Chief Allied Health Professions Officer’s Conference 2016 Workshop 4: Supporting self-care and behaviour change – Chair Linda Hindle Digital skills essential to access care. Bob Gann, Programme Director, Widening Digital Participation Digital Team NHS England.

1. Chief Allied Health Profession Officers Conference
Digital skills – essential to access care
Bob Gann
Widening Digital Participation
NHS England
#CAHPO16
@Bob_Gann

2. One of the greatest opportunities of the 21st century is the
potential to safely harness the power of the technology revolution,
which has transformed our society, to meet the challenges of
improving health and providing better, safer, sustainable care for all.
Our ambition is for a health and care system that enables people to
make healthier choices, to be more resilient, to deal more
effectively with illness and disability when it arises, and to have
happier, longer lives in old age; a health and care system where
technology can help tackle inequalities and improve access to
services for the vulnerable.
Personalised Health & Care 2020.
National Information Board Framework, November 2014
Digital revolution: great expectations?

3. The digital divide
6m people (11% of population) have never used the internet
10m people lack basic digital skills
● 53% are over 65
● 44% are social class DE
● 31% have a disability
BBC Media Literacy & Office of National Statistics 2015

4. Leaving no-one behind
.
Develop partnerships
with the voluntary sector
and industry to support
digital inclusion
Build the capacity of
all citizens to access
information.
Ensure that the
digital opportunity
is inclusive.
Build better insight
into the barriers to
digital inclusion
Widen current
programme of
digital inclusion
with the Tinder
Foundation

5. What we’re doing to combat digital
inequality
Partnership with social enterprise –
Tinder Foundation
Mobilised network of 5,000 UK Online
Centres in community settings –
libraries, health centres, homeless
shelters, pubs, chip shops
Online training modules to
introduce health information
& transactions
Worked with 350,000 digitally excluded
people so far to provide them with places
to go to get online & training in digital skills
for health

6. Delivering benefits
• 82% of people trained were socially disadvantaged
and likely to be experiencing health inequalities
• 85% say they now feel more confident managing
their health using online tools
• 34% say they feel more self reliant and have reduced
their use of the NHS for minor ailments
• 63% say they have improved their diet
• 38% say they have saved time by doing something
online
• 72% say they have saved money (eg avoiding travel
costs)
• £6 saved for every £1 invested
http://nhs.tinderfoundation.org/

7. Recommendations to NHS from
Martha Lane Fox
Infrastructure
• Free public wi-fi should be available
throughout NHS premises by 2020
Exclusion
• Prioritise reaching the furthest first
Staff skills & attitudes
• Enable health workers to engage
patients with digital
Online primary care
• 10% of patients in every practice
enabled for online services by 2017

8. Digital confidence & maturity of health
& care workforce
“Building the digital skills and maturity within the health
workforce could radically improve the take up and adoption
of new digital tools and technology. Digital health literacy,
confidence and maturity amongst the NHS workforce are
vital to realising the great potential the network age brings.
It is critical that front line staff have the confidence and
skills to introduce people to new digital services and tools,
motivate them to use them and support them to do so”
Martha Lane Fox Recommendations to National Information Board

9. Case study: occupational therapists
as digital champions
Mount Hospital, Leeds and York Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust
Free wi-fi in all dementia & mental health wards
Tablet devices for patients and carers
Occupational therapy team ran group
sessions for patients to improve
digital confidence & introduce digital
resources