NQM Care Analytics

"NQM Care Analytics applies Artificial Intelligence and Statistical techniques to the problem of social care delivery.

The compound impacts of an ageing population and diminishing resources for local authorities mean our social care system is in crises. Local authorities are faced with the impossible problem of doing more with less. The economic realities of current services provision mean not only is it getting harder and harder for citizens to qualify for state assisted support, but also that care agencies are becoming insolvent or refusing to bid on contracts because they are not financially viable.

NQM Care analytics uses a portfolio of AI and big data modelling techniques to helps address these issues. Using the individual social care records, combined with national population models and derived health, social and economic indicators, it is possible to provide detailed analysis and recommendations which can improve the planning and running of an efficient social care system. Specifically NQM Care Analytics provides the following features.

1) Performance analysis: using national and locally derived models we can benchmark care agency performance, localities and health conditions against each other in order to better manage service provision.

2) Impact analysis: using fine grained historical data we can evaluate the impact of policy management interventions near to real time.

3) Commissioning triaging: by providing a synthesised view of a patients case history, overlaid by a statistical model of prognosis (with our without interventions), we can provide social workers with better information in order to commission their services.

4) Infrastructure planning: local authorities need to plan for the future, whether this is staff recruitment, tendering for agencies or physically building infrastructure, like care homes, these are multi million investments that need to be correctly sized to make best use of the public purse. Proven modelling tools can be invaluable in this context.

Our innovation is two fold. Firstly, using the proven, highly secure Trusted Data Exchange, we are granted access to confidential individual social care records for analysis; something not typically allowed. Secondly, using advanced Bayesian network methods, we induce complex statistical models which can improve the planning and management of social care.

This technology has already been prototyped with Hampshire County and Southampton City Councils, using raw data.

The project is an active collaboration between NQM, providing data analytics expertise and Southern Policy Centre, a think tank comprising former local and central govermetn officials who will provide complemnetary consultancy"