1. Patient Representative NHS England Programme Board Member
Good Morning
STEVE RAFFERTY
Patient Representative
NHS England Programme Board Member
PATIENT ONLINE
The common denominator in the Patient Online programme is that no matter what your status in life is it is that each one of us are patients as defined by the National Health Service. The means that we can all access medical help at any time whether it be an appointment with a doctor or a medical emergency visit to and accident and emergency department.
Programme Advocate for Public and Patient Engagement and Advisory as User of Service

2. What is Patient Online ? Order repeat prescriptions online
Patient Online aims to simplify the common tasks of:
Order repeat prescriptions online
Patient Online aims to simplify the common tasks of making an appointment, ordering a prescription and being able to access your summary record online. This can be a very resource intensive led, reception staff could be dealing with public facing tasks. With Patient Online patients will be able to carry out these tasks from the comfort of their own home.
Making an appointment online
Access your summary record online

3. Sounds simple, but..
Sounds simple but is it? Yes but? Patients must have access to and be able to use technology which in itself brings its own problems. During every day we see people walking round checking their mobile phones and looking at tablets and we think everybody has them.

4. Patient Working Together Group
I break down the patient participation in to three categories:
Patients that will never embrace technology
Patients that enjoy and embrace technology
1) Patients that will never, no matter how hard we try, will ever embrace technology for
a variety of reasons, the main ones being too old to try when they are really saying they are afraid of technology.
2) Patients that enjoy and embrace technology and use it for every day reasons. Diaries, social media, Skyping friends, and other tasks. These people will embrace Patient Online and use it like second nature.
3) Patients that may be prepared to try. They have children / grandchildren who try to show them how to use technology and tell them to move out of the dark ages and at least try.
Patients that may be prepared to try

5. The ‘Silver Surfer’ patients
The ‘Silver Surfer’ patients who just need that little bit of extra assistance to access online services. In my living environment I recently spent time with two older ladies, 68 and 73 and, after many cups of tea and digestive biscuits later, were able to shop online and now access their GP practice. The biggest and most noticeable benefit for both has been their change of mood, no longer feeling depressed and lonely. A big saving for the NHS. Both ladies had lost their partners in recent years and admitted becoming socially inept and not wanting to mix. The internet has become their best friend, one even Skypes weekly with her daughter and grandchildren in Canada. Both now shop online at Morrison’s and Waitrose and the delivery man is another friend they have made.

6. ALEX PERCIVAL
DEFINITELY, IT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL IN CONTROL AND MUM WOULDN’T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR ME, IT WOULD ALSO BE LESS STRESSFUL FOR ME. I THINK IT IS A REALLY GOOD THING FOR ME AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE DISABILITIES LIKE ME.
Alex is 23 years old and has a diagnosis of autism, a severe learning disability and acquired mental health issues. He is very adept on his computer and would have no difficulty in accessing online services. His hobby is World War 2 and he is a fountain of knowledge and does all his research online.
SO DO YOU THINK THAT PATIENT ON LINE WILL HELP LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT CONDITIONS LIKE YOURS?

7. Towards a digital revolution
As we roll out Patient Online let us take the opportunity for each us to:
Take up the “technology” gauntlet
Empower people
As we roll out Patient Online let us take the opportunity for each us to empower as many people as we can to take up the ‘Technology’ gauntlet, make a pledge to teach one person how to contact their GP practice. As I said earlier there will be those who will never accept this change and they will continue to contact their GP by personal visit or telephone call but there are thousands who will learn and benefit greatly from technology and see health potential health improvements along the way.
Teach people how to contact their GP Practice
See potential health improvements

8. THE TINDER FOUNDATION
This document has been produced by the Tinder Foundation entitled Digital Nation is available to download from their site at
The document contains a mass of date re people and their reasons for using / not using technology. The Tinder Foundation have recently run a national e-learning programme at approx. 800 sites in England working in conjunction with NHS England.

9. Thank you!

10. Questions?