System C and Suffolk County Council: case study
Case study by System C #SocialCareTransformation
The challenge
For social care practitioners, having sensitive conversations and observing environments in people’s homes is critical, but managing talking, writing and recalling details all at the same time is a real challenge.
Toni Backler, a Senior Independence and Wellbeing Practitioner at Suffolk County Council, described how this disrupted the flow of assessments and reduced her sense of connection with the individual. Conversations often paused while notes were written. In some safeguarding and domestic abuse assessments, individuals were particularly sensitive to the practitioner writing things down. Home environments often made physical notetaking even harder, with cramped or cluttered settings forcing practitioners to hold paperwork and equipment while moving around. High caseloads added to the pressure.
As Toni explained: “Our caseloads can be quite high at some points; some staff could be holding 26 cases at one time that are all very similar, and that is really challenging.” Without detailed notes captured in the moment, cases could blend together. After visits, some social workers had to sit in their cars and record verbal summaries to avoid forgetting key details, and writing up complex assessments often took several hours.
What we did
Suffolk County Council ran a proof-of-value pilot of FormFlow AI for five months to evaluate how AI could support frontline practice, reduce administrative burden and improve the quality and timeliness of assessments. Practitioners, with the consent of the person being assessed, could start an audio recording at the beginning of a visit. As they moved around the home they could talk naturally and explain what they were observing. After the visit, FormFlow produces a transcript organised into assessment sections, reducing reliance on memory and removing the need for workers to record summaries after hours. The write-up stage allowed the practitioner to remain in control of the information and remain responsible for the analysis and decision-making.
The outcome
A study conducted during the pilot phase found a 67.9% reduction in the time taken to complete forms, across all completed form types. Assessments that previously took hours now took a fraction of the time.
As Toni put it: “For me as a practitioner, write-ups that used to take hours now take a fraction of the time. I no longer need to do my brain dumps in the car. I feel less mentally drained because I’m not juggling multiple tasks at once. Assessments feel more person-centred and meaningful.”
People felt more comfortable because they were not watching the practitioner write or type; practitioners stayed focused on the interaction, maintained eye contact and picked up on non-verbal cues. Conversations felt more natural and required fewer pauses, which was particularly helpful in sensitive assessments involving domestic abuse, dementia or mental capacity. Practitioners who found written documentation challenging, including those with dyslexia, found the transcripts particularly helpful. Remaining fully present in the assessment also improved safety: workers could observe early signs of distress or confusion and respond appropriately, which was particularly important in assessments involving people living with dementia. Across the wider service, documentation became more accurate and timely, practitioners could submit assessments sooner, information shared with multidisciplinary teams became clearer, and workers covering duty or supporting colleagues could quickly understand cases using the detailed transcripts.
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