From the lecture theatre to a digital companion

Having spent his working career in academia, Alan Bevington retired from his job as a lecturer in Biochemistry at the University of Leicester during Covid. He had always harboured an interest in volunteering but didn’t feel able to commit enough time whilst still working full-time. 

 

However, having received a circular via email from his local church asking for people to sign up to become ‘digital companions’, Alan put himself forward. 

 

The project in question ran from March 2021 to April 2022 and Alan helped people to get online during the pandemic. The funding for the project helped with access to tablets and routers, and was a success. 

 

 

When the funding for this particular project ended, additional funding was secured by Reaching People for a new Health+ project and Alan was one of a team of volunteers carried over to the new project. 

 

Through the Health+ project, Alan now helps patients in GP surgeries to use GP online services, the NHS App and find NHS health information online. 

 

“Initially, sessions were largely arranged with GP practices where patients would book appointments with volunteers on a one-to-one basis,” comments Alan. “However, this set a limitation on the number of patients that we could see so to increase the reach of the project, we began to deliver training to groups of patents, community groups and non-clinical staff.” 

 

 

In his role as a Health+ volunteer, Alan has supported people through a range of digital health challenges. 

 

Alan says: “I was conscious of the fact that a large proportion of the population over the age of 50 are said to struggle with IT services and their digital devices, but I think one of the most important things that I've actually learned when trying to help patients to use NHS Digital Services is that elderly patients have considerable determination and ability when it comes to this sort of thing, but they just lack confidence when it comes to handling digital devices. 

 

“It may be, for example, that someone has previously discouraged them by telling them that they're just too old to do this sort of thing or they're hopeless. What it needs is for somebody to sit patiently with them and help them to set up the relevant Health Service App on their device, and then just show them how to use the facilities that they particularly want, such as the ability to order prescriptions online, for example. 

 

“It just takes a bit of patience and the ability to explain it to them in terms that they're really familiar with, such as just by writing out the instructions for them on a sheet of paper and then letting the patient run it for themselves on their own device. 

 

“When they can see that this isn't rocket science that's been designed for super humans, it makes an enormous difference to their confidence. You quite often have patients coming through the door saying I really can't do this, in fact, some of them are almost in tears when they arrive because they may have been trying for ages on some particular system to log in and they just haven't been able to. 

 

“I think you can see that just a bit of determination and the idea that you can if you just stick at it for 10 or 20 minutes to actually log into that system, that does make a big difference to the patients.” 

 

 

Alan continues: “I remember one woman who came in and she was so stressed out over IT in relation to NHS services, that I couldn't even get her to sit down on the chair. She warned me that she was within about five seconds of walking out of the room. I managed to get her to relax a little bit and we went through her logging in problems and by the end of the one-hour session, she was completely different and seemed a much more confident person when it came to doing this sort of thing. 

 

“I have to accept that I'm about the same age as some of the patients who come into the Health+ project, and I have to accept that I'm not as nimble as many younger people when it comes to handling NHS IT services and handling digital devices. Given my former profession, I’m also aware that I don’t want to give lectures! 

 

“In fact, very interestingly, I've even learned things from the patients - just simple tricks on how to use my smartphone. So, yes, it is a two-way process. I try to help them, but they sometimes teach me things as well.” 

 

 

“At a time when patients are struggling to get through to their GPs, it’s particularly fulfilling to provide them with options via online services,” concludes Alan. 

 

“We regularly receive positive feedback from our audiences so I would really encourage others to get involved with volunteering – you don't need to be a retired lecturer or IT expert!” 

 

If you are interested in volunteering with Reaching People’s Health+ project, please email healthplus@reachingpeople.co.uk for further details.