Our story - launch of Our Digital Future strategy

Declan Hadley, Digital Lead and Dr Amanda Thornton, Digital Health Clinical Lead launched Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria's digital strategy in June 2018. 

The way we manage our lives is changing. 86% of households now have internet access, 82% of people go online every day and 72% of adults use a smartphone.

It is now time to embrace this rapidly increasing digitalised world and manage our own wellbeing, health and social care needs. With two thirds of visits to the NHS Choices website being on smartphones, there are clear indications that a majority of people are ready to go online to understand and manage their health and care needs.

Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria is home to a growing population of 1.7 million people. More of us are getting older and experiencing long-term health problems. Some of this disease could be avoided or the ill-effects slowed down, if we took positive action. Using digital is one approach to help address the challenges we all face.

We know digital will not work for everybody. Some people struggle with computers and not everybody has access to the internet. For those who would like to use digital but cannot, our aim will be to find ways to help them get online. As our digital offer grows we hope people will find it easier and more convenient to use online services, but technology will never replace the care and compassion that comes from our dedicated workforce.

Find out more in the Our Digital Future section.