Call for wider NHS App training after Suffolk pilot success

Why it matters: The University of Suffolk study found that community pharmacies can serve as trusted spaces to reach digitally excluded groups, particularly older patients, helping them access health services through their phones, tablets or computers.

The details: The Health Education England-funded pilot ran across the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System area – now under the NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board – and aimed to boost both take-up of the NHS App and the use of its expanding functions.

The study, published by the University of Suffolk's Institute of Health and Wellbeing on behalf of the Integrated Care Academy partnership, looked at two strands of work.

• 49 pharmacies enrolled in NHS App training in the first strand.
• Around 98 community pharmacy team members and 34 members of patient participation or community groups were trained.
• Just 12% had used the NHS App before the project, with 78% reporting increased usage after training.
• 28 pharmacies took part in a nine-week pilot in the autumn to support patients.
• 4,012 initial conversations about the app were recorded, with 2,041 patients supported to download and use it – a 51% conversion rate.
• The four pharmacies with the highest number of interventions all had conversion rates above 90%.

For context: Grants were also given to 21 patient participation groups and three community organisations – Suffolk Libraries, Suffolk Family Carers and the North Essex Digital Access Support Team – to enable locally-tailored NHS App engagement.

The study identified a "download gap", with 50% of patients having downloaded the app previously but not using it before the intervention.

The challenges: Researchers flagged several barriers that hampered some users from completing their set-up, including poor Wi-Fi and limited time for pharmacists to support patients one-to-one.

The pilot also had limited reach to some communities, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups, people with disabilities and black, Asian and minority ethnic populations. A higher proportion of older patients did not wish to use digital health tools.

What's being recommended: The Institute of Health and Wellbeing has recommended that a standardised, yet locally flexible training programme should be accessible across libraries, community groups, patient participation groups and pharmacies to boost take-up further.

It also said time and resources should be provided for follow-up support to help sustain delivery, rather than short pilots.

What they're saying: Professor Valerie Gladwell, Director of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Suffolk, said: "The NHS' 10-year Fit for the Future plan places an emphasis on boosting digital delivery, prevention and community-based care, so ensuring people have access to digital health tools is an essential element in ensuring their healthcare needs are met.

"We know that community pharmacies are trusted spaces for individuals to access health and care advice – particularly among underrepresented communities – and by developing staff at these vital providers to support patients with the app, the system can help support meaningful engagement for patients that will promote ongoing and future usage of the app."

Lee Doherty, Senior Pharmacist who led on the project for what is now NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board, said: "The NHS app will continue to evolve rapidly and its functionality expand significantly over the next few years, to position itself as the digital front door of the NHS.

"Co-ordinated and collaborative interventions to increase the digital skill of patients and the workforce supporting them, will be essential to help tackle inequalities."

The bottom line: The Suffolk pilot has demonstrated that community pharmacies can play a key role in helping patients access digital health tools, with researchers now calling for a wider, sustained programme to build on the results.

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