Why AI Matters in Social Care
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of social care and healthcare. The NHS 10-year Health Plan emphasises embedding AI into these sectors, and this is already starting to happen. However, the biggest challenge today is ensuring that AI operates on trusted data and provides valid, actionable guidance. Concerns about synthetic data and reliability remain significant.
Our Approach at QCS
At QCS, we are focused on embedding AI into our Compliance, Care Management, and Learning Centre systems to enable providers to deliver smarter, faster, and more informed care. By looking at the compliance data we keep continuously updated for our customers, and training our AI on the care data created by them in the core Care Management system, we have a very powerful trusted model for AI driven insights and guidance.
AI Supporting the Carer
Imagine a carer visiting Hetty in her own home to support her personal care and lunch. They have all the necessary experience and training but they haven’t seen this client for a few weeks. With AI, the carer could simply ask:
Has anything changed since my last visit to Hetty?
Our AI agent would instantly pull relevant information from the systems e.g.:
- Hetty’s care plan has been updated as she now needs prompting to use her walking frame (here are the key details….)
- Moving and Handling Policy has been updated (summarized for quick reference)
- Here are the new risks you need to be aware of…
Instead of searching through multiple data silos, the carer receives a concise, trusted summary and, if needed, links to more detailed information. This saves time, reduces stress, and improves care quality.
Impact on Recruitment and Retention
Providing carers with effective AI driven tools makes their job easier and more rewarding.
This can:
- Reduce administrative burden
- Improve job satisfaction
- Support recruitment and retention in a sector facing significant challenges
When carers feel empowered and guided, they are more likely to stay in the profession.
AI Supporting the Care Planning Process
We have a real opportunity to leverage AI to streamline the creation of a fully personalized care service for every individual needing support. AI will support the creation of care plans, risk assessments, and day-to-day care activities quickly and accurately. A key building block when setting up a new service is the ‘About Me’ standard from the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB), mandated by NHS England as part of the Digital Social Care Record program.
The ‘About Me’ Standard
This standard captures essential personal details, such as:
- What is most important to me
- People who are important
- What makes a good day
- What makes me happy
- My Interests
- My life history
- My daily routine
- The support I need
- My favorite things
Image this being a ‘flowing conversation’ where the AI toolkit helps the assessor create a rich and informative ‘About Me’ profile that fully engages the person requiring support and their family at this critical support planning stage. Once completed, the AI assists the assessor further by:
- Suggesting relevant assessments
- Recommending care plan content and care actions
- Highlighting potential risks
The Future of AI in Care Planning
AI will not replace human judgment but will make strong, evidence-based recommendations. Experienced assessors can then apply checks and balances.
This approach:
- Reduces manual effort
- Improves personalisation
- Enhances compliance
Ultimately, AI will help connect the dots across multiple data sources, driving a step-change in care delivery.
Conclusion
QCS is uniquely positioned to leverage AI within its portfolio of Compliance, Care Management, and Learning Centre systems. By combining trusted data with advanced AI models, we aim to support providers in delivering more effective, personalised care, benefiting both carers and service users.
