This special report from Digital Health Unplugged explores whether the NHS’s shift to digital is improving access to healthcare or creating new barriers.
The government’s 10 year health plan sets out a move towards a ‘digital by default’ service, with the NHS App as the system’s ‘front door’ and an ‘online hospital’ planned to help reduce elective wait lists.
Proponents argue this transformation will expand access and free up capacity for those who need it most, but is that promise being realised in practice or does it risk becoming a barrier for the most vulnerable members of society?
In this first documentary-style episode, editor Tammy Lovell and reporter Jordan Sollof investigate the human impact of the NHS’s digital revolution.
The journey begins at a kitchen table in the Midlands with Rosemary, a widow in her 70s who feels locked out of an increasingly digital system.
Her story becomes the starting point for an investigation into the reality of digital exclusion, with insights from leading voices on health equity, including The King’s Fund, the Patients Association, the Good Things Foundation and the NHS Race & Health Observatory.
Alongside NHS digital leaders and frontline perspectives, they explore the growing risk of creating a two-tier system if issues such as affordability, digital skills, accessibility and service design are not addressed.
We also examine how digital exclusion affects a wide range of communities, including older people, ethnic minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, disabled people, LGBTQ+ communities and those living in rural areas.
The Forgotten Patients unpacks how ‘digital first’ ambitions can collide with the needs of those who rely most on care, and what must change to ensure services are designed for inclusion from the outset.
For NHS leaders, policymakers and technology providers, this conversation is a reminder that digital transformation will only succeed if it works for everyone.
You can read the full transcript of this episode here.
Music and sound design:
- Matt Hill, founder of Matt Hill Audio
Guests:
- Rosemary Hill, patient
- Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK
- Pritesh Mistry, fellow in digital technologies at The King’s Fund
- Lee Rickles, chief information officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
- Elizabeth Anderson, chief executive at Digital Poverty Alliance
- Owen Chinembiri, assistant director – workforce, at the NHS Race and Health Observatory
- Rachel Power – chief executive at The Patients Association
- Katie Heard, head of research and data insight at Good Things Foundation
- Thomas Porteus, chair of Out Together
- Deborah Rozansky, director of policy, research and innovation at the Social Care Institute for Excellence
Digital Health Unplugged is published on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and many of your other favourite podcast platforms. You can download the podcast from digitalhealth.podbean.com or through the Podbean app.
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