 Control is made by our friends at everyLIFE Technologies. They have been champions of social care and a leading force in its ongoing digitisation. They used their experience with everyLIFE PASS to inform C19 Control’s applicability.
You can register your agency for C19 control here.
Frontline Awards App
The Frontline Rewards App is an instant discounts app designed as a thank you to key workers. While the app does include specific deals for NHS workers, it is still available to all frontline workers. Discounts cover a huge range of products from takeaways to home improvements. It has been highly successful, receiving thousands of sign-ups since launching.
Similar to C19 Control, Frontline Rewards is a free service from software developers who felt they could help the frontline. Redu have been providing a professional version of this service for over six years. They recognised how their technology could be used to support frontline workers and released Frontline Rewards in March.
You can sign up to Frontline Rewards here.
Frontline 19
In the past mental health was a frequently overlooked casualty of life on the frontline of care. Fortunately, there has been a growing focus on the importance of looking after oneself emotionally as well as physically. Frontline 19 recognises that need and is offering 12 free therapy sessions to healthcare workers during this crisis.
Signing up for the sessions is a straightforward process and you can decide how frequently you wish to have them. There is no commitment or cost and all the therapists are qualified professionals who volunteered their time.
You can find out more about the service and sign up here.
National Care Force
The National Care Force is a volunteer-based organisation for social care. It was set up by the team at Florence and is another example of experienced software developers pivoting their technology to help support social care during this crisis. Based on their software for placing care workers in care homes, Florence expanded their app’s applicability to further extend their service to the frontline.
It is available to volunteers and care workers to sign up to. You can also sign up as a care provider to enter their pool of volunteer recipients. While Florence work with care homes, the National Care Force helps care homes and home care providers. Once a care provider passes their compliance checks they will be able to access the pool of volunteers.
You can find out more and sign up here.
NHSX Trial
While this is not available to anyone outside of the Isle of Wight, it will form the government’s main digital counteraction against COVID-19. Assuming the trial run goes well. As Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, announced at last Monday’s press conference, “where the Isle of Wight goes, Britain follows”.
The app is designed for people to self-report symptoms and help create a public map of COVID-19 infection. Initial reports indicated it was easy to set up and straightforward to use. Each user’s anonymity is protected by a random ID number assigned to their device upon signing up.
There is hope about the tracking and response potential of the app. Through Bluetooth the app will be able to determine if the device has gone near to someone else who has recorded symptoms. Up-to-date infection information is vital for social care workers on the frontline, especially those visiting multiple homes a day.
The NHSX app is very much in its testing phase. Tests that require at least 60% of the Isle of Wight to take part to be considered successful. However, there have been inevitable speedbumps in the process, so a UK wide version is likely some weeks off yet.
Stay safe.