Barnsley Council and CACI win top innovation gong at Ceretas Awards

BARNSLEY Council’s Home Care Service in partnership with leading software provider CACI has picked up the IT Innovator of the Year Award at the Ceretas Awards.  

The prize was awarded for the development of inTOUCH, a mobile-working home care product which enables carers to download their service user schedule, supporting information and prompts for each visit.

Ollie Watson, CACI Business Sector Manager, said: “We are thrilled that our application, inTOUCH, contributed to Barnsley winning this award. A great deal of technical innovation and teamwork went into making this product one that can ultimately improve quality of care. We are delighted this has been recognised within the industry.”

Formerly known as the British Association of Domiciliary Care, Ceretas is the professional association dedicated to individuals working in home care. The awards aim to benefit individuals, organisations and sponsors, while also helping to raise the profile of the home care industry.

Paul Higginbottom, Business Manager of Barnsley’s Home Care Service, said the partnership with CACI had one aim: to develop a comprehensive, dynamic and affordable mobile-working solution for the home care market.

"We are delighted to receive such a prestigious award and recognition for all the hard work put in by the Barnsley team and our development partner CACI,” he said. “Two hundred home carers are already benefiting from the technology, which is providing them with real-time information to enhance the delivery of care.”

He said the InTOUCH hand-held device had helped to improve compliance with the 27 minimum care standards and supported continual service improvement; this had led to the Home Care Service being awarded a three-star excellent rating from the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

ENDS