Bay Health and Care Partners ask for your views on digital services

Services across our partnership are being modernised and transformed through a range of digital solutions. Colleagues across primary care, councils, ambulance service, care sector, Voluntary, Community and Faith & Social Enterprise (VCFSE), hospitals, community and mental health services, are working together to provide flexible digital platforms to improve safety and efficiency for service users.

The Bay Health and Care Partners (BHCP) have developed a Digital Strategy that aims to continue to join up and support services across Morecambe Bay for the next three years. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, digital services including ‘video conferencing’ for outpatient appointments and the mixed reality HoloLens 2 headset at Kendal Care Home were adopted and continue to be used where appropriate to reduce the risk of infection and keep the public and staff safe. 

BHCP is inviting patients, carers, service users and the public to share their experiences of using digital services. You can share your stories, ideas and questions at the ‘Let’s Talk Digital’ page at our online Let’s Talk Morecambe Bay engagement platform from Tuesday 1 February to Friday 25 March 2022. You will need to register at the Let’s Talk Morecambe Bay site here to access the Let’s Talk Digital page.  The BHCP Digital Strategy can be found at the BHCP website here.  

Andy Wicks, Chief Information Officer for Bay Health and Care Partners, said: “The technologies and systems that the Bay Health and Care Partners are driving forward will help to provide better and safer care for our patients. By involving our patients, staff, and partners in the co-design of new and innovative digital solutions, we aim to provide a better experience of our services across the Bay.”

Andy added: “While the use of digital solutions has increased, we recognise there are people out there within our communities who lack access to technology. We are working together to make our services across the partnership more accessible to all to ensure that no one is excluded from accessing health, care and supporting services because of a lack of connectivity or technology.”

The work within the BHCP Digital Strategy supports the partners' collective vision: Better Health; Better Care; Delivered Sustainably. It also aligns with the NHS’ Long-Term Plan and regional projects that are part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership.

A BHCP Digital Strategy Board made up of representatives from primary care, councils, ambulance service, care sector, VCFSE, hospitals, community and mental health services is driving forward the strategy. The BHCP Digital Strategy Board has supported projects during the Covid-19 pandemic including setting up secure Zoom calls for Café Neuro in Barrow to support new member discharge referrals from Preston Hospital’s Neuro Centre. It has also worked closely with Age UK which has supplied members of Café Neuro with tablets and guidance to be able to join Café Neuro support meetings in a Covid secure way. 

The board also supports the transformation of South Lakeland District Council’s operating model through digital solutions, including a customer self-serve portal and Universal Customer Contact Centre.

Other key aims included in the strategy:

• enabling virtual GP and outpatient appointments
• clinicians being able to interact with patients’ care plans from wherever they are working including from their home
• every patient with a long-term condition being able to access their care plan via the NHS App and summary care record 
• all community and ambulance staff being able to access mobile digital services by 2022
• all mums and mums-to-be having access to their own digital maternity record by 2024.

Andy added: “The agility of these innovative digital platforms including Advice and Guidance, Attend Anywhere and HoloLens 2 were a major asset in our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, helping to keep our staff safe and giving them the ability to continue to provide quality services, some of which our patients could access safely from their homes.”

We are mindful that not everyone has access to digital platforms and will not be able to access the Let's Talk Morecambe Bay site. We would encourage you to write to us at: 

c/o Bay Health and Care Partners Communications and Engagement Team,

Moor Lane Mills,

Moor Lane, 

Lancaster, 

Lancashire, 

LA1 1QD.

***The Bay Health and Care Partners Communications and Engagement Team is currently working off-site due to the coronavirus pandemic, so responses to mail may take longer.

We do plan to reanimate our Bay Health and Care Partners Public Assembly and start to hold face-to-face sessions in the near future when it is safe to do so and people will have the opportunity to feedback on a variety of topics. People can subscribe to become a member of the Public Assembly at the following link https://letstalkmorecambebay.uk/ or the above postal address. 

If you would like to find out more about the Bay Health and Care Partners and current initiatives around the Bay, you can subscribe to receive our newsletter here https://www.healthierlsc.co.uk/morecambe-bay/news/newsletter-subscription.