First nine faces of the NHS App uncovered to promote uptake

The first nine faces of the NHS App have been revealed – they will be ’ambassadors’ for the app and there are high hopes that it will be a winner with patients, helping to increase the take-up of self-care among those able to take advantage of it

This is an edited version of an article first published by Digital Health

A number of frontline NHS staff members were selected as part of the NHS App Ambassadors’ campaign to promote the use of the app among 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.

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 to promote the NHS App, which has more than 230,000 users. Recent NHS Digital statistics reveal that the number of patients using the app has more than doubled since the introduction of the NHS App Ambassadors’ scheme three months ago.

“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,” said Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England and NHS Improvement. “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, added, “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 records.”

Since September 2019 the number of registered NHS App users has risen from 91,000 to over 220,000, according to NHS Digital. This increase follows the launch of the campaign, which is focused on encouraging staff to download the app and promote it amongst friends, family and colleagues.

You can find out more about the staff behind the faces of the app here.

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