Digital Divide Reduced in Paddington
At the start of the year we launched our digital inclusion network – a collection of businesses committed to using the expertise of their employees to reduce digital poverty in Westminster.
Since January the group has hosted 8 different activities, involving 53 colleagues from 6 BID companies and reaching 539 beneficiaries. Events have included a digital literacy masterclass to build college students’ confidence on using Microsoft Office, an eye-opening AI careers workshop for Year 8 pupils and an online safety toolkit for primary school parents.
Get Online Week – a national, digital inclusion campaign led by the Good Things Foundation – presented the perfect opportunity for a multi-company effort.
On Thursday 22 October, 8 colleagues from Microsoft, Virgin Media O2 and life sciences company, Convatec, provided bespoke digital support to members of the Church Street community. The team were supported by colleagues from the Population Health Team at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who were on hand to give more specialist advice.
The one-to-one appointments were held at Housing 21’s Penfold Age Well Centre and were open to all; with members of local community groups Abdul Majid Educational Trust, Open Age and The Portman Centre all being encouraged to attend.
In response to feedback from community partners, the session primarily focused on accessing and using the NHS App. Many community members reported hesitancy about the App and missing the reassurance of paper-based communication. However, with patience, clear communication and a little humour; confidence was built.
The room was buzzing with conversation as community members spent up to an hour receiving personalised support, delivered at their pace and in response to their specific questions and needs.
Access to technology is critical to making healthcare more accessible – speeding up the time it takes for people to book appointments, order repeat prescriptions and get medical advice when they need it. We hope that this event will be one of many, as our Digital Inclusion Network seeks to play its part in reducing the digital divide for patients in Paddington.