AI in Social Care

Jon Healy spent 20 years as a carer. A year ago, a medical episode took most of his sight, and overnight his life was radically altered. In this episode he talks about what that taught him. The everyday accessibility tools that turned out to be a lifeline. The job he can still do, just differently. And the surprising ways AI has opened up new work rather than just speeding up the old. We get into...

Most conversations about AI and the care workforce focus on risk, resistance, and what staff don't know. Katie Thorn, Head of Innovation at Digital Care Hub, makes the opposite argument: care workers already have the skills AI needs most. In this episode, we talk about why communication and empathy are actually an advantage with large language models, the real reason a template AI policy doesn't e...

Small providers make up 80% of the care home market, yet when it comes to technology and AI, they're often the last to get support. In this episode, I sit down with Samir Patel – care home owner, operator, and founder of the Care Home Digi Hive community – to talk about his 20-year journey from paper chaos to practical AI implementation. Samir shares the lightbulb moments that pushed him toward te...

Most care technology does what it says on the tin. It functions, ticks boxes, completes tasks. But somewhere in the process of evaluating, procuring and implementing tech, something often gets lost – the relationships that make care actually work. In this episode, I speak with Paul Shanahan, a clinical lead and behaviour analyst turned part-time coder, who's been wrestling with this challenge. Pau...

What does it actually take to make AI work in a care setting?   In this episode of AI in Social Care, I sit down with Kevin Humphrys, CEO of Oakland Care Group – a two-home provider that’s quietly doing some of the most thoughtful, practical AI implementation I’ve seen.   No outsourced transformation project. No shiny tools for the sake of it. Just a leadership team willing to start with principle...

What happens when a care provider builds their own AI – not in a lab, but in the real world of rotas, staff sickness, and visit chaos? In this episode of AI in Social Care, I speak with Jonathan McFarlane, founder of Oran Care and now the creator of carevisits. AI – a new solution designed to help home care services tackle one of their biggest operational headaches: coordination. Jonathan shares h...

Everyone’s excited about AI, but few are actually getting it adopted by frontline workers.   In this episode, I’m joined by Rachel Astall, Chief Customer Officer at Beam, creators of Magic Notes — an AI tool now used by half of all social care teams in UK local authorities.   We talk about why social workers are often drowning in admin, how Magic Notes is helping to change that, and what it takes...

Where on earth do you start with adopting AI as a care provider? Studies show that if your leadership team isn’t using AI and talking about it knowledgeably, the rest of your organisation is far less likely to adopt it in a meaningful, effective way.   In this episode I’m joined by Eric Bye, an AI consultant who works across sectors to help organisations use AI to not just be more efficient, but t...

What's the point of AI if it doesn't solve big problems?   Marcus is a mathematician on a mission. He quit investment banking to found Elyndra AI, a platform doing amazing things for children's care.   In this episode of AI in Social Care, we cover: The best way to reinvent care isn't through tech – we need a Netflix documentary From trading floors to children's homes – turning data analysis on pr...

What if your next brilliant care hire never even makes it past the CV stage? That’s the question we’re exploring in this episode of AI in Social Care — with guest Elan James Weedon (aka EJ), co-founder of Team Lily. EJ’s journey takes him from the West End stage to the heart of care sector recruitment. And along the way, he’s developed an AI voice assistant designed to fix one of the oldest proble...

What if AI sparked deeper human connections rather than replacing them? Join David Mance as he talks with Alyson McKechnie-Vale, Business and Operations Director at Abbotsford Care, about using AI in innovative and practical ways to enhance creativity and make care more human. Alyson shares practical applications of using ChatGPT (or, rather, 'Gina'), and the impact of creative projects like 'Joy...

Carl Roberts, Director of Sales & Marketing at Boutique Care Homes, shares how he introduced AI into a small, busy care team. Carl shares how this has transformed the way they tell stories, engage communities, and stay consistent online. From crafting heartfelt Facebook posts to building a custom GPT trained in their brand tone, Carl breaks down: – The “AI Sandwich” model for ethical, efficien...

What if the most radical AI innovation in care… was coming from your local council?   In this episode of AI in Social Care , David Mance speaks with Dwayne Johnson (no, not that one) — Chief Local Government Director at ICS.AI — about the pivotal role councils are playing in the UK’s AI revolution.   From transcription tools that draft care notes, to multilingual voice agents that detect distress...

Will you need AI to get "Good" in your next CQC inspection?   AI could soon play a critical role in how care providers are assessed.   In this episode of AI in Social Care, David Mance speaks with Charles Cross, Director of Ashley Care and co-founder of Emma AI – a platform built to help care organisations deliver safer, more person-centred services using frontier technology.   We explore whether...

You don’t need a tech background to lead on AI in care   In Episode 2: What Every Care Provider Should Know About AI, I’m joined by Alex Green, Director of Radfield Home Care, to break down how he’s using AI to save time, scale content, and support his team—without a tech background.   We talk about: - Building useful AI tools with zero coding - Training care teams to use ChatGPT confidently - Rea...

In this début episode, I sit down with Alastair McDermott of Human Spark A I, to explore how care providers can start their journey into AI. Alastair shares his journey from building websites to becoming a leading voice on practical AI adoption. He discusses how small care providers, business leaders, and frontline teams can begin using AI effectively, ethically, and without getting overwhelmed. T...