Infected Blood Compensation alpha assessment
Service Standard assessment report Infected Blood Compensation 20/11/2024
Service Standard assessment report
Infected Blood Compensation
| Assessment date: | 20/11/2024 |
| Stage: | Alpha |
| Type: | Assessment |
| Result: | Amber |
Service description
This service aims to solve the problem of paying compensation to those eligible under the Infected Blood Compensation Service. The service is working towards a key public and ministerial commitment to begin payments to infected persons by the end of 2024 and will then expand to pay all those infected, affected and the estates of those infected people who have died.
Service users
This service is for…
- those infected (either directly or indirectly) by infected blood or blood products
- those affected: the spouses, children, parents of those infected
- those managing the estates of deceased infected people
- proxies supporting the above in making and managing their claim
- internal users
- claim managers, clinical advisers and healthcare professionals
Things the service team has done well:
- delivered a competent Alpha that has explored and iterated options to solve a complex and sensitive problem whilst keeping the principles that underpin the Service Standard at the heart of their service delivery
- taken an exemplary approach to user centred design. They have understood the needs of users, their barriers to using the service and designed the service around what they have learnt through user research
- taken a trauma informed approach to research and design and have considered this for end users and case workers. They’ve designed with empathy and for care
- informed policy making through user centred design and research ensuring the service works as well for users as it can
- designed a service which deeply considers the needs of users and involves carefully designed in person and offline touch points, rather than jumping to a digital solution
1. Understand users and their needs
Decision
The service was rated green for point 1 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- private beta will be the first opportunity to test the end-to-end service with all the stages and users interacting in sequence over time. It is essential that research evaluate the service for all user groups (Person Claiming, Claim Manager and Secondary users, if involved) at this stage, the interaction between them and the effectiveness of information exchanged so pain points can be identified and addressed
- alongside user research it may be useful to gather data based on the ‘indicative measures’ and evaluate whether they are robust and adequate measures of service success
2. Solve a whole problem for users
Decision
The service was rated green for point 2 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- once the service broadens its scope and includes more users, it’s essential the service can scale and support the varying needs of users. It’s in the plan to continue to research and test, but just to acknowledge how essential this is
3. Provide a joined-up experience across all channels
Decision
The service was rated green for point 3 of the Standard.
4. Make the service simple to use
Decision
The service was rated green for point 4 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- continue to speak to other departments and agencies to learn about their case management systems, and iterate the designs based on this, to make sure the system works for case managers
5. Make sure everyone can use the service
Decision
The service was rated green for point 5 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- ensure the case management system is also audited for its accessibility as well as the end user facing products
6. Have a multidisciplinary team
Decision
The service was rated amber for point 6 of the Standard.
During the assessment, we didn’t see evidence of:
- the team working with contractors and outside suppliers on a sustainable basis
- a sufficient plan to pass knowledge from contractors to the rest of the team
- sufficient engagement with a performance analyst or performance resource to understand performance and user data
7. Use agile ways of working
Decision
The service was rated green for point 7 of the Standard.
8. Iterate and improve frequently
Decision
The service was rated green for point 8 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- obtain the support of a performance analyst to ensure relevant data metrics feed into future user research and design iterations of the service throughout private beta
9. Create a secure service which protects users’ privacy
Decision
The service was rated green for point 9 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- plan how to migrate existing case information into the new service without loss of records
10. Define what success looks like and publish performance data
Decision
The service was rated amber for point 10 of the Standard.
During the assessment, we didn’t see evidence of:
- performance analyst engagement in developing a plan for a performance framework or understanding the data metrics that will drive and define the service
- a clear plan for how the team will deploy a comprehensive set of tools to collect and analyse performance and user data, or what those requirements will be
- a clear understanding and evidence of plans for data publication and the potential impacts of options on the service operation and landscape
11. Choose the right tools and technology
Decision
The service was rated green for point 11 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- document the reasons for choosing the technologies required for the service and those that were discounted
12. Make new source code open
Decision
The service was rated green for point 12 of the Standard.
Optional advice to help the service team continually improve the service
- publish the award calculator code on a suitable open source code repository
13. Use and contribute to open standards, common components and patterns
Decision
The service was rated green for point 13 of the Standard.
14. Operate a reliable service
Decision
The service was rated green for point 14 of the Standard.