Healthwatch-Sandwell-Annual-Report-2020-21

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of patients would choose to book appointments by queuing at a GP surgery, or on the telephone, with less people registered for on-line services. The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, included the ambition that “all patients will have the right to online consultations by April 2020 and video consultation by April 2021” In 2019 Sandwell ranked as the 12th most deprived local authority area nationally for indices of multiple deprivation. Digital skills levels and digital poverty are associated within these deprivation levels. Set in this context Healthwatch Sandwell wanted to look at the patient experience of “using digital technology in primary care services”