A recent report from The Good Things Foundation shows that 1.5 million households in the UK have no internet access and a further 2 million struggle to afford access to the internet. In addition, over 10 million people in the UK lack basic digital skills and many others are fearful of using the internet. And yet we are all being encouraged to go online, whether it's to do our banking, book train tickets, read the news or find out what's happening in our local community. Increasingly we are also being encouraged to access health information online too.

As part of Get Online Week, Frome Medical Practice is highlighting the many ways that support is available to patients who find getting online challenging. Get Online Week is an annual campaign aimed at increasing digital inclusion and over the last 14 years it's helped hundreds of thousands of people get online for the first time and helped improve their digital skills.

Help is available free of charge from the practice team in a number of ways:

People are invited to come along to drop in sessions from 10am - 2pm Monday 17th to Friday 21st October at Frome Library. The sessions will be hosted by Will Palmer, the Digital Community Connector from Frome Medical Practice, and aim to help people with a range of issues, from shopping online, filling in online forms and using health apps, such as the NHS App. Will can also help with staying safe online.

A Digital Café takes place at the Cheese & Grain in Frome every Thursday morning from 10-11:30am. The Digital Café is a free drop-in service where people can come and ask any 'How do I..?' questions related to getting online. The team can also help people access an online training program, Learn My Way, that is easy to use and very informative.

1-1 Support

The Digital Connector supports people on a one-to-one basis with training on their devices, whether that is laptops, desktops, tablets or smart phones.

Access to the internet and to digital devices

When possible, those in need are provided with free devices donated by organisations and charities. The practice is also currently giving away free data SIM cards. The SIM cards have up to 20Gb of data per month with free calls and texts, for up to 6 months. In addition, a new project has just been launched called Donate It, which provides refurbished devices (phones & laptops) to those in the community that most need them.

People are increasingly turning to technology, and in particular health apps, to help support them with their physical and mental health and wellbeing. Apps are a great way for us all to find out more about improving our health and living healthier lives. But, there are so many apps available to us, both free and paid for, that it makes finding apps we can trust a challenge. 

Frome Medical Practice uses a trustworthy library of health apps, known as 'ORCHA' AppFinder. ORCHA has been developed by clinicians to give access to apps which have been assessed against key criteria as being suitable for use by patients. Patients can access the library themselves, choosing health apps that they would like to use to assist them in managing a condition or illness they are experiencing. It also means the practice team can 'prescribe' apps to patients for different conditions.

You can find out more about the ORCHA AppFinder on the practice website by clicking here.  

Digital Connector Training

If you're interested in supporting other people to get online, the team at the practice runs Digital Health Connector Training. These sessions train people who feel more able digitally and want to be able to support people in the community to feel more confident about being online. The training tells you what is available in the community so that you can 'signpost' others to that support.

Will Palmer, Digital Community Connector at Frome Medical Practice said, "We are working hard to bridge the digital gaps that exist in our community. We work closely with other local partners, such as the library, SPARK Somerset (a volunteer organisation), Frome Town Council, Somerset Skills & Learning and Frome Community Education. These are all great sources of digital support, providing help to those in need."

"Together we've developed a blended approach to supporting people with access to get online and this 'joined-up' approach is essential to helping those in need and those with concerns and fears about the digital evolution."

"We really encourage anyone who finds being online confusing, challenging or impossible to come along to our drop in sessions during Get Online Week or to get in touch about accessing support in the other ways that we offer."

For further information on any of the services mentioned here please contact the Digital Community Connector Will Palmer on 01373 468263 or email [email protected] You can also find out more about help to get online by clicking here.