Identifying digital support needs for adult social care providers

The BSBC programme supports the adult social care sector with resources and assistance to help care providers complete the Data Security & Protection Toolkit (DSPT). The DSPT is a free, online self-assessment for health and care providers to evaluate and improve their data and cyber security. It's an ambitious programme with the aim that all CQC registered adult social care services will have completed the DSPT to 'standards met'. The programme is delivered by a diverse group of care sector organisations, including many local care associations, with colleagues from the NHS, ADASS and local councils also involved.

Better Security, Better Care is led by a programme board whose members are NHSX, NHS Digital, NHS England and Improvement, the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and, Digital Social Care on behalf of care providers.

Reflecting the increased importance of the secure sharing of information between health and care services, the programme wishes to identify the key market drivers for a digital support service.

The project

We are providing grant funding for a discrete piece of work to scope the key market drivers for a digital support service for care providers which includes DSPT compliance.

There has been an increase in the marketplace of private companies offering DSPT support to care providers, however the perceived quality of these services is variable. The Better Security, Better Care programme is not intended to provide a long-term support function and so to ensure quality and consistency we wish to explore opportunities to develop the market for commercial support to small and medium enterprise (SME) care providers in the future.