NHS Choices is helping to
improve the nation’s health,
enabling people to take care of
themselves, giving them reliable
information on conditions and
treatments, allowing them to
make informed choices about
their care and engaging them
in raising standards.
In 2008, Capita took on NHS Choices, a health information website
with big ambitions. Our 3 year mission: develop it into the health
service’s digital front door in England, while reducing costs.
Providing information is not an end in itself. The Department of
Health wants the website to encourage and help people to take
responsibility for their health, reducing the burdens on the NHS.
So a primary goal is to attract more visitors, empowering them to
make health decisions by providing them with content, interactive
tools and videos in order to become better informed and take control
of their health and wellbeing.
Our target of 7 million visits a month by 2011 looked stretching.
But by ensuring we are delivering a robust service and expanding
the website’s usefulness imaginatively we achieved it 2 years early.
Visits doubled within 12 months. In October 2009 the website
attracted 9.5 million visitors and the 2009 average was 7.2 million.
By 2011 we are now targeting at least 11.7 million and we have a
programme of technology refresh and enhancement to ensure
continuous improvement. Meanwhile, we are eliminating duplication
of effort – and cost – elsewhere by providing syndicated content for
NHS trusts’ local websites.
NHS Choices is helping to transform the delivery of health and social
care, making it more patient centred and accessible. And the flow is
two-way: as well as providing authoritative information on conditions,
treatments and services, it enables citizens to rate their experiences.
Hospitals are making improvements in response to patient comments
on the website, and we are seeing a similar impact on GP practices
since the comment facility was extended to cover them in 2009.
As well as giving patients choice, it’s giving them a voice.