Case Study – Care UK

Technology Transformation

“In the lead up to the pandemic we felt we needed to reset the relationship between the technology function and the wider business. We were looking to hire an experienced interim CIO who could make rapid improvements across the board and then help us define a digital strategy. Then the pandemic hit us, and it was all hands on deck. Digital Works Group were instrumental in important parts of our response and in how we managed change more broadly. As well as improving our technology, Digital Works Group has really left a mark on the business.”

Matt Rosenberg, CFO

Care UK DWG case study for Technology Transformation
Care UK is the third largest provider of residential, dementia and nursing care in the UK with 13,000 staff working in 152 homes. As an award-winning care home provider its mission is to support residents to lead fulfilling lives.

Care UK was on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic, trying to protect vulnerable residents from the virus. With most of the organisation unable to work remotely and faced with unprecedented challenges, they had to continue daily operations and find new ways of working to deliver safe and compassionate care.

Rapid changes in technology and management were required to provide and sustain an excellent level of care in the constantly changing environment.

We provided an experienced,  interim CIO who was engaged to develop and implement a technology transformation. Immediate actions were taken to mitigate risks and enable the organisation to function within lockdown:

  • Head office was transferred to a remote working service within eight days to ensure key centralised functions could continue to support the homes
  • Remote working capabilities were established between the care homes and the management team by the sourcing and implementation of hundreds of refurbished laptops – resolving laptop demand issues and saving on costs
  • Negotiation for free VPN licenses, telephony licenses and increased bandwidth were successful and implemented
  • Digital communication and messaging apps such as Zoom and Slack were introduced to establish immediate and real-time collaboration; later to be successfully upgraded to Teams
  • Network provision was upgraded to dedicated synchronous bandwidth for residents to use so they could video call their loved ones and take part in remote GP consultations
  • Social media apps, such as Facebook Portal and Relish, were introduced to keep residents connected with loved ones – vitally important for the mental health of residents and their families
  • A process was developed for the maintenance and security of all hardware and software, including anti-virus protection and cyber security measures

Care UK continues to offer industry-leading care quality to their residents via technology-enabled communications covering medical support, social activities and staff collaboration. Now a fully functioning hybrid business that is equipped and well prepared for unforeseen circumstances and change.

The initiatives implemented during lockdown resulted in Care UK being awarded IT Team of the Year runner-up at the BCS IT Awards 2020.

Care UK has a clear vision and strategy for further technology-enabled improvements.

IT operations were proven to be scalable at pace to enable Care UK to take over management of 26 additional homes.

Digital works Group is Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Digital Works Group is ISO 9001:2015 certified.