Four in five care providers using digital social care records
- 5 December 2025
- Four in five care providers are now using digital social care records, the government has announced
- They are expected to cut millions of hours of admin by enabling care plans to be signed off faster
- Social care information is planned to be included in the single patient record
Four in five (80%) of care providers have replaced paper-based processes with digital social care records, the government has announced.
Digital social care records, also known as an electronic care plans, are a core part of the ambition in the NHS 10 year health plan to develop a single patient record across health and care.
Earlier this year, NHS England set a target for 80% of care providers to have digital social care record in place by March 2025, following the failure to meet the original March 2024 target.
Stephen Kinnock, care minister, said: “This government is driving digital innovation, and digital care records are making a major difference for people drawing on care and their carers – with the number of care providers using them doubling from 40% to 80%, including a meaningful increase since July 2024.
“A one-stop-shop for a person’s care information – securely available to carers – cuts paperwork, helps reduce errors and gives carers more time to care.
“As we shift more care out of hospital and into the community, digital transformation is critical to ensure we create a coordinated system of social care and primary care.”
Digital care records bring key information about people’s care together in one place, including personal and demographic information, health conditions, treatment details, risk assessments, care received and communications with the care provider.
They also allow appropriate social care staff to view limited information within GP records using the NHS IT service GP Connect.
The government says that digital care records are expected to cut millions of admin hours by allowing care plans to be completed and signed off in three days instead of seven, and be reviewed in half an hour instead of four hours.
Jules Hunt, interim director general for technology, digital and data, said: “Increasing use of digital social care records is freeing up staff from burdensome bureaucracy which means they can spend more time doing their job and looking after people.”
The government is exploring how to join up social care information with the single patient record, which is intended to connect and build upon existing systems like digital social care records.
Responding to the announcement, Deborah Rozansky, director of policy, research and information at the Social Care Institute for Excellence, said: “This is a significant achievement for a sector that started from a position where only around 40% of providers were fully digitised, and many were still reliant on paper-based records.
“Reaching the point where 80% of care providers are using digital social care records represents a fundamental shift in how care is planned, delivered and monitored.”
She added that “the biggest challenge now is not the availability of technology, but the collective will to redesign systems around people rather than processes”.
“This should be accompanied by investment in relationships and infrastructure, ensuring that the drive to digitise strengthens, rather than diminishes, what matters most to people who draw on care and support.
“This must go hand in hand with supporting our workforce with the training and skills they need to continue to deliver solutions,” Rozansky said.
‘Fully digitised care providers’ must be registered by the Care Quality Commission, using an assured digital social care record and meeting the standards of the Data Security and Protection Toolkit.
