Patients at the Royal United Hospital in Bath can now access personalised support when using technology to help manage their health.
Patient access navigators Mariko (left) and Av (right) with Tina (centre), a Diabetes Technologist | Photo © RUH
A new Digital Inclusion team has been introduced as part of efforts to reduce the digital divide.
It’s estimated that 4% of UK adults are offline, with millions more struggling to afford mobile and broadband access.
In addition, around 8.5 million adults lack basic digital skills, which makes it hard for them to navigate everyday life. This includes accessing healthcare: a third of adults who are offline say it is difficult to interact with NHS services.
The RUH has launched its Digital Inclusion service to improve access to and experiences of healthcare.
Its dedicated patient access navigators provide bespoke, one-on-one support and encouragement to enable patients to feel more comfortable and confident using a range of digital health tools.
This might include helping someone use wearable technology to monitor a long-term health condition; access health apps or digital appointment letters, which provide more timely notifications and reminders of appointments than paper letters; use relevant websites and understand how to make the most of them; or access data or Wi-Fi.
Dr Reston Smith, RUH Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said: “Our long-term vision is that everyone in our community will have equitable access to and experiences of healthcare.
“However, for many reasons we know that millions of adults do not have the means or the skills to confidently use digital technology.
“This means there are growing inequalities in people’s experiences, with some finding it harder to access the NHS and tools that could enable them to better manage their health independently.
“I am proud that we have been able to set up our Digital Inclusion team to help change this. They will work closely with patients to give them the support and knowledge they need to use digital health tools outside of a hospital setting.
“This will also help improve our patients’ overall health and wellbeing, as well as giving them a more positive experience of healthcare in future.”
The team are now inviting the public to meet them and find out more about using digital health technology as part of Get Online Week (14th – 20th October).
They will be in the Atrium of the RUH on Tuesday 15th October from 11am – 1pm.
The informal event will be run on a drop-in basis, and they welcome anyone who has questions or concerns about using technology to manage their health and wellbeing to come along to ask for advice and get support.
Veronica Kuperman, Health Inequalities Lead, said: “The digitisation of healthcare is advancing at fast speed, and we have the responsibility to ensure that nobody is left behind.
“Our Digital Inclusion team’s approachable patient access navigators understand that using technology can make some people feel nervous, but also know that with the right support it can really improve someone’s quality of life.
“The team will meet with the people we care for to find out what is important to them, whether that is using a health app or accessing Wi-Fi.
“Their friendly, personal support will ensure people leave hospital feeling more confident and comfortable using technology on their own.”
Outside of Get Online Week, patients can ask their care team to put in a referral to the Digital Inclusion team on their behalf. This can also be requested in advance via a care team, to coincide with an upcoming appointment.
