Concerns about IT software used by Powys County Council’s social services staff

Concerns about IT software used by Powys County Council’s social services staff will be taken up with the Welsh Government soon.

The Welsh Community Care Information System (WCCIS) is multimillion pound IT investment supplied by the Welsh Government to fully integrate health and social care in Wales.

It is supposed to mean that community nurses, mental health teams, social workers and therapists can share electronic records so that they know where a patient is with their treatment.

But problems with the system in Powys has seen the cabinet agree at their meeting on Tuesday, May 25 to put the issue on  to the council’s Strategic Risk Register, as a risk to the council.

Head of finance Jane Thomas who looks after the register, said: “That is a fundamental system to delivering our services in social care, so the risk around that has been placed on the register as: almost certain and major impact.”

Head of Children’s Services, Jan Coles, told councillors that problems with the system was the “most important issue” that’s affecting staff morale at the moment.

Portfolio holder for Adult Social Care, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander was “delighted” to see the issue escalated onto the register.

Cllr Alexander said:  “We are talking constantly to our colleagues in other authorities and to Welsh Government.

“It really helps us to see this accelerated as a risk this shows that we are taking the potential harm of this very seriously indeed.

Council leader, Cllr Rosemarie Harris, said that they authority needed to work with Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) to put right this “very serious” issue.

Cllr Harris added:  “I think it should be escalated to the Welsh Government, we have a new team of government ministers and when they have settled, it would be a good idea to have that discussion as it can’t stay on the register.”

The changes to the register were approved unanimously by cabinet members.

Despite a hardware upgrade in March, the report said that WCCIS “remains unreliable.”

The report explained that IT system had proved “unreliable” during the pandemic which has meant that staff have been “unable” to perform their legal functions “in a timely manner.”

Problems created by the IT issues include:

Delays in decision making.
Delays in securing care packages.
Safeguarding of children and adults could be compromised.
Problems with transfers of people from hospital to the community.
Out of hours emergencies response impacted.
Staff morale leading to increased sickness absence and staff leaving.