How Kingston Council managed to grow caseloads without increasing workload

Demand for adult social care in the UK is rising, driven by an ageing population and increasingly complex needs. 

At Kingston Council, demand for new cases was increasing by 14% per year, above the national average of 3%. 

Social workers were juggling increasing caseloads alongside a backlog of care reviews. Teams were under pressure, and many were working late just to keep up with paperwork.

Kingston Council recognised that the problem couldn’t be solved by asking practitioners to work longer hours or by expanding teams when budgets were already tight. So, they chose to pilot Notes.

As Kingston was the first council to use the tool, the team played a hands-on role in shaping it. They worked closely with Beam to test workflows, refine templates, and make sure the AI reflected the realities of frontline social care.

The challenge

Demand rising faster than capacity 

A large proportion of the council’s funding was already directed toward social care, leaving little room to expand teams as demand continued to grow. 

In practice, this meant social workers were managing higher caseloads and falling further behind on reviews, as workloads increased faster than capacity.

Admin taking time away from people

During visits, practitioners were splitting their attention between the conversation and their notes. Afterwards, they often spent hours writing up meetings and assessments. Paperwork was taking up more and more of the day.

The approach

Kingston partnered with Beam to run a pilot with the Adult Social Care team. The aim was to reduce time spent on admin by at least 50%, while maintaining high standards of documentation and care.

As Kingston were the first council to pilot Notes, Beam worked closely with staff to understand their workflows, shadowing practitioners, tailoring templates to real assessment formats, and providing training and hands-on support.

Practitioners used Notes to record and summarise conversations during visits and meetings, then reviewed and edited notes before adding them to their case management systems. 

In total, 18 practitioners used Notes across a range of settings, including care reviews, occupational therapy assessments, supervisions, and care needs assessments. 

The impact 

Reduced admin time by 68%

The time savings were significant. Meeting write-ups that used to take practitioners 2 hours were reduced to around 30 minutes.

One practitioner shared: 

“It took 1 minute to edit my report when it usually takes up to an hour to write it up”

Accurate records 

At the start of the pilot, some practitioners were concerned about transcription errors. The team set a target of 85% accuracy, but Notes exceeded this, achieving a 96% accuracy score. 

“Having more time meant I could focus on the person in front of me.”

As practitioners weren’t focused on typing or writing notes, they were able to give their full attention to the conversation.

Supporting professional development

Reviewing the transcripts also gave practitioners a chance to reflect on how they communicated in meetings and appointments, supporting their professional development. 

As one practitioner put it:

“Looking at the transcript gave me a chance to reflect on how I say things.”

Help your teams do more with less 

Demand for adult social care isn’t slowing down. Councils need ways to keep up that don’t rely on hiring more staff or placing even more pressure on already stretched teams.

Book a demo to see how Notes could support your team.