Digitising Leeds: Risks and opportunities for reducing health inequalities in Leeds
Download (PDF 727.6 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Leeds undertook research to highlight local people’s experience of the move to digitised health and care services during Covid-19 and pre-Covid-19, with a particular focus on hearing the experiences of people with the greatest health inequalities. It intends to help inform a city in which digitised and remote services provide patients and service users with a wider range of choice and improved outcomes.
They found that digital health care is not a “one-size fits all”. People wanted digital health care to enhance rather than replace services. Digital works for some interventions and is not the best medium for others. Some groups face significant barriers to accessing services digitally, including people on low incomes, some elderly people, people with disabilities and specific conditions and people with precarious lifestyles. For parts of the population digital works really well for some interventions. Some platforms work for some communities and not others.
The report makes recommendations on digitalisation targeted at health and social care providers, individual organisations and the People’s Voices Group Digital Inclusion Subgroup.