The NHS has revealed the first nine frontline NHS staff members who have been selected to become the ‘Faces’ of a campaign to promote the NHS App to patients.
Nearly 700 NHS staff from across England applied to be a part of the initiative when it was announced by Chief Nursing Officer, Ruth May, in September 2019.
From those applications, an initial nine NHS staff have been selected by a panel of senior clinical leaders.
They will feature in posters, leaflets, videos, social media posts, and other content that is being created to help promote the NHS App, which already has more than 230,000 users.
More people than ever are booking NHS appointments digitally, choosing to use this route rather than calling their local surgery. In September 2019 there were 1.4 million GP online service appointment transactions with an increasing number of digital tools being used by people across England to access the NHS.
The NHS App provides a simple and secure way for people to access a range of NHS services on their smartphone or tablet. Available to download on all IOS and Android devices, it allows you to manage repeat prescriptions and book appointments at your GP surgery.
You can find out more about the initial nine ‘Faces of the App’ here: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-app/faces-of-the-nhs-app
Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England and NHS Improvement and a London GP, said: “The NHS App is another way that our primary care staff are helping patients get convenient care as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to roll out more digital services so people can manage their own care at home or at work.
“It’s great to see our frontline staff adopting the NHS App to manage their own health and wellbeing too, alongside sharing their experience with their patients and the public and getting more people to use the app.”
Tara Donnelly, NHSX Chief Digital Officer said: “NHS frontline staff are ideally placed to help patients across England to benefit from the NHS App, which is one of a growing range of digital tools available as part of our NHS Long Term Plan.
“The App is one of many online tools providing patients with a choice of how they wish to access NHS services digitally, allowing people simply, safely and securely to do things like order repeat prescriptions, manage appointments, check symptoms and view their GP medical record.”
Ian Phoenix, Director of Technology for Citizen Health at NHS Digital said: “Patients want to be able to take control of their own health in their own way and this group of front line staff who use the NHS App can demonstrate from their personal experiences how it is of benefit to them and how it could benefit others.
“Our staff are patients too and will be great advocates for using digital tools such as the NHS App. We’re excited about working with them over the coming months.”
Lauren Pickup, a midwife from Leeds and one of our ‘Faces of the App’, uses the app to help manage her chronic kidney condition caused by an infection contracted whilst volunteering in Africa. She said:
“I use the NHS App to book GP appointments and order my repeat prescriptions to help manage my kidney condition.”
Sarah Thompson (pictured top), a pharmacist and mum-to-be from Stockport, also a ‘Face of the App’, said the app makes it easier for her to manage her pregnancy:
“I recently needed to know my NHS number so it’s been useful to use the NHS App to access my record and manage my appointments rather than spending ages on the phone.”
Watch the App in action here…
