During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have seen a move to digital healthcare. Healthwatch launched a project to find out what groups if any, are being excluded by the move towards digital, with five local Healthwatch receiving funding to do so.
Healthwatch Swindon is delighted to announce that they were one of those chosen.
The funding has been issued to selected local Healthwatch to assist with data collation from those who may have faced issues accessing healthcare online.
The project will be conducted in partnership with GP Practices and will involve the interviewing of various affected groups both over the phone and potentially in socially distanced focus groups.
Speaking of the successful bid, Jo Osorio, Development Officer said,
“Evidence from our survey of 200 older Gurkhas with the Nepalese Association Wiltshire indicated the difficulty some have communicating with their GP practice. The move to digital healthcare could potentially be a further setback.”
Healthwatch Swindon intends to conduct the project over the next few months, working with SAM (Swindon Advocacy Movement), Nepalese Association Wiltshire, GP practices, and volunteers, alongside the team. We are so pleased to receive funding to conduct this project. As a team, we are really looking forward to gaining some insight into how digital exclusion may have affected people and how we can use their feedback to help influence change.— Vanessa Scott, Portfolio Project Manager
For further updates on the Digital Exclusion project, follow Healthwatch Swindon on Twitter, Facebook, or sign up for our e-bulletin.