Why does the NHS send letters?

[Magnoliasunrise]

Genuine question and I am not having a go but why does the NHS post letters?

I am waiting for a physio appointment and received a letter on Friday dated 1st May. I have 7 days from date of letter to ring and make an appointment. The booking line was closed Saturday and Sunday obviously. It was a bank holiday on Monday and yesterday when I phoned on my lunch I realised the line closes for half an hour at lunch. Hopefully I can get through today if I change my lunchtime but it is the last day I am able to book.

I checked my NHS app and the letter isn't registered on there and has no way of digitally booking. I think this could be a super easy way of saving the NHS a MASSIVE amount of time and money - move to digital appointments. Maybe each trust is different or maybe I am missing something? Genuinely curious if anyone knows why not?

Would you consider a course to help you become more confident?

I have relatives in their 80s in Ireland who use their phones for everything - banking, emails, whatsapp, etc. Not my mum though, and she feels cut off and resentful of the rest of her family because "nobody sends me photos any more"/ "I miss seeing you".

If the experience of myself and my Dsis is anything to go by, your children are probably quite concerned that you'll be over reliant on them for simple needs as you get older, or that you'll end up isolated because of lack of confidence in yourself wrt tech.

Which would be great for my client base who can be well below 40 but not able to work a smart phone, or any phone at all and who are often highly dependent upon care teams to respond to appointment letters - a letter's much easier to have stored in the home diary for the relevant staff member to access, than an email that might have gone to the manager who is off on leave for a week's inbox.

I work in a Learning Disability team and we're in a constant fight at the moment for the Trust to remember our client base when it comes to the drive to get rid of printers and swap to everything being sent out electronically. We send everything to be sent out to the admin inbox - they'll send digitally to GP surgeries etc, and then do paper copies for those who need that.

Lots of the stuff I sent out as well isn't standard "click the button from in the patient records software to generate a letter" either - we regularly need to make accessible format appointment letters etc tailored to the individual.

As for "would a letter work if they've left us with out of date phone numbers" - yep quite often it does if we can't get any answer to phonecalls - sending out an appointment letter for a home visit will usually get someone to call us up and make contact from that end - like last week where I had been trying to get in touch with a care home who didn't know the phoneline was faulty until I gave up and sent an appointment letter as I'd not been able to get through on the phone.

Whether we are all computer literate or not we all locked down for the sake of the NHS. Including the ones living rurally. So why should some be treated as acceptable collateral damage

As long as you are absolutely certain you know which orthopaedic/haematology/ ophthalmology (for example) clinic you need to be in. Since choose and book was implemented the number of patients turning up in the wrong clinic has rocketed.

Im changing GP surgeries and they need ID I havent got a passport or a driving licence so they want LETTERS addressed to me plus my birth and marriage certificate They want the latter because obviously my surname changed.

But i also have the piece de resistance My Covid vaccine booster reminder LETTER complete with my NHS number (i forgot to mention this when i was in there)

I'm going to assume that the facebook group you run isn't one for people devoted to statistics, because the older members of it are hardly a random, representative sample of people in their 90s, are they? By definition, your sample is restricted to people with enough digital competence to use social media! You yourself are an MNer, and FB group admin, meaning you're so comfortable with life online that you spend your free time using internet fora for diversion and entertainment. In real life, I find it plausible that all the 70+ year olds you know are au fait with technology.

You might have a different opinion of the UK population's digital literacy if you ran, for example, the regional branch of an in-person sports group or social group with a pre-dominantly older membership. Between family members, sports groups, and social groups, I certainly know 70 year olds who don't have a smartphone or whatsapp!

There should be an opt in for text and electronic communications, like most businesses in the 21st century now offer. Most things are now online, my doctors triage by email for the majority. Although I can see why things haven’t changed with some posters creating barriers instead of offering solutions.i.e. Retain paperless for those that need it.

@crumbledog couldnt agree more. I don’t understand the resistance from so many people. I get that it might not be possible to implement all of this due to cost/logistics but not doing it because people don’t like/wont accept change is ridiculous.

If your trust (like mine) has a system that has no functionality for doing that - then they can't! We have no ability to send texts to anyone when we make appointment - unless it's from my personal mobile!

I agree. Also not doing it because a tiny minority of people may have internet issues/ learning difficulties etc etc is ridiculous too. They can opt out and keep letters.
It's called progress.

Once again Dh got 2 letters in the post, having already opted out / for online.

A very small majority of the population either very old, or some other problem or learning difficulty for example, would need letters. This would mean that a very small minority of the population needs letters. Most people can cope with an app or an email for the letter. why the NHS is wasting millions and millions on printing letters and sending them out in the post is just utterly utterly disgusting. It makes me so incredibly angry.

Well, your assumption is wrong.
The Facebook Group is for members of the Church - very much in person, although one of them doesn't get to Church much now as their physical difficulties mean getting out is very difficult.
I am also in another hobby group where they print out things occasionally for the one member who doesn't have an e-mail address. The other 30 all do. I am one of only 2 people in the group who isn't retired. Several are into their 80s.
During Covid, many, many Church members had people set them up on line, so they could join services, as did many, many older people who wanted to stay in touch with family.
Of course there are lots who don't, in the same way there are lots of people who can't read letters, but you can't 'not introduce' such a huge saving to the public purse, because a very small minority of the population can't use it. You make the changes for the majority, with 'work rounds' for those who need to opt in to postal services.

I agree with you that policies have to work for the majority, without a doubt. It annoys me in every walk of life where the majority of people are inconvenienced because a tiny minority have to be catered for.
However, I still don't accept what you seem to be saying that most 80-90+ year olds are digitally savvy. This is not a criticism of them at all. Unless I mingle with a lot of particularly undigitally aware people, I would say the age where familiarity with apps, texts and emails is guaranteed is about 45 downwards. I have worked with people in their late 40s who did not have email or smartphones and had no interest in learning about them. I think it's a bit pathetic tbh and I am not suggesting for one minute that their reluctance to embrace something that is going to around for the rest of their lives should be a reason to stick to letters. I just said 40 and under because, imo, that is the age where there are no excuses because people of this age will have never known education or the workplace without computers, so they have no excuse whatsoever.

However, I still don't accept what you seem to be saying that most 80-90+ year olds are digitally savvy. This is not a criticism of them at all.

I haven't said that.
I have said there are plenty that are.
I would think the majority of those in their 90s aren't, and those in their 80s will be more, but I certainly wouldn't 'expect' them to be.
But certainly the overwhelming majority of those 70 and under are, and a whole lot of those in their 70s too.

But 'a whole lot' is not enough to impose a blanket policy to get rid of letters. This is why things never progress - silly arguments and people taking things as personal attacks instead of just getting on with things.
If anyone wanted to opt in to digital they could - I am just talking about drawing a line at a certain birth date and getting rid of the admin of opting in and out from that point.
Then all those in their 70s, 80s and 90s who want to could opt in and the tiny minority who have no internet connection/don't want to give their email address/don't understand emails or whatever niche reason can opt out and keep letters.
Simple.

Eh? @Katypp ?
No one is suggesting a blanket ban. I'm suggesting most people, or the majority do have a phone and an e-mail account, so for most the default can be non letter. Of course some need letters. But they are the minority.

AAAAAnnd TWO WEEKS after our engineer visit where he checked everything in the flat , the green box outside and even went all the way back to the telephone exchange in the town centre we keep losing internet again. Dropouts and potential multiple engineer visits show its not fit for purpose.

So letters letters letters all the way.