Access Insights Feb 2025: Health, Local Government and Social Prescribing

February certainly went a lot quicker than January did. Our teams kept themselves exceptionally busy considering there were only 28 days to pack it all into.

Here are some highlights from the month, make sure you are subscribed to Access Insights to see these regularly as well as a variety of other topical articles.

Events

We are so excited for Digital Health Rewired next month! Our team are proud to be the co-headline sponsor alongside Microsoft.

Alan Payne will be presenting the session 'Collaboration to put people at the heart of health and social care' at 10.30 on Day 1 on the Integrated Care Stage, which we are pleased to also be the sponsors of. You can read the full programme and get all of the information you need here: https://ow.ly/cLKu50UTSWM

We attended Convenzis Group 's Virtual Wards summit where we discussed hospital at home, if you couldn't make it on the day but would like to find out more you can speak to any of our brilliant team: Deborah Snook , Joe Arthur , Brogan Archer or Katherine Tattershall

We sponsored and attended HSJ Events Digital Transformation Summit, to find out more you can speak to Deborah Snook or Laura Thompson .

We hosted our 'Digital Transformation of Social Care in Scotland' customer event. with presentations from Andy Sparkes , Chris Wilson, Alex Nash, Carrie Renton, Jason Stevens and Beth Askwith. If you missed the event but would like to learn more, you can message Stephanie Dakin or Sophie Boyle

We hosted two user-centred design workshops with our customers. To find out more about these and to potentially be involved in one in the future, please message Katherine Tattershall .

A big thank you to everyone who came!

Stephen Tedder attended the Convenzis Group Healthcare Innovation Consortium EPR Summit. If you missed him on the day you can message him on LinkedIn directly

Announcements

We are so pleased to introduce our brand new Core+ hub! ???

We have compiled everything you need to know about Access Core+ in one place for easy use. You can find everything that you may need here: https://lnkd.in/ene3FA-8

As of 24th February 2025, The Procurement Act 2023 is now live. At The Access Group we are already live with all of the required changes to support customers with their procurement requirements.

Watch this video to hear from our team about how we are ensuring this is possible, and please get in touch with your Account Manager if you would like to know more about how it works for your specific local authority.

Thank you to Andy Perrins and Claire Thornton from YPO for sitting down to film this video with us. Learn more about the Procurament Act: https://ow.ly/kWiL50V3ygh

This month, Jennifer Neff met with Northern Ireland's First and Deputy First Minister.

They spoke about what Northern Health and Social Care Trust was achieving through using Access Elemental Social Prescribing, increasing access and engagement in their 'Connect North' project and how they're able to report on what's working well across their communities and where the gaps are.

They also spoke about how social prescribing needs to be properly funded to help to halt avoidable health inequalities.

Speaking about the experience, Jennifer said "'What a highlight of the week to spend quality time with our leaders, Michelle and Emma, ahead of International Women's Day on 8th March, and to discuss Access Elemental's journey and how we can inspire and support others to create, scale and grow their purpose driven businesses. We talked at length about our Elemental team, their career paths into technology and the important roles they play in ensuring the impact of social?prescribing is recognised and valued'.

Access In The News

Thank you to Digital Health for sharing this article 'Digital health leaders react to NHSE’s ‘back to basics’ priorities' which includes a quote from our Managing Director, Steve Wightman.

Steve said "Technology has a pivotal role in supporting the healthcare sector, particularly in strengthening integration and coordination between health and social care services. We need to embrace innovative digital tools, such as ethical AI, which can help drive efficiencies and reduce pressure on frontline services.""However, technology alone is not a complete solution. Challenges around budgets, the need to empower social care with a stronger voice, and enhancing community healthcare initiatives also require attention. While technology is a significant enabler, a holistic approach across health and social care will be essential to truly transform the NHS." You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/euAFHcgh

Thank you to Care Home Professional for sharing this article 'Trial uses AI to help care for older people'" AI-enabled fridge sensors and connected kettles are being used to detect changes in the daily routines of vulnerable people that could indicate a decline in health and ultimately lead to a fall", thanks to technology used by the London Borough of Sutton

Discussing our involvement, Andy Sparkes Managing Director, Local Government, The Access Group said “We’re delighted to support Sutton Council’s ambitious approach to?AI?and technology-enabled care, which offers a personalised service that enables individuals to live independently for longer.“AI?and machine learning have the potential to enable all local authorities to shift their approach to care from the traditional reactive model to a more proactive approach that allows for early intervention. By scaling these proven examples of success, councils can reduce the pressure on current services and empower residents to remain in their homes for as long as possible.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ddjj-8hG

We were thrilled to see our customer London Borough of Sutton featured on BBC News. Bradley Coupar who we work closely with, discussed how Artificial intelligence (AI) sensors are being used in the homes of vulnerable people in south London to assist in their care. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eQ-EUdei

Thank you to Digital Health for sharing this article about our brand new integrated health and care advisory board.

We have established an integrated health and care advisory board, and our proud to have three senior NHS leaders already within the group - Dr Harpreet Sood, Professor Joe McDonald and Dr Rowan Sil.The board has been formed as part of The Access Group's continued efforts to help NHS and social care organisations deliver productivity savings and improved outcomes, and to meet the government’s three big shifts in integrated health and care.

Steve Wightman, general manager, health and integrated care at Access HSC, said: “The unprecedented challenges in the sector are well known, as are the benefits that digital can deliver to tackle these issues, to a point.“However, it isn’t always possible for organisations to capitalise on technology and datasets across the care continuum, despite, in some cases, having the right solutions that can integrate across settings.

“With Harpreet, Joe and Rowan’s significant expertise, we’re excited by the prospect of improving our solutions and excelling our collaborations with local providers, regional commissioners, and local and central government."

The important links:

??The advisory board will hold its first meeting at Digital Health Rewired 2025, which takes place 18-19 March at the NEC in Birmingham, more details of the event can be found here: https://ow.ly/PMUA50V55Vm

?? The Access Group is a co-headline sponsor of the event and sponsor of the Integrated Care Stage and you can find out all about our involvement here: https://ow.ly/tQO750V55WR

?? You can read the full article from Digital Health here: https://ow.ly/gkvL50V55KS

Webinars

Ben Chance and Callam Taylor have been continuing to run their webinar series, if you would like to find out more about these, you can message them directly or Sophie Boyle or Stephanie Dakin will be able to assist you.

Podcasts

Listen on BBC Sounds to Aaron Paul's show from Monday 3rd February to hear him discussing technology enabled care and the work we have collaborated on with Bradley Coupar and the London Borough of Sutton. You can listen to the whole radio show, or you can skip to 2:23:40 for our specific technology enabled care and artificial intelligence section. The short feature includes the story of Margaret, an 86-year-old with dementia.

Our TEC supports Margaret in the home and gives Marianne, her daughter-in-law, peace of mind that she is safe in her home. Marianne comments, "The system we have in here now is brilliant - I can look in in the mornings and detect her movements throughout the night and know that she is moving, she's not on the floor or nothing drastic has happened."

Our TEC is used in over 1,200 houses across the Sutton area and has so far detected over 1,800 falls. Andy Sparkes says, “We’re delighted to support Sutton Council’s ambitious approach to?AI?and technology-enabled care, which offers a personalised service that enables individuals to live independently for longer.

AI?and machine learning have the potential to enable all local authorities to shift their approach to care from the traditional reactive model to a more proactive approach that allows for early intervention.” Listen now on BBC Sounds: https://lnkd.in/e-FvcnK9

Awards

Congratulations to London Borough of Sutton, who have been shortlisted in the 'Digital Impact' category at the 2025 LGC Awards.

This nomination represents the hard work of London Borough of Sutton, Medequip UK and Access Technology Enabled Care for their collaboration utilising AI-powered TEC.

The program closely aligns with all three organisations visions for inclusive, preventative care, empowering residents, families, and professionals through collaboration and data-driven insights. We wish the team the best of luck for the final on 11th June.

You can view the full shortlist for every award here: https://lnkd.in/erPKenpN

Partners

We welcomed CPOMS Systems to our Partner Programme!

CPOMS StudentSafe is dedicated to improving child protection and wellbeing in schools by supporting student welfare initiatives.

By integrating Mosaic with CPOMS StudentSafe, social workers can access live safeguarding records instantly - eliminating the need for slow, manual email transfers. This collaboration helps bridge the data gap between schools and social care, ensuring better, faster support for vulnerable children.

To find out more about our partner programme you can message Joanne Shrimpton

We welcomed Cinnamon Digital Applications to our Partner Programme.

Cinnamon Digital Applications School Immunisations and Child Screening Solutions provides intuitive software to support School Immunisations and Child Screening. Built collaboratively with healthcare providers, their tools simplify workflows, cut down on administrative tasks, and free up more time for patient care.

To find out more about our partner programme you can message Tahani Humphreys

Articles

We recently hosted a webinar about 'The Technology Landscape across Health and Social Care in Wales', highlighting the significant transformation of the digital health landscape.

In this article we explore how this transformation is driven by strategic initiatives designed to enhance the delivery of health and social care through technology: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7292859539010277376

Our brilliant team have put together an article, highlighting the most important things you should be doing at Rewired 2025, you can read this here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7300884888235171840

Julie Tyas Social Care Safety Officer from our Governance, Risk and Compliance team has written this article about Artificial Intelligence in Social Care IT Systems, which you can read here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7295452901047500800

Check out this article from our Health team about NHS'S Operational Plan 2025/26: Key Changes, Challenges and Reforms: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7294730399279136769

As the NHS grapples with increasing demand for services and limited resources, NHS England (NHSE) has introduced its strategic?operational plan for 2025/26, emphasising efforts to cut down waiting times, enhance patient access to care,?and optimise efficiencies across the health sector.

Stats

Check out our Monthly stats from Access Elemental Social Prescribing here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7293581679888117760

We are excited to share some remarkable insights from Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust's report (https://ow.ly/WKB150UZzkz), highlighting the significant benefits of our integration: ??97.2% of clinicians feel more confident in meeting the social needs of service users.

??91.6% of clinicians report benefits from having access to referral notes and updates.

??70% reduction in clinical time spent addressing social needs, cutting appointment time from 27 to just 8 minutes Our system integration serves as the backbone of our software. Integrated with Rio, Access Elemental is a fully cloud-based solution designed to securely manage community referrals into the social prescribing and voluntary sector.

By utilising secure pathways to tackle issues such as housing, financial difficulties, and social isolation, you can contribute to a reduction in GP appointments and A&E admissions, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

New Customers

We welcomed three new Access Elemental Social Prescribing customers, which you can watch a video of Jennifer Neff speaking about here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7290747989667532800