How the Langport Digital Café is helping local patients connect, learn, and take control of their health.
Lynne Dickson (pictured left) has worked in the NHS for over 34 years and chairs the Patient Participation Group (PPG) at Langport Surgery, one of around 60 in Somerset. Knowing the NHS is using technology more to support patients, Lynne is helping her community to get more confident with digital tools.
“I was aware of Spark iT and knew the surgery digital manager was already very busy, so to free up their time we decided to set up a Digital Café with two local community interest companies, the Angel and the Bluebell. Working together, we ensured both venues were able to host Digital Cafés and there wasn’t any duplication.”
Will, a Spark iT Digital Champion volunteer from the Cheese and Grain in Frome, and Spark Somerset supported Lynne to get the Digital Cafés started, explaining how to run and sustain them safely. “We talked to all the members of the PPG and worked in partnership with the digital manager from the surgery on a regular basis. Two years on and the digital manager and PPG members all regularly come along to the group.”
More Than Digital Support
The café has become far more than a place to learn technology. “We don’t just use it for digital support, we use it to hear from our community, to get open feedback. We’ve had lots of other local groups get involved as a consequence. Members of our carers group have taken part in dedicated sessions on digital inclusion.”
Aware of low literacy in parts of their community, the Digital Café team make sure people can just drop in and have a conversation. “We’ll support people with filling in forms and completing digital activities. All volunteers sign a confidentiality agreement so everyone can feel safe when we help them.”
In the last year, they’ve helped 35 people from across Langport.
Connection and Independence
One attendee who had been recently widowed came into the session and talked openly about the loneliness he was experiencing. He had the technology but couldn’t use it. “We showed him how to use his iPad and introduced him to the NHS App. The biggest benefit was showing him how to use the camera, as this meant he could connect with his family and have face-to-face conversations online.”
“”We showed him how to use his iPad and introduced him to the NHS App. The biggest benefit was showing him how to use the camera, as this meant he could connect with his family and have face-to-face conversations online.”
Another woman who’d recently lost her husband was sorting out her house. She wanted to use Facebook Marketplace to sell items but wasn’t sure how to take photos or upload them. “She came in one month and we gave her some support. The following month she came back to show us all the photos she’d taken. What she loved was both clearing out her home of stuff she no longer needed and finding something purposeful to do to fill some of her time.”
At another café, two neighbours reconnected. “They just hadn’t seen each other. That’s the joy of the Digital Cafés, it’s not just digital, it’s about bringing people together. It’s about introducing them to the Bluebell and the Angel, and that opens the wide range of other activities and support available across Langport.
“Two people who first came to the café are now supported through our carers group. Others are taking a much more proactive approach to their healthcare, booking outstanding check-ups and attending for routine medical care.”
“Two people who first came to the café are now supported through our carers group. Others are taking a much more proactive approach to their healthcare, booking outstanding check-ups and attending for routine medical care.”
Healthcare Impact and Efficiency
The benefits for the surgery have been substantial. “The Digital Café has ensured that the digital manager at the surgery now has much more time to do the work that’s essential. Once a month, we feedback any issues raised in accessing the NHS App. She can then do all the back-office work far more efficiently than if each person comes separately into the surgery.”
This is also true of reception visits. One Digital Café attendee who was regularly having blood tests, discovered they could download the NHS App and find their test results easily, both the most recent results and past tests. “This meant she didn’t have to keep ringing reception to see if her results were in. It really relieved her anxiety. She felt empowered.”
Another family learned how to use the NHS App with family view, making it easier for both parents to order their children’s prescriptions, freeing up the pharmacy line.
“The best bit is we work with the community and the surgery. We do ‘with’ and not ‘to’. We were able to show this strong collaborative approach in the recent Care Quality Commission inspection of the surgery and this led to the surgery achieving ‘good’.”
“It’s had a bigger impact on the surgery, and we’re so pleased that the staff team and lead GP are really engaged. Every time I attend the Digital Café, I think to myself, that’s two hours well spent.”
Digital Cafés like this are are part of a wider initiative across Somerset, aiming to help people build confidence online. Run by friendly volunteers and supported by Spark Somerset, they’re free to attend and open to anyone who would like to learn how to navigate the internet safely, access online services, and improve their health and wellbeing.
To learn more about Digital Digital Cafés in Somerset, click here.
