Health+ started out in August 2021 as a 2 year project, funded by NHS Charities, Leicester Hospitals Charity and Raising Health (Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust). Digital Companions supported paients on a one to one basis in GP surgeries in LLR. Please watch this video of Leicestershire GP surgery staff to find out more about that work. From July 2023 Health+ will be funded by the NHS Better Care Fund with a focus on improving access to primary care for patients in Leicester aged 18+.
Our trained volunteers can deliver group sessions about the NHS App, GP online services and how to access NHS health information to patients, community groups and to surgery staff. Each session includes time for attendees to work through the material in smaller groups. If you represent a surgery or community group in Leicester and would like to book one of our sessions please complete this booking form.
Our @Leicshealthplus YouTube Channel contains step by step videos demonstrating how to register for the NHS App and use the many NHS App functions. We invite surgeries and community organisations to link to our YouTube channel and the content from your websites. Please let us know if you do.
Digital companions are trained in the NHS app, GP apps, online security, safeguarding, evaluation and we provide shadowing opportunities to them.
Here are the main aims and benefits of Health Plus:
Aiming to improve patient and community member's access to primary care in Leicester.
To increase the number of people utilising digital apps for ordering prescriptions, appointments and getting NHS information and advice.
To disseminate step by step video guidance on how to use the NHS App.
Improving the digital skills confidence of patients, GP surgery staff and community members in Leicester.
Additional benefits include
Helping to reduce telephone calls to surgeries.
Helping people find health information online.
Raising awareness of the LLR Get in the Know Campaign which provides details of your options should you need emergency care in Leicester.
Raising awareness of health literarcy so that volunteers train the people they support in a health literature way. Improving people’s digital literacy can also lead to improvements in health literacy.
Health+ offer one hour in person training to groups of 5 to 15 patients/community members at GP practices or community organisations in Leicester. Sessions generally last for 1 hr and 15 minutes and include break out where small groups of 5 attendees can work through the material presented. We offer shorter sessions to staff about the NHS App registration and functionality. We require a suitable meeting space with a projector or digital screen.
If you want to book a session please complete this booking form. If you require further information you can email healthplus@reachingpeople.co.uk.
Background: Between February 2022 and June 2023 Health+ supported GP surgeries in LLR to provide the amenities for volunteer led one-to-one digital sessions with their patients. Health+ allocated trained digital companions to give one hour of digital support to patients, focussed on the digital needs of the patient. Digital companions supported patients to use GP online services and the NHS App on the patient’s device but also guided them through other digital stumbling blocks. Patients could return for repeat visits. The GP staff in this video give more details about working with Health+.
We evaluate group and individual sessions. Every patient is given the opportunity to complete an evaluation form at the end of their session(s). Evaluation enables Health+ to demonstrate to GP surgeries and our funders the digital skills learning that has taken place in the digital companion/patient interaction. We combine this with case study collection so that patients can share their experience of the digital session(s) and the impact it has made on their digital skills confidence.
Health+ recognises the importance of offering a sustainable solution to GP surgeries. To date we have trained surgery and community staff and PPG members in Leicestershire to be digital companions. This ensures that we can have an impact beyond the duration of the project. We offer the same training as Health+ digital companions, which includes shadowing opportunities and we can advise how your organisation can continue to support patients at their surgery when our project support ends.
“The volunteers have been amazing we have had good feedback about the volunteers”
(feedback from staff member at Saffron Health GP Practice)
Interested in Volunteering with Health+? We are activiely recruiting for volunteers to deliver and support group sessions. You can read about all of our current opportunities on the Voluntary Action Leicester website then complete our application form, stating which opportunity you are interested in and simply emailing it to healthplus@reachingpeople.co.uk.