West Midlands tries local digital communications

Government cuts have led to more digital platforms being delivered at a local level. NHS Local, which was launched eight weeks ago, is one such example ( link ). The site aims to bring staff and citizens in the West Midlands together "in a digital state". "The idea really is to try and create more and better informed decisions about the NHS to try and guide them through the NHS and help them to be empowered, to take more care of their health and to be informed about the choices that are available in healthcare," says NHS Local's service director, Matt Walsh. He says the site, which is provided by a consortium of public and private partners led by Maverick Television, is a "slightly different proposition" to government websites like NHS Choices, as its users consist of both staff and patients. "As a rough rule of thumb it is about 60% towards staff and 40% towards patients. On the staff side we're very interested in studying best practice and innovation in NHS," he adds. Walsh says NHS Local plans to expand in the next couple of months to start building up communities around different parts of the site for both staff and patients. Although reluctant to talk in detail about government cuts, he says that there is "a real appetite within the NHS at the moment to look at digital platforms". "I think that that is something that is absolutely alive around the NHS at the moment. For example one of the things that Andrew Lansley is very very interested in at the moment is trying to expose some of the vast amount of data that is held by the NHS and try and get that out into the real world," he explains. Walsh believes that NHS local is helping to break down the barriers between staff and patients and says the main aim at the moment is to refine the website to "reflect what our users want". He stresses the importance of the NHS maximising online tools. "I think it is absolutely vital for the NHS to move further down the line, embracing the digital revolution in terms of the way that they operate as an organisation," he adds. Communications: switch off the TV and be social