Digital exclusion and access to care:
- Healthwatch West Berkshire
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
A recent report, Care on Hold by Re-engage, explores how changes to GP access are affecting people. particularly older adults, at a time when digital routes are becoming increasingly central to how services are delivered.
Alongside this national picture, Healthwatch West Berkshire has been working with wider Berkshire partners on a detailed understanding of digital exclusion across the county. Taken together, these two pieces of work highlight an important and growing issue: access to care is increasingly shaped by digital ability, confidence, and connectivity.
What the Care on Hold report is telling us
The Care on Hold report focuses on how people experience GP access in a system that is becoming more digital-first.
Key themes include:
Many GP services now require or strongly encourage online booking systems
Some patients, particularly older people, struggle with digital-only pathways
Lack of digital confidence, skills, or access can create barriers to timely care
Phone and face-to-face routes are still valued, but can feel harder to access in practice
People who cannot easily use digital systems may rely on others or delay seeking help
The report also highlights that GP access is not just a transactional process—it is often a key point of reassurance and connection with the health system. When access becomes harder, this can affect confidence in navigating care more broadly.
What we’ve been looking at in West Berkshire
Within West Berkshire, we have been involved in wider Berkshire Digital Inclusion work that explores how residents experience digital access across everyday life, including health services.
This work uses local data, stakeholder input, and persona-based mapping to understand where and why digital exclusion may occur. It identifies five main barriers:
Connectivity – rural and location-based signal and broadband variation
Access – affordability of devices and data
Skills – confidence and ability to use digital tools
Design – complexity and consistency of digital services
Attitudes – trust, preference, and perceived relevance
In West Berkshire specifically, some of the factors that stand out include:
A higher proportion of older residents compared to neighbouring areas
Rural communities where digital connectivity can be more variable
Pockets of deprivation where access to devices and data may be limited
Variation in confidence with online systems across different population groups
The work also highlights that digital exclusion is not absolute. Many people are partially online, but may still struggle with specific tasks such as booking appointments, completing forms, or navigating NHS systems.
How the two pieces of work connect
When the findings from Care on Hold are viewed alongside local Berkshire analysis, a consistent picture emerges.
Both show that:
Digital systems are becoming a standard route into healthcare
Not everyone is equally able to use these systems
Older adults and people with lower digital confidence are more likely to experience barriers
Access is influenced by a combination of skills, connectivity, and service design
The experience of exclusion is often practical rather than theoretical—such as difficulty booking, uncertainty about next steps, or needing support to complete tasks
Importantly, both also highlight that digital access is not inherently positive or negative. It can improve efficiency for many people, but it does not remove the need to consider those who experience barriers.
What this means locally
For West Berkshire, the picture is one of mixed experience.
Many residents use digital health services successfully and find them convenient. At the same time, others may experience friction when systems assume a level of digital confidence or access that is not universal.
The work we have been involved in helps to see where these differences exist, particularly where they overlap with age, rurality, and deprivation. It also helps to show that digital exclusion is not always visible, but can still have a meaningful impact on how people experience access to care.
How does this affect you, your friends and family? We are keen to hear your experiences about how you contact your GP surgeries, your hospitals, your dentists, your optometrists. Are there many options available to you, and is it easy?
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Call Us: 01635 886210
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