People in Leicestershire can now get information and advice about
services online, writes Karl Cushing.
A council-run project in Leicestershire is enabling local people to
gain access to information and advice on key public services such
as health care, social services and housing via the Internet.
Leicestershire Care Online is essentially a portal backed by a
database containing information about social services, local
doctors, dentists, opticians, chemists and housing. It brings
together information about the council's partner agencies and
contains links to other relevant Web sites to enable people to get
the information they need without having to contact a number of
different departments.
Launched last month, the project is chiefly aimed at "vulnerable"
local residents such as the elderly and the disabled, who may have
difficulty travelling or communicating. It is also intended to
improve the effectiveness of communication between partner agencies
such as Social Services and the Primary Care Trust, helping them to
pool resources and improve services.
Having secured funding from the Government's Invest to Save Budget,
the Council initiated a trial for the project on 10 April involving
20 elderly volunteers and their wardens in the rural Harborough
district. An IT trainer is on hand to help the volunteers and
identify any requirements for special equipment such as large
keyboards or ball mice.
Feedback from the trials will be analysed by a research team at
Loughborough University and in September the trial will be extended
to encompass 100 volunteers. The council will also trial digital TV
and allow volunteers to make referrals and book housing repairs
online.
In the longer term, Leicestershire Council plans to test other
technology such as video links but at the moment its hands are
somewhat tied. "The difficulty is the main back-office stuff
really," explains project manager Peter Chester. "The IT systems
are not there yet." However, he believes that by the time the
trials come to an end in 2003 these problems will have been
rectified.
At present the council is handling the support function but in
September the role will be taken over by the project's chief IT
supplier Sopra. Chester says the relationship with Sopra has been
good and the supplier has come up with some useful ideas, such as a
"breadcrumb trail" to help users navigate through the portal.
"They have delivered a product we are happy with and we are pretty
much where I want us to be," says Chester. "The project is on time
and on schedule - that is about as much as you can ask for."
Now the key aims are to make the service more personalised, improve
interagency contact and address issues relating to the Data
Protection Act, says Chester.
Further information:
www.leicscareonline.org.uk