Help on Your Doorstep staff have been working collaboratively with members of Healthwatch Islington to help Islington residents gain the skills and confidence get to online.  

‘Help on Your Doorstep provide an excellent partnership service. They give us clear information about the support that people need, and all outcomes are recorded clearly and securely. This really helps everyone involved with follow up. The team at Help on Your Doorstep are very approachable, and dedicated to helping Islington residents.’ said Philippa Russell, Community Link Worker at Healthwatch Islington. 

You can read about how staff continue to reach Islington residents, despite the social distancing measures implemented by the UK government here. 

Doing essential tasks online  

Luke, from Healthwatch Islington explains why digital exclusion is such an issue for Islington residents:  

“Digital exclusion was already an issue before the coronavirus pandemic. With social distancing measures in place, we're doing more and more essential tasks online. We need to make sure that local residents who are less confident with new technologies don't get left behind. 

Our Community link worker and volunteer digital champions are helping local people to understand the benefits of being online, and to develop confidence with their devices. As well as making online services accessible, we work to give people the digital skills they need to keep connected with friends and family. 

Gaining digital skills through inclusion workshops 

We offer digital inclusion workshops to individuals and provide support to small, community organisations to move their activities on-line.  

 We can help with: 

• Getting started, 
• Improving confidence, 
• Sharing information on apps to keep in touch with others, 
• On-line safety
• Getting used to your device. 

Typical activities include: 

• Use ‘Zoom’ to stay in touch and attend online activities
  
• Book GP appointments more easily with a smartphone app
  
• Order your repeat prescriptions
  
• Set up an email account
  
• Find information online to keep active and healthy
  
• Learn how to stay safe online

If Kieran increased his digital skills, you can too!  

Read about how a local resident ‘Kieran’ improved his digital skills. He learned to listen to his voicemails, get an email address, learned how to use a digital assistant and managed his housing needs online."  

One of our Connect Team shares their experience of Healthwatch Islington: 

"Healthwatch Islington has been great at supporting residents understand the changes to health service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have lot of useful information on their website and have run webinars with experts sharing information about how services are changing to support people at this time. They also have a service which helps people learn how to use the Internet -this is great for residents who don't feel comfortable going online." 

For one-to-one or group training contact Philippa Russell on 07538 764436 or email [email protected]