From talking benches to digital skills

18th July 2024

How one organisation is supporting GP practices with social prescribing and health coaching on and off line.

We talked to Will Palmer, who is the Digital Connector at Health Connections in the Mendips. This is a social prescribing and health coaching team, working with GP practices across the region in Somerset. Anyone registered with these practices can contact the team and get help with their health and well-being.

They run an online directory of services and a huge range of projects and training that help people connect and be part of the community. Some of these are deliberately not digital – like Talking Cafes which are weekly sessions where people can come along and make friends and get sign-posting and advice from a Health Connector. Or the small but brilliant Talking Benches - the same sort of idea but on a bench, which is a route for people who aren’t online or don’t want to access the directory to find out what's happening.

They also run the Digital Connect – which is all about supporting people to feel more confident in the digital world with strong support from Frome Medical Practice, SPARK (sparksomerset.org.uk) and DonateIT to make it happen.

They have two main groups of people they’re trying to help:

The 16–35-year-old, where digital exclusion comes in the form of affordability and the second group of the 65+ year olds, whose main obstacles is lack of knowledge or motivation.

It is the second group that can afford devices but struggle to use them effectively. We are working on setting up digital cafes across Somerset and then Dorset to provide options for this second group to get answers to so many of the “How do I…?” questions.

Also, with banks and post offices closing and so many of their day-to-day norms going on-line, we want to try and support this second group.

Can you tell us a little about the things that are happening around digital inclusion in your area?

“There’s a lot going on. Donate IT is a relatively new charity. There are 48 places that people can drop off unwanted digital devices which can then be passed on to those in need. Nearly 1300 laptops have gone to schools and families. More than 10000 devices have been diverted from landfill. We accept referrals from several organisations so we can ensure the help goes where it is needed most.”

Digital Unite supports and trains digital champions. Do you have digital champions helping people in your communities?

“We have 12 digital cafes on a weekly basis where support can be given around digital motivation, confidence and skills. We have a lot of elderly people in particular who come along. We’ve helped hundreds of people at the cafes and sometimes with home-based 1-1 sessions.”

Are you doing anything specifically around health?

“We have digital health desks. We see this as vital to help people download and make the most of the NHS App and to consider remote medical appointments. These desks have helped around 3000 patients to date.”

What are your plans for the future?

We have recently gained charity status and will look to fundraise from this autumn. We really need more technicians so that we can increase our output to beneficiaries as we are getting more and more demand from across the two counties.

What Digital Unite products or services would you recommend to others and why?

Your Digital Champions are essential especially in this second group of those digitally excluded.