NHS Wales app

[helvella]

Was wandering around looking for various bits of information, as you do, and happened to see the following. I guess NHS Wales are doing something after all!

Welsh Government have funded Digital Health and Care Wales to develop the NHS Wales App, and its digitally inclusive alternatives. The App will be launched later this year, with additional functionality being released every few months from that point forward. The launch functionality is expected at this time to include features such as GP appointment rebooking, access to your GP summary record, repeat prescription reordering, and the ability to set your communication preferences and update your demographic data. Welsh Government and DHCW will be making announcements on the App in due course.

dhcw.nhs.wales/systems-and-...

Cabinet statement

Written Statement: Transforming health and social care using digital and data services

Eluned Morgan MS, Minister for Health and Social Services

First published:

17 June 2022

gov.wales/written-statement...

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Of course, your surgery has to use it! My surgery could but wont have results online because they say they need to make sure data is secure. That was the answer I got about 3 years ago and still nothing has been done at my surgery.

What happens if you don't have a smart phone and so can't use an App?

[helvella in reply to SeasideSusie]

I'm pretty sure that surgeries will be forced to link up to any future NHS Wales app.

I agree - access without a smartphone might well be an issue.

However, there are two things that might help.

First, and this only applies to people using Apple's macOS and having an Apple Silicon computer, quite a number of IOS and/or iPadOS apps will run under macOS.

Second, and this only applies to people using Windows 11, a number of Android apps will run under Windows.

(There might well be further developments along these lines. We'll just have to wait and see. Though unlikely to be supported on Windows 10 - despite it having been possible to use fancy techniques to do so for several years.)

If any NHS app (Wales, England, Scotland or Northern Ireland flavoured!) doesn't allow running under macOS or Windows 11, time to make a fuss. It is an accessibility issue. Not everyone is even capable of holding a mobile phone in order to use it. The moment an app is made available, check if it can run as above. If not, demand that it is changed so that it will do so.

From a purely personal point of view, I want to be able to run things on a desktop or laptop or tablet or phone. Choosing whichever is appropriate at the time.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to helvella]

It will be interesting to see what develops

[helvella in reply to SeasideSusie]

Well I was trying to inject a note of optimism!

The current cheapest wifi-only Apple iPad is £319. Which would be a pretty convenient way for non-phone people to consider (assuming they have wifi access).

Not for one moment suggesting everyone has £319 sitting waiting to be spent!

Would be especially good if the NHS in each of the four nations arranged pre-installation of a base NHS app (whether that is one for each nation or a common foundation). And were then able to offer other NHS apps via that.

And, just maybe, where cost is the issue, someone could help the least well-off to get heavily discounted devices? Even Apple.

Obviously, a similar route should also be supported on Android devices.

[TSH110 in reply to helvella]

But the wifi is so costly many don’t have it - it let alone the gizmos and libraries are not what they used to be. Corbyn was demonised for suggesting it become a free service I thought it was rather a good idea, I believe is free in South Korea. so it can be done. Way to go for levelling up I think. Shame the latest technology is only for the better off. I’m sure we’d all benefit with universal access.

[helvella in reply to TSH110]

There are many places which have some degree of "free" wifi.

Have a search for free wifi in towns uk - or something like that.

Many supermarkets and other shops offer access.

Yes - I know that it isn't available everywhere. Yes - I know it can sometimes be inconvenient, even difficult, to get signed up in the cold foods aisle! Yes - I know the speed is often not very good. Far from perfect. But for many, these options could allow access.

BT broadband users have an option to connect to broadband of other BT broadband customers. (All behind the scenes and no-one should notice anything.) And all mobile phone users can make emergency calls - even without a SIM card - using whichever operator in the area has a signal.

Could the NHS app offer something similar? Data for the NHS app alone by piggy-backing on almost any wifi in the area?

[TSH110 in reply to helvella]

Sounds like a good idea. I think for a while Norwich did free wifi but it was not capable of doing much as I recall. Didn’t know you could do emergency calls even without a sim on a mobile - worth knowing just in case…

[Joant24]

Go Wales! I for one am keeping my fingers and everything else crossed it works properly.

[Charlie-Farley in reply to Joant24]

Me too

Hoping to move there in a couple months

🤞😬

Oh dear that may potentially mean another Doctor’s surgery to break in.

[LottieMW]

Hi,

So is it an update to this existing app?

myhealthonline-inps2.wales....

…or is it something different? I can request prescriptions, book telephone appointments, and check previous in person appointments. Can’t book in person appointments or get results though…

[helvella in reply to LottieMW]

What you have there just looks like some changes to the web-based interface - several such systems have been available across the UK over the years.

The new app will require downloading (probably to a phone, but there might be other options).

The current options you have should be available through the app.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to LottieMW]

book telephone appointments,

You're lucky. In my part of Wales at our surgery we still have to ring from 8am, explain the problem, wait for them to triage the requests at their morning meeting, then we get a phone call to say if we can have a face to face or telephone appointment or just get told "Doctor says......" or "Go to the pharmacy".

[LottieMW in reply to SeasideSusie]

Oh yes…that still happens too…and there may be weeks (if not months), before you can find an empty slot on line…

[Zephyrbear in reply to SeasideSusie]

In my surgery, I tried to get an emergency appointment yesterday for my husband who has a nasty burn to his arm and got a message to say that the surgery was closed all day for a “training day” and put me through to what used to be Shropdoc, but now is something else… It does make me wonder what is happening to health services in this country. You used to be able to ring up any time of the day (or night!) and be able to see a doctor the same day! Now, you’ve got to wait 3 weeks for a telephone appointment and the surgery closes up shop completely for “training days”!

[StitchFairy in reply to Zephyrbear]

Closing for training day was a regular thing at my surgery years ago (in England), so it's not a new thing within the NHS. Even if it wasn't a training day, you'd have been told to go to an A&E with a burn. I think training days started when surgeries went computerised.

[nellie237]

I'm not in Wales, but wooo-hooooo, it's about time.

[Edit. Although it's probably got more to do with e-consulting, than patient access]