AI and Human Contact: A New Era
A new AI tool has helped a council team spend more time with the people it helps, by significantly reducing the amount of time staff dedicate to paperwork. Ealing Council’s adult services began implementing the artificial intelligence tool, Magic Notes, developed by Beam, in the autumn of the previous year.
The integration of this tool has been remarkably successful, freeing up 44% of staff time. Magic Notes generates concise and accurate summaries from face-to-face meetings, documents practitioner visits, and facilitates assessments and reviews while assisting in planning activities. This has led to a more efficient workflow within the adult services team.
Feedback from both carers and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. The assessment process is now described as more interactive and tailored to the individual, resulting in a better experience for all parties involved. This shift towards a more person-centered approach in care highlights the potential of AI to improve human interactions.
These developments were underscored by a recent review conducted by the Local Government Association (LGA), which is undertaking a two-year evaluation of Ealing Council’s adult social care team. Significantly, the report indicates that the council has managed to drastically reduce waiting times for assessments. Over the last 24 months, improvements were noted, with the average waiting time decreased to 124 days, and the maximum reduced to 200 days.
Additionally, the LGA report highlighted that Ealing Council has made outstanding progress in fulfilling the recommendations from a prior Peer Challenge, showcasing a commitment to continuous improvement within their service delivery.
These promising outcomes resonate with the ‘AI opportunities action plan’ recently unveiled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who envisions AI as a transformative force in public services, suggesting that such innovations could save money for citizens.
Future Considerations from Lessons Learned
Councillor Polly Knewstub, the cabinet member for healthy equal lives, remarked, “We are already incorporating the lessons learned from the inspection into our plans for the upcoming year. Overall, I am pleased to say that the report was highly positive.”
She further emphasized their pride in the collaborative efforts of colleagues and partners in Ealing Council, noting the positive contributions of the LGA review to their ongoing service enhancements. Ealing Council’s experience illustrates not only the potential for AI to streamline operations but also its capability to fundamentally enrich human interactions within public service sectors.