What is the challenge your project is going to address and how does it connect to the theme?

The Care Sector has seen increased vacancy and low retention rates (34% left their role in 20/21), low pay rates (£9- £10 hourly average pay), and many quality challenges. It is a diverse sector with many providers (about 1000 in Kent and Medway). Qualifications and training rates are low. Collectively, this means learning and change are challenging to implement and sustain. Digital awareness, access to and use of digital equipment vary greatly. Communication across people’s care and support journeys is fragmented.

The use of digital methods for staff training, communication with GPs, and patient/resident vital signs monitoring would improve outcomes for individuals, save staff time and make working in the sector more attractive and therefore improve recruitment and retention. With the creation of a digital community and platform, the expectation is that improvements will be sustained, and that staff will have access and feel ownership of their methods and improvement tools.

What does your project aim to achieve?

The Digital Innovation Centre is working with the KSS Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC), and local partners such as Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (K&M CCG), Kent County Council, Health Education England (HEE), and business partners to deliver new digitally based methodologies for care staff. The aim is to make learning more visual through Simulation scenarios, working with digitally enabled mannequins (not offered to the care sector anywhere in the UK), creating case studies, videos, using Virtual Reality through Oculus Headsets (stepping in someone’s shoes). Remote monitoring and quality improvement through National programmes such as “Restore 2” brought to life through Simulation and delivered digitally improves communication with GPs and avoids unnecessary admissions but also improves understanding and enables staff whose first language is not English to participate more easily (15% of the workforce). This project particularly will improve access for this diverse staff group to a career in care.

How will the project be delivered?

The Digital Innovation Centre together with the PSC will create the Digital Platform as the basis for the Care and Learning Community. Technologists, a Clinical Skills Facilitator, VR experts, Medical Director and Senior Lecturer,  Senior Workforce Leads, Digital Specialists and Programme Manager Patient Safety Collaborative are all part of the wider Faculty.

The programme to be delivered has its foundations in Clinical and National Quality Improvement Programmes, delivered by qualified clinicians and practitioners.

A risk register has been established for the Remote Monitoring Programme and the Community Learning Platform work will be added to it.

Evaluation of the programme and measuring of the impact is in the process of being commissioned from the University of Kent.

The budget will be used to create the platform, to create communication systems with the Care and Learning Community, educational videos. eLearning modules and the ability to measure the outputs /outcomes.

How is your project going to share learning?

Simulation and Virtually Reality scenario-based skills training for the Care Sector is not currently available for the Care Sector so this programme will be unique for the UK and Ireland. Remote Monitoring based on Restore 2 Scenarios reported through digital systems is in early stages of roll out with the Care Sector and the creation of a Digital Care and Learning Community Platform where the Sector is joined by clinicians and digital leads is similarly unique. The Centre and the AHSN are committed to sharing the learning. The Platform itself will be made accessible with videos and eLearning modules. The Faculty team is based at the Digital Innovation Centre which has the facilities to deliver face-to-face as well as virtual presentations and webinars simultaneously. There is an absolute commitment to sharing Kent Surrey and Sussex wide but also Nationally and Internationally. The team is experienced in working with international projects.