By prioritising user participation and inclusion, ELFT can create a more equitable, efficient, and responsive landscape, ultimately leading to improved health access, digital literacy and better outcomes for all. The PPDC highlighted the issues of digital inequalities and agreed that this is a priority to be tackled by the forum.  This is supported by an ELFT research study, analysing the digital ability among service users. 

It gained insights into the ‘digital gap’ and analysed the relationship with key population health indicators, including health conditions, income and ethnicity.  To tackle these challenges, the PPDC have co-produced a digital inclusion strategy featuring the foundation services for ELFT to deliver. The underpinning services being implemented and include: 

• People participation device loan scheme – offering a Chromebook laptop for service users, enabling them to learn and better engage with PP and be more digitally active.  The devices are suited for entry-level users to experience using the internet within a secure setup. Users do not need a login, just power the laptop, connect to a Wi-Fi and enjoy the wonders of the internet.
• Digital life coach training programme – The PPDC have highlighted the path to success in digital literacy and engagement, which requires particular focus on behaviours and motivations rather than training on technology products like Microsoft Word. The research also finds that service users prefer to be supported by friends and family, and other service users with lived experience.  The Digital PPL has prepared a training programme enabling service users to learn to be a Digital Life Coach, where they can gain the skills and resources to plan and facilitate digital sessions, for example, information sessions on the NHS App and the recently launched patient platform Patients Know Best. 

Want to collaborate with the PPDC? Get in touch with the People Participation Lead for Digital saleem.haider@nhs.net