Wes Streeting has announced new digital services for NHS England and that the public will have to be educated about it, will that include teaching us how to use a smart phone, afford a smart phone and how to download an app and not give our data to scammers?
I'm glad I live in Wales and don't have to put up with this nonsense..yet and that my GP's don't force people to use the stupid app thing we have that doesn't work.
You may also need to ask /how/ people use smartphones. Smartphones work quite well as ordinary telephones - I have an old iPhone which I used as an ordinary phone for a few months last year before it conked out. I never really did figure out how to do anything "smart" on it, and my attempts to download free apps were aborted when it asked for an invoicing address. Still, it worked really well as an ordinary telephone, with good sound quality (despite only using GSM), a loud and clear but un-obnoxious ringer and a reasonable battery life.
I have also come across plenty of OAPs who quite happily use a smartphone for things like telephone calls, taking/sharing photos, reading news etc. This of course does have its problems as many older people are slower to learn these things and can have problems with dexterity and eye sight.
Frequency of use can also be an issue. I've been to NHS hospitals only 3 or 4 times in the last 15 years. I don't know how to use their self service machines or websites or apps... and why would I? The self service tills in Tesco and M&S however... I've been using those practically every week for the last 15 years - and there is always someone there to help if you aren't sure.
will that include teaching us how to use a smart phone, afford a smart phone and how to download an app and not give our data to scammers?
I hope so, but I don't think they will be able to replace ordinary 'customer service' entirely. There will always be people who cannot manage a smartphone due to illness (even if temporarily), or who's smartphone broke/got lost/stolen etc etc.
Will the NHS apps need a new phone? I've heard of people being unable to use some services because their phones are too old to take the amount of data.
Lot's of people struggle with smart phones, not all of us are lucky enough to have an Iain to come and help us.
At our GP's we have one of those screens to tell them you're there, only it keeps crashing, you think you've done it all and end up sitting there for ages because they think you're a no show.
We still have problems with connesctivity here, black spots or places that only pick up a signal from Ireland. 4G that dosen't have a much signal strength as 3G.
I worry that more and more us will be excluded because "the computer says no", or the questions are written in civil service double speak where you think it says one thing but it actually means something quite different.
The app we have will only allow you to opt for the pharmacy nearest your GP's surgery, which is a bit useless for me as I live on the edge of the catchment area. The pharmacy I use has people from a neighbouring surgery and every time I go in there I see people coming to pick up meds that the pharmacy has no knowlege of. Either how the system works isn't explained to people when they start with repeat prescriptions or the system itself is flawed. It isn't just older people who become confused, but younger digital natives too, so something's going badly wrong, people end up missing meds which are really needed and shouldn't be just stopped. It then take about a week to sort out, this is the second iteration of the app, the first one had to be pulled because it really didn't work.
Maybe it depends on where you live too, if you live in a city and have friends and family nearby who can help you might be ok, but if you live in a rural area with no friends and family nearby, who is there who's going to help you? If your mobility and dexterity are poor how are you going to get to access any help, will it be another one size fits nobody.
We still have problems with connesctivity here, black spots or places that only pick up a signal from Ireland. 4G that dosen't have a much signal strength as 3G.
This fix for this is to get a signal booster that connects to your home broadband connection (it can be supplied by your mobile phone operator) which effectively uses your high speed connection (compared to the mobile network) to give you a mobile phone signal.
There is some discussion about it being unhealthy to have very close to you for long periods of time so many people relocate it to a part of the room that is away from where you sit or work. I've not seen any proof of these issues but it doesn't do any harm to take this precaution.
I worry that more and more us will be excluded
I had an interesting discussion from the manager of the care workers that visit my mother several times a day on this subject. It mirrors what I hear from doctors when they have had a few drinks and have less inhibitions.
For the very old, very sick and marginalised elements of society who are a major net burdon on the NHS, there is an unspoken policy to let natural selection happen and for them to die. It cannot be anything overt but delaying responses indefinitely, not recommending possible beneficial care and leaving them to basically not want to live - all are common practice.
Every week I run through all my mothers medical conditions with her and work out the best proactive approach to getting the care so she can call up the GP, doctors, opthamist or whatever specialist is in charge of the issue in question and chase them on the state of play and what they are doing to expedite it.
By becoming more of a pain to deal with the chasing than offering the solution would be, it becomes quite surprising how much faster issues are cleared up.
When things like a biopsy take 3 months to come back with a result and it is a cancer, you would find it hard to say this was a reasonable delay, especially when they do their best to advise against treatment. I find it hard to imagine them doing the same with a 30 year old.
How do you operate within a system that dosent' work?
It sounds lke it has bugs but still works for the vast majority of users.
There should be a tech support contact for when you have problem as with any other system so it should be a case of getting in touch so they can sort it or advise how you can work around the issue.
If it is any consolation, a surgery I used to be registered with (until 2017), took repeat prescription requests on pre-printed forms. Never used to have any problems, but in the year before I left they could never get it right. It often took multiple visits and lots of arguing to get a repeat prescription.
How do you operate within a system that dosent' work? Especially something as fundamental as health and as simple as getting a prescription?
So many of these large government contracts run over budget and take so long to create that they're almost redundant by the time of delivery.
I have worked in the civil service and know project managers in the government and defence sectors. The whole thing is rotten with corruption and the people in charge of overseeing it all (the ministers) are in the pockets of the companies, just like the US government is being managed by the billionaires who fund the president.
I doubt it will ever really change as this is now systemic and the vested interests are too adaptive to persuade whoever is brought in to oversee them.
Instead I accept it as being far beyond our control and try to operate within the system.
I have broad band at a very fast speed, only it keeps cutting out even with boosters and we have boosters for the boosters! Not everyone has internet so that will be people for whom this isn't a solution.
One of the things I've noticed with a lot of people, especially older people, is that whilst they may have a smart phone, they don't really know how to use it, they have to have someone else to set things up for them and if there's a problem they're stuck.
As I said earlier there is also a problem with prescriptions not arriving at the pharmacy when they're meant too even when you give the 5 days notice they want. I don't know if it's a problem with the pharmacy, the GP's surgery or the system itself.
I think that the use of AI to read scans is good especially as they seem to be better at it than humans, there probably are a lot of things that could be done more efficiently with AI and things like smart watches that can monitor BP and heart rates and then feed the information back to a doctor are great it gives a much better overall picture of how a persons body works.
Another concern, is how well any such systems will work, how much they will cost and how long they will take to deliver. So many of these large government contracts run over budget and take so long to create that they're almost redundant by the time of delivery.
I have broad band at a very fast speed, only it keeps cutting out even with boosters and we have boosters for the boosters! Not everyone has internet so that will be people for whom this isn't a solution.
One of the things I've noticed with a lot of people, especially older people, is that whilst they may have a smart phone, they don't really know how to use it, they have to have someone else to set things up for them and if there's a problem they're stuck.
As I said earlier there is also a problem with prescriptions not arriving at the pharmacy when they're meant too even when you give the 5 days notice they want. I don't know if it's a problem with the pharmacy, the GP's surgery or the system itself.
I think that the use of AI to read scans is good especially as they seem to be better at it than humans, there probably are a lot of things that could be done more efficiently with AI and things like smart watches that can monitor BP and heart rates and then feed the information back to a doctor are great it gives a much better overall picture of how a persons body works.
Another concern, is how well any such systems will work, how much they will cost and how long they will take to deliver. So many of these large government contracts run over budget and take so long to create that they're almost redundant by the time of delivery.
How do you operate within a system that dosent' work?
It sounds lke it has bugs but still works for the vast majority of users.
There should be a tech support contact for when you have problem as with any other system so it should be a case of getting in touch so they can sort it or advise how you can work around the issue.
If it is any consolation, a surgery I used to be registered with (until 2017), took repeat prescription requests on pre-printed forms. Never used to have any problems, but in the year before I left they could never get it right. It often took multiple visits and lots of arguing to get a repeat prescription.
How do you operate within a system that dosent' work? Especially something as fundamental as health and as simple as getting a prescription?
So many of these large government contracts run over budget and take so long to create that they're almost redundant by the time of delivery.
I have worked in the civil service and know project managers in the government and defence sectors. The whole thing is rotten with corruption and the people in charge of overseeing it all (the ministers) are in the pockets of the companies, just like the US government is being managed by the billionaires who fund the president.
I doubt it will ever really change as this is now systemic and the vested interests are too adaptive to persuade whoever is brought in to oversee them.
Instead I accept it as being far beyond our control and try to operate within the system.
