Covid-19 has been a story about bravery and sacrifice, about lockdowns and testing, about treatments and vaccines. Yet it’s also been a story about the profound changes it has had on our way of life. The way we work, travel and most interestingly our relationship with the digital and data space...
Few parts of our lives have been left untouched by the pandemic, with companies switching to remote and then hybrid working, while the National Health Service (NHS) and central government moved as many services as possible online to free-up capacity and avoid face-to-face interactions. Many of those changes are now becoming embedded in the ways public and private sectors operate. It is clear that digital services have been embraced, yet challenges remain.
Two years on from the start of the first lockdowns across the UK, what are the next steps for Britain’s digital transformation? Which of the changes brought about by the pandemic have been welcomed by the public and how should companies and public sector bodies adapt their procedures and services to reflect shifts in demand? To gauge the public’s reaction to this evolving landscape, Gemserv commissioned OnePoll to survey 2,000 adults throughout the UK during March of this year. The results were analysed by experts from our cyber, healthcare, and public sector teams, and form the basis for this snapshot report. The shift to hybrid working has led to clear challenges for businesses and public sector organisations when it comes to managing and securing their data. Employees are now accessing their employers’ systems remotely, often on their own devices, highlighting a critical need for staff to have the right training and the right and systems in place to make sensitive data accessible yet secure.
But challenges over security need not prevent companies or organisations from harnessing information to make data-driven decisions. Extracting value from data is essential to keep up with customers’ needs and demands, whether those come from clients buying products or services from a company or from citizens accessing healthcare or other essential government functions. Digital transformation is a vital and critical element which will enable he health and social care sectors to deal with the backlog created by Covid and the underlying pre-pandemic pressures stemming from rising costs and an ageing population. With the NHS in England being restructured around integrated care systems (ICSs) and action needed to reach ambitious net zero targets throughout the UK, digital adoption will help further to deliver the best outcomes for patients and for planet.
Since the pandemic patients appear to be now more in favour of online services, including video appointments with their general practitioners and greater availability of remote access to the wider NHS. Digital adoption will eventually help the NHS to focus on prevention of illnesses rather than simply curing patients. Accessing wider public services online appears to be meeting with satisfaction from citizens. Our survey found the public is embracing digital options and demanding ministers move faster to expand online access. Wider use of digital services doesn’t mean that concerns over data security have gone away though. Central and local government still need to be transparent with citizens by demonstrating how their data will be used, while being kept safe and secure. Some habits developed during the lockdowns – such as new-found passions for regular exercise or home cooking or online quizzes – may fade over time. Yet the public’s appetite for digital services from businesses and government is one habit that appears to be here to stay.