Birmingham Carers Hub: Using Case Manager with multiple organisations
“As soon as we saw Case Manager we knew it was the system we needed. Sharing data and co-ordinating services effectively across 15 organisations through one software system is unheard of in this sector and yet that’s exactly what we’ve managed to do with Case Manager – all within six weeks of making the decision to implement it!”
Simon Fenton, Chief Executive, Birmingham Carers Hub
Birmingham Carers Hub is a not for profit organisation which co-ordinates services for carers for a consortium of 30 organisations across Birmingham. Set up in April 2014, it currently supports 11,500 carers across Birmingham.
Carers are supported with a range of services, including welfare, benefits and money advice, counselling, specialist support and services to support carers’ wider well-being.
Birmingham Carers Hub implemented Case Manager in June 2015.
The issues
With 30 different organisations making up the consortium, Birmingham Carers Hub knew that they wanted a system which would support these organisations in delivering a broad range of services which improve quality of life for the carers they support.
The hub felt that to be as effective as possible, it needed a software system that could protect and safely share clients’ data, while allowing the different organisations to access one set of data and co-ordinate and therefore improve services for carers. As much of the client contact is in the clients’ own homes, they also wanted a system which was mobile and could be used by caseworkers while out in the field.
They had already begun work on a bespoke Case Management system, as they felt their situation was unique and there wouldn’t be an ‘off the shelf’ system flexible enough to meet their needs. Once they saw Case Manager however, they realised that it was a close fit to their existing processes and could be implemented with little configuration.
Simon added:
“The added peace of mind which came from knowing IIZUKA is ISO accredited and has an extremely reliable hosting provider in Rackspace made the decision a no-brainer. Case Manager has already saved us around two years’ work developing our own system; in the long run it’s going to save us time and money in operating our services too.”
The Solution: Case Manager
After seeing Case Manager in action, Birmingham Carers Hub immediately ordered the system with an ambitious target of going live in 15 organisations within six weeks.
With the benefit of a dedicated project manager in house, the Hub worked closely with IIZUKA to map its processes and ensure that Case Manager would deliver what was needed.
Programme Manager Dionne Williams said:
“Having implemented similar sized IT projects in the past, I can honestly say that this was the easiest implementation process I’ve ever been a part of. The guys at IIZUKA are fantastic to work with, they really listen to their clients and are open to learning alongside the organisations they support. For me, the real difference has been the post-implementation support; IIZUKA are helpful, extremely responsive and even more importantly, they explain everything clearly and in plain English.”
One of the key benefits of the system is the ability to use Case Manager on a tablet. Caseworkers can work offline and synchronise data with the system once they are connected via wifi. This improves data security and makes the teams using Case Manager truly mobile.
Data can be also be shared across organisations much more easily, opening up new avenues of support for clients and improving the outcomes provided, as well as ensuring that carers don’t have to complete multiple forms for different support providers.
For managers, one of the biggest benefits is the ability to produce management reports based on internal Key Performance Indicators. Birmingham Carers Hub is able to compile the monthly reports it provides to the service commissioner, Birmingham City Council, much more quickly and easily than before, as well as monitor performance in real-time, using IIZUKA’s customisable dashboards.
Client feedback
“Case Manager is helping us to provide high-quality services to approximately 11,500 clients a year. We’re able to accurately measure the social value of our services, the strain we’re taking off the Local Authority and the NHS and the impact we’re having on the quality of life of our clients and their communities all through one system. I can’t underplay how innovative this system is and what an impact it’s having on our operations – it really sets us apart from other organisations.”
Simon Fenton
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