Using digital resources to support leadership in social care

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) offers a postgraduate level short course titled Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, designed to enhance understanding of AI’s current and future impact in the healthcare sector. This program is ideal for healthcare professionals and those in health technology industries seeking to understand and leverage AI to improve patient care and operational efficiency. The course is delivered online, allowing flexibility to accommodate professional commitments. 

Becoming a digital social care organisation for managers and leaders includes practical advice from care providers who’ve introduced digital technology into their organisation covering the first steps in thinking digital, how to scope and get people on board, planning for the change, searching for a supplier and solution and implementing the digital system.

How we run our lives and businesses has fundamentally changed due to the growing impact of digital technology. From our homes, to our phones, to our work, to our leisure, all elements of our lives have changed. Social care is changing too, embracing what new technologies can offer. Therefore, to make the best of these opportunities, employees at all levels within social care need to have core digital skills and have the confidence and competencies to use them.

The Digital Care Hub has launched its first-ever Cyber Game—an interactive and engaging way for care managers and care workers to learn about cyber security and data protection.

Through real-world scenarios, players test their knowledge, make decisions, and receive scores based on security, time, and cost. This gamified approach helps improve retention and provides real-time feedback on identifying and responding to cyber risks.

The three videos for frontline staff have been developed to be used in team meetings or group learning sessions with a facilitator, e.g. registered manager or inhouse trainer, to encourage discussion and commitment to team and individual actions.

A catalogue of cyber security related advice and guidance provided by the National Cyber Security Centre.

This guidance will help small and medium-sized adult social care providers to reduce the risk and impact of a cyber incident, respond if one is taking place, and recover effectively after an incident.  

In today’s digital age, healthcare organisations face increasing cybersecurity risks. This course equips you with the essential knowledge and skills to protect sensitive patient data and prevent cyber attacks.

From resident records to staff details and financial information, care homes handle a huge amount of sensitive data—so it’s important to keep it secure.
 
In this edition, we’ll sharing practical resources, webinars, and training to help you and your team stay cyber-savvy. Whether it’s spotting a phishing email, securing your systems, or understanding data protection, these tools will help you build confidence and keep everything running smoothly.

This page, aimed at providers in Sussex, covers key information on cyber security in health and social care settings.

This free elearning course is for those with responsibility for data security and protection in small to medium sized care and support organisations in England. We have used the term data security and protection lead to describe this role.

You can use this course to improve your knowledge of data protection and cyber security and to support your continuing professional development (CPD). The course meets the training requirements within the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and builds on the existing Data security and protection elearning for social care staff.

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/digital-change-health-social-care

The UK government has launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps, aiming to bridge the digital divide and ensure everyone benefits from technological advancements.

The 4 key areas of focus are:

• Opening up opportunities through skills
• Tackling data and device poverty
• Breaking down barriers to digital services
• Building confidence

This comprehensive approach aims to reduce digital exclusion, enabling more people to benefit from online services and participate fully in the digital economy. The plan prioritises five groups: young people, older adults, individuals with disabilities, those currently unemployed, and low-income households.

The Digital Leadership programme is available from Skills for Care and delivered in partnership with the National Care Forum.

The guidance covers best practice around digital record systems, highlighting the efficiency they afford when compared to the paper-based methods they replace.

Digital and AI technologies

A new online advice service to help the NHS and care system adopt and make use of new digital and AI technologies launched this month.

The AI and Digital Regulations service provides guidance and offers:

• a website providing centralised, curated and up-to-date regulatory content around AI and data-driven technologies
• access to specialist support for developers and adopters of AI and data-driven technologies

The service is a multi-agency collaboration between Care Quality Commission (CQC), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Health Research Authority and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Funding opportunities

The 2023/24 digital social care record funding process is currently underway. This funding is designed to support Care Quality Commission-registered (CQC) adult social care providers to adopt a digital social care record in their care settings.

The grant amount is £70.00 per bed for care homes with 25 or more beds, or £1650.00 for all other providers registered with CQC, procuring a digital social care record system from the assured solutions list between April 2023 and March 2024.

To register your interest, you can contact:

Sarah McNally: [email protected]

Claire Badzek: [email protected]

Skills for Care believes that developing digital leadership and growing the wider sector’s skills are inter-dependent. Growing and developing confident and skilled digital leaders will ensure the digital development of those they manage.

This webinar, recorded in February 2025, explored how technology can benefit the delivery of care and support, sharing experiences across the sector and practical advice for using different devices and applications. 

Throughout November and December, Skiils for Care are shining a spotlight on increasing #DigitalConfidence in adult social care, so that you can make the most of digital technology in your organisation.

We know that digital can sound daunting, but it doesn’t need to be

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/news-and-events/Spotlight-on/Improving-digital-confidence.aspx?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Enews&utm_content=LandingPage&utm_campaign=DigitalConfidence#msdynttrid=AElu_n5UaFDvkLUv3Tb4Om1I0nHqbD6ms3kEwW21eJ8

Short snippets of learning ranging from videos, podcasts, blogs, links to Ted Talks and much more…

Inspiration Library – Leadership Academy

The Leading through digital change programme offers a unique opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge needed to confidently adopt digital technology. This four-week practical course is designed for adult social care managers who want to lead digital transformation in their organisations but don’t quite know where to start or how to overcome the unique challenges in the sector. Designed and delivered in partnership by Skills for Care and National Care Forum, this programme is created to equip you with the knowledge and ability to identify and implement digital solutions that align with the needs of your organisation and the individuals who draw on your care and support.

In an increasingly digital world, cyber security is fast becoming a main concern for many organisations. With complex online scams and cyber crime, it’s essential that organisations have an understanding of preventative measures to maintain cyber security, including techniques and security checks needed to store data securely. 

Lead and implement effective organisational development in a digital world. The workplace is changing. With increasing digitalisation, it is essential that you and your organisation are equipped with the right tools, skills and understanding to effectively manage and lead organisational development. Starting with an introduction to organisational development and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), you’ll learn how to design a people centred strategy for change as well as implementing professional strategies to address the challenges of developing organisations and teams in changing environments.

This webinar, recorded in June 2024, introduces Artificial Intelligence and examines its applications in a care context. It also discusses the risks of using AI in health and social care, including ethical challenges and potential solutions.

This free UK government toolkit provides up-to-date cybersecurity advice to help small businesses guard against cybercrime. After answering a few simple questions, you’ll receive a tailored action plan with step-by-step guidance to tackle common threats like email hacking, data breaches, and ransomware.

Sussex Digital In Reach Team provides a free platform on which Care Providers across Sussex can access free advice and support on technology, digitalisation and data protection. We are run by the care providers for the care providers.

This webinar recording, shared in July 2024, covers some essential cyber security advice for social care providers in Sussex. The video covers key information on the risks of cyber crime with risks to keep your care service safe.

Good quality records underpin safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care. They communicate the right information clearly, to the right people, when they need it. They are an essential part of achieving good outcomes for people.

This guide clarifies what good digital records look like and how providers can achieve this. It also covers the commitments CQC makes to support providers’ use of digital record systems and what we will look at on inspection.