NANA AKUA: People who aren’t digitally savvy are being shut out of the NHS – it’s a national scandal. If I’m struggling to use the technology, what hope for someone 20 years older than me?
I can’t be the only person fed up with having to do everything online.
But while paying a bill or reading emails on a screen is little more than an inconvenience, the digitalisation of the National Health Service is proving deadly.
Who knew you needed a degree in computer science simply to make an appointment with a doctor?
As a digital journalist, I’m used to working with the latest technology. From computers and teleprompters to radio mixers and camera equipment, I’ve seen it all. In fact, I pride myself on being ‘tech-savvy’ – it’s a requirement for anyone working in broadcast media.
Yet when I tried to make an appointment with my local GP surgery, I couldn’t make head or tail of the online booking system. The language used on the booking form was confusing and the layout even worse.
At a total loss, I called the surgery who – rather than booking for me – ‘talked me through’ the online portal. The inefficiency was comical.
While paying a bill or reading emails on a screen is little more than an inconvenience, the digitalisation of the National Health Service is proving deadly, writes Nana Akua
When I tried to make an appointment with my local GP surgery, I couldn’t make head or tail of the online booking system
When I did finally succeed, to my horror, I was offered only an appointment over the phone. I suggested this wouldn’t be very helpful considering I wanted the doctor to look at a rash on my skin. Their solution? Send a picture!
Unsurprisingly, I was misdiagnosed and the cream I was prescribed has had absolutely no effect at all. I had to do it all over again and I’m now waiting to get a referral to see a private doctor willing to take the antiquated step of actually seeing a patient in-person.
The whole process has left me feeling desperate. If I struggled to use the technology, what hope for someone 20 years older than me?
A new study from Oxford University reports that an astonishing 16 per cent of GP surgeries now offer appointments only via an online booking form.
Not only is this in breach of the official contract for family doctors – which enshrines the right to book an appointment over the phone – but, like the closing of bank branches and post offices, it has a disproportionate impact on the elderly. Those who are not computer-literate are being shut out of the NHS and it’s a national scandal. If I struggled to use the technology, what hope for someone 20 years older than me?
The whole process has left me feeling desperate. If I struggled to use the technology, what hope for someone 20 years older than me?
The campaign group for the over 60s, Silver Voices, has branded the situation ‘astonishing’ and called on NHS England to ‘get a grip’.
That’s before we get to the poor quality of care delivered via virtual appointments. These are simply no substitute for in-person treatment.
Thankfully, my rash is not life-threatening. But – and I can’t believe I am writing this – we’re already at the point whereby patients are dying because of negligent virtual appointments.
READ MORE: NANA AKUA: From the NHS and Royal Mail to HMRC and DVLA, Britain is grinding to a halt
The same Oxford University study revealed ‘death and serious harms’ had resulted from online appointments resulting in missed diagnoses between 2020 and 2023.
In one of the most heartbreaking cases, a 16-year-old girl was diagnosed with glandular fever over the phone, only to die of sepsis days later.
Shockingly, a third of GP appointments are currently virtual and surgeries have seemingly no interest in changing that.
The report went on to recommend that GPs offer in-person appointments for the elderly. In my opinion, this should be the bare minimum. The report concluded that 76 per cent of people had struggled to see a GP face-to-face and an alarming 18 per cent went to A&E in a desperate attempt to be seen.
The move to online booking and virtual appointments is part of the health service’s so-called ‘digital transformation’ – a piece of corporate jargon that fills me with dread.
Yes, the NHS does need to embrace technology. But not at such a grave cost to patients, especially the most vulnerable in our society.
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