North Larnakshire Council finished second at the Local Government IT Excellence Awards 2007 for their use of its single shared assessment software from Integral Mobile Data (IMD) on mobile devices.
The council has been using IMD’s Integral mForms single assessment solution on mobile devices as part of its MySWIS Mobile Assessment project.
mySWIS Mobile Assessment is a tool that allows full single shared assessments to be undertaken by staff from North Lanarkshire Council and partner agencies (including the NHS) whilst in a client’s home or hospital ward using mobile technology.
The solution operates real-time (or offline when necessary) allowing information gathered during the assessment to be validated against the back office mySWIS application then, once successfully validated, it is updated.
The tool allows the provision of homecare services to be initiated at an earlier stage for
the client, and for information to be shared, where applicable, with partner agencies.
Charles Ward, chief operating officer of Intellect and chair of the judging panel, said: “In the case of the mySWIS Mobile Assessment, the time savings it has created have enabled the provision of clients’ homecare services to be initiated at shorter intervals, while increasing the time front-line staff are able to spend with clients.
“The judging panel were particularly impressed with both the project’s dedication to improving customer service, and the joined-up working of the team who delivered the solution, and they applauded the clear and demonstrable benefits that have resulted since its implementation."
By using cutting-edge mobile technology, which operates real-time, mySWIS allows information gathered during the assessment to be sent, at the touch of a button, directly into the office-based centre, allowing the assessment to enter the system as soon as possible.
It was introduced after a council review identified that the previous system was heavily paper based, offered little flexibility in call/visit scheduling, required staff to spend significant time in the office and caused delays in assessment information being updated.
A pilot project was undertaken to develop a real-time mobile solution for single shared assessment. This pilot included the full testing of the mobile assessment with the council and its partners (including NHS Lanarkshire), user training and implementation, and was formally launched on 29 June 2007.
Irene Gillespie, head of e-government and service development, said: “Initial requirements for the project were an improved service for service users, a move to an ‘electronic’ solution that had a similar look and feel to mySWIS system already in place, flexibility in call scheduling, minimising required office work and updating information to mySWIS timeously, securely and accurately.
“An in-house technical team was formed to progress the project development for the council and a tender process took place for the technical partners required. North Lanarkshire Council is at the forefront of service delivery in this area and we’re taking this technology further than anyone else.”
By the end of 2007 the council aims to have 40 to 50 tablet PCs available, and over 100 by the end of 2008. Future plans include extending the use of mobile SSA from community care to other care groups, extending the use of the technology to other services of the council and partner agencies.
Targets set for 2008 also include delivering a 25% increase in the time care assessors have available to spend with service users and a 25% decrease in the assessment waiting time.
Mary McLellan, IT service manager for housing and social work services, said: “This new mobile assessment process involves the assessor travelling to the service user’s home, carrying out the assessment and recording information on a tablet PC.
“The assessor synchronises assessment with mySWIS and then travels to next service user’s home. It reaches the system with the touch of a button in our service user’s home. It has really made a real difference and has resulted in a positive change to the way SSAs are carried out.”
John Foster, IMD’s sales and marketing director, said: “We are thrilled that North Lanarkshire Council was runner-up in this year’s Local Government IT Excellence Awards through showcasing an application that uses IMD software. We are extremely proud that IMD’s Integral mForms has received such recognition and would like to congratulate North Lanarkshire Council on their success.”
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