Digital inclusion: Fiveways PCN Community Engagement Project

Healthwatch Lambeth supported Fiveways PCN to consult residents about their experiences of using digital tools to interact with primary care.  They undertook a survey to which 66 people responded and ran workshops on using the NHS app to improve people's skills. 40 people attended the workshops.

Most people had a smartphone and access to broadband.  Most had downloaded and used the NHS or Patient Access app.

Confidence was the greatest barrier for patients when it came to using digital or online options to manage their healthcare. Whilst many patients did have access to phones and the internet and were comfortable using online services, several reported that they had not been confident to take the next step to manage their healthcare online. Several mentioned needing more support to use online services.

Most patients (89%) found the workshops to be helpful or very helpful. Open-ended responses indicated that patients found features such as access to medical history, booking appointments, and ordering repeat prescriptions particularly useful. More than half of patients (54%) felt confident or very confident using features of the NHS app after the workshop. Just over one-fifth (23%) did not feel confident and still required support.

The workshops were a great opportunity for staff to dig deeper as to what the barriers might be and for patients to voice further their concerns and challenges of using online healthcare services. 

• People spoke about other challenges they are having with digital services such as the new system to book blood tests.
• Throughout the workshops, patients raised questions about other apps or issues they encountered, in particular, their confusion about the newly introduced MyChart app being used by Kings College Hospital and St Thomas Hospital.