At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week we're speaking with Matt Williams, Senior Software Engineer at Equal Care, Co-op, based in Greater Manchester.
What does your organisation do?
Equal Care exists to give power to the people in social care that have far too little; the people who are giving and receiving care and support. We’ve already proven that more control over our care relationships results in happier, healthier people with better care outcomes. Our platform plays a huge role in giving people the tools that they need to keep on top of their newfound powers. All we need to do now is figure out how to get this model out to the rest of the world…
What do you think is currently the biggest digital and tech issue facing the health and social care industry?
Health and social care is going through a long overdue digital revolution at the moment. We all have a right to our own health data, but often if/when we see that information it is out of date, contradictory or flat-out wrong. It’s not surprising that this is the case: the health care system is fragmented so information exchange between health services is limited and this leads to an inconsistent patient record. However, the only way to improve the situation is to start sharing and consolidating. It’s going to be a long journey to get there, but great digital records will allow our health and social care professionals to make the best judgements possible, based on plenty of evidence.
What are some of your organisation’s biggest achievements?
Equal Care is an extraordinary place to work. There are dozens of stories about people’s lives being turned around as a result of the way we work. We have an exceptional quarterly turnover rate of 3.4% (compared to an industry standard of 36%). Our tech platform is founded on the needs of our co-ops members and enables over 2500 hours of outstanding care per month; it’s all designed, built and maintained by one person. And our work doesn’t stop with building care and support relationships: we are pushing for systemic change across the sector. In September last year, we published a report identifying a number of issues people in Calderdale had experienced on both sides of the care relationship. The report was so effective at raising these issues it had us (erroneously) labelled a “watchdog”.
What would you consider to be your organisation’s biggest challenge?
It’s core to our mission that the power concerning care decisions should reside with the people who understand those needs the best; the people giving and receiving care and support. Our growth plans need to scale this structure up, ensuring our care quality remains outstanding. This is no mean feat, to put it lightly! We’ll be relying on the platform to do a lot of heavy lifting: handling all kinds of tasks that would otherwise be done by multiple layers of management. However, it’s crucial for us that the platform can execute these tasks reliably and accessibly so that our wide variety of teams can all engage.
What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s digital and tech sector?
Digital and tech is such a strong sector in Manchester and I can only see it expanding from here. For me, it’s a no-brainer over London (or any other large city region); the quality of life is much greater, the salaries are great compared to the cost of living, the people are friendlier and it doesn’t take 45 minutes to get anywhere.
I would love to see more occasions where the tech world collaborates with other sectors. My experience has shown me that tech on its own is useless. We all need a cause to enable, yet our meetups and events rarely reflect that. It’s time to branch out a bit!
Tell us something we might not know about your company.
We’re often called pioneers of the “platform cooperative” movement. It’s a beautiful alternative to Big Tech where tech solutions are owned and controlled by the same communities that need them.
