AI has, for some time, been a “what if” – a technological potential that could revolutionise the world.
For us here at Access, that means optimising social care provision and commissioning. In recent years, AI agents like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot have enjoyed a rapid growth in engagement, but what started out as making fun images, or asking questions you’d normally Google, has evolved into much more reliable intelligence and logic – and that can be built into solutions.
Serving Scotland
Futurescot has published an excellent article about How AI can return 62 million hours to Scotland’s public services. In it the authors echo the same issues we’re hearing from customers and partners all over the UK: staff are spending too much time on routine administrative tasks, rather than doing the important and complex work that needs human engagement.
We’re all aware of the tight budgets in local government and the need to make money go further, but an aspect often overlooked is the translation into time paid for, and its efficient usage. Staff cost money, and so in many instances there have been cutbacks in staff numbers to balance the budgets.
This in turn leads to high workloads, and in some cases burnout of said staff. Those staff then need to be replaced – either temporarily or permanently. Short-term temping costs more, as does the training of new hires, so this is something local authorities want to avoid.
AI offers a solution that benefits Scotland. By automating routine tasks, it alleviates a degree of this workload burden. For social care, that means freeing professionals up to focus on people and their specific circumstances, rather than entirely manual data entry.
It’s important for a person’s wellbeing that we maintain accurate records, but for care to have a tangible benefit it needs people to be actively engaging with those who need: building a relationship, trust, and confidence in the process.
Modern Problems, Modern Solutions
Forecast modelling from StormID on the Opportunity for Scotland’s Public Services states a range of between 16.6 million (9.2%) and 62.1 million (34.5%) hours of capacity could be saved annually through AI adoption as an aide in the public sector.
Their analytics breaks this down further, and found that within local government services, many of the workflows were similar and that things such as case management (51%), application processing and decision making (24%), and documentation (18%) were causing the slowdown in task completion.
This is where we at The Access Group come in.
We have been working hard to develop an intuitive AI experience for our customers and have launched Access Evo, our next-generation platform for local government. Evo is designed to support the entire continuum of social care, whether that’s children’s care, youth care, adult services, or additional support provisions.
A problem experienced by local authorities over the last decade or so has been the issue of data fragmentation or siloing. This is where different teams exist but aren’t joined up in their approach to client care.
Access Evo overcomes this by having AI built into every aspect of its functionality, rather than as a module. As a result, it orchestrated data sharing across service boundaries whilst maintaining the specific workflows, regulations and requirements of each discipline.
The platform’s design reflects a simple truth: families don’t experience services in isolation. A young person receiving support from youth services may also have additional support needs.
A child with a CSP might require safeguarding intervention. An adult receiving care support may have family members also known to children’s services or may require coordinated support that spans health and social care. Evo’s architecture acknowledges this reality and seeks to unify services, rather than leave them operating independently.
Evo powers our suite of local government solutions, including Mosaic for social care and Access Technology Enabled Care for supported living. This interoperability enhances workflow efficiency, but it also provides a single view across social care and commissioning. This gives greater oversight and understanding, making it easier to tackle problems or recognise what’s working well and why.
Working with us, not instead of us
The big fear for many people is that AI will replace jobs, but social care is best delivered by people, for people. We cannot be stubborn or fearful though and ignore the benefits that AI can provide.
StormID’s forecasting presents another key finding: rising demand will outpace workforce capacity unless measures are taken to reduce the administrative burden. At this point, burnout levels will be setting new, dangerous records, and errors will occur in social care documentation – errors that could lead to harm.
A steady, scrutinised implementation of AI can provide immediate help to social care professionals in Scotland, and free them up to do what they do best: help people.
