{"id":18924,"date":"2026-11-09T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/?p=18924"},"modified":"2026-11-09T12:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T11:00:04","slug":"bolton-cares-build-the-future-then-deploy-the-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/news\/bolton-cares-build-the-future-then-deploy-the-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolton Cares: Build the future. Then deploy the technology."},"content":{"rendered":"

View the full interview with Rhian Stone, Chief Executive, Bolton Cares here.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When social care provider LATCO, Bolton Cares, needed to replace its Digital Care Recording System, Chief Executive Rhian Stone chose to ask a bigger question: how should our organisation work in the future to deliver on our purpose? She talks to Isaac Vivian, Local Government Lead at Keystream Consulting, about what changed, why the approach mattered and what other public service leaders can learn.<\/p>\n

Back in May, what challenges was Bolton Cares facing, and why didn\u2019t you simply replace the digital care recording system?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019d spent years moving from paper to digital, introducing different systems under considerable pressure. The trouble was, they weren\u2019t really speaking to each other. That created frustrations and workarounds across the business, especially for our colleagues delivering care. Then our care recording provider told us its system would no longer be available from April 2027.
\nIt was a huge headache, but also an opportunity. We could rush out and buy a replacement, or pause and think about how we wanted Bolton Cares to work in the future. I wanted to start with how we deliver the best possible care, then ask what technology would help us get there. Otherwise, we\u2019d risk investing in something new that simply embedded yesterday\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

What was different about working with Keystream Consulting, and what did involving your people help you discover?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keystream stood out during procurement. You\u2019d understood our brief, done your homework and recognised that the people we support had to be centre stage. It felt genuinely bespoke, rather than an off-the-shelf offer we\u2019d have to fit ourselves into.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t just a promise. Your team was visible throughout, working alongside our registered managers, support workers, ICT and central services. Keystream brought people together
\nfor some very honest workshops, creating space to explore problems properly. We could challenge your thinking, and you listened.<\/p>\n

That collaboration helped us get beneath the symptoms and understand what wasn\u2019t working. What surprised me was the amount of management time lost to duplication and spreadsheets created to work around systems and processes. Keystream helped us see the scale of that, but also reflected back the capability and commitment of our operational teams,
\nwhich gave people a real boost. We\u2019d been trying to tackle these issues ourselves; having that external impetus made a real difference. You did what you promised, and we could see that you genuinely cared about our organisation and the change.<\/p>\n

What difference has the work made, and how is it shaping Bolton Cares\u2019 next technology investment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The target operating model Keystream developed with us gave us a shared picture of how the organisation should work. Many recommendations weren\u2019t digital at all: they addressed how frontline, ICT and central teams should work together going forward. Keystream also brought the technical expertise to get under the bonnet of our existing systems and data architecture, helping us understand not just how we needed to work differently, but what technology and integrations would be needed to make that possible.<\/p>\n

I was slightly worried about what would happen when Keystream left. Instead, the momentum has continued. Teams are implementing recommendations together. Previously, conversations could become about whether something was ICT\u2019s fault or operations\u2019 fault. Now there\u2019s more shared problem-solving, with frontline colleagues involved in decisions. That\u2019s a signifi cant cultural shift.<\/p>\n

We already had capable teams delivering good care. Keystream helped us identify the friction getting in their way. Our new system requirements now reflect what staff need, and we\u2019re planning to invest much more in helping people through implementation. There\u2019s plenty still to deliver, but we\u2019re better equipped to do it ourselves.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give another chief executive, and what do you hope to share at the LATCo workshop?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t start by shopping for technology. Start by understanding the problem you\u2019re trying to solve and what needs to change in your organisation to solve it. Listen to the people delivering services to understand what\u2019s working, what isn\u2019t and where the gaps are. Only then decide what technology to buy or build, and fi nd partners who will help your teams lead and own that change.<\/p>\n

When Isaac and I deliver our workshop Build the Future. Then Deploy the Tech at the national LATCo conference workshop next April, I\u2019m confident we can share the progress in the implementation of our operating model; a new care recording system having been introduced, and a continuing cultural shift of momentum. Above all, every decision will start with the people we support and our employees who support them. Technology should follow that purpose, not define it.<\/p>\n

Rhian Stone and Isaac Vivian will speak at the LATCO conference in April 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

View the full interview with Rhian Stone, Chief Executive, Bolton Cares here. When social care provider LATCO, Bolton Cares, needed to replace its Digital Care Recording System, Chief Executive Rhian Stone chose to ask a bigger question: how should our organisation work in the future to deliver on our purpose? She talks to Isaac Vivian,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":18926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consulting","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18924"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18927,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18924\/revisions\/18927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/18926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.key-stream.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}