Scarborough Residents Share ‘Life-Changing’ Impact of Free Digital Training

Older Scarborough residents have praised the ‘life-changing’ benefits of having access to free digital training and support services.

​At Age UK’s digital hub in Scarborough on Wednesday, December 3, retired locals explained to the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire how to use a smart watch to keep track of blood pressure and monitor health and wellbeing.

​The charity’s North Yorkshire Coast and Moors branch was awarded almost £20,000 as part of a digital inclusion pilot project that includes a loan scheme, wearable tech, and education, enabling people over 50 to be more proactive about preventative health measures.

​The project, funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund, has been running for about two months and is focussed on using and accessing digital health services and platforms.

​Resident Lesley Gladman has been involved in the scheme with her husband and said that it “definitely has had a positive impact”.

​She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):

“Through the project I’ve got a smart watch on loan, and I’ve been instructed how to use it.

​“Today, because I needed to know how to record my blood pressure, they taught me how to use an app on my phone and on my watch, and calibrated it to the blood pressure monitor so that it’s personal to me. I found that really helpful.”

​Irha Parishei, the digital project lead at Age UK North Yorkshire Coast and Moors, said the charity’s Digital Champion project had raised awareness of online access among 3,000 residents on the coast.

​She said the aim of the project was to

“help people who cannot afford technology, we also provide them technology on loan that they can use, and have confidence in using it to create as big an impact as we can”.

​The charity is providing people with smart watches, rings and Alexas in the hope that they could benefit from “tracking and monitoring their health and how they can upskill themselves and learn to use apps or any other digital online health services like GP appointments.”

​Speaking to the LDRS, Mayor David Skaith said:

“We know so many of our communities are quite isolated and particularly as we get older, we have a fear around using technology with so many more services, particularly health services going online, we want to support people in accessing those services and to have the confidence to do so.”

​Commenting on the experiences that local residents had shared with him, the elected mayor said:

“Frankly, it’s why we all do these kinds of jobs, to actually see the positive outcomes and hear from people who’ve got a whole new lease of life who have felt completely excluded when it comes to using technology and going online.

​“Some people have never sent an email before, and if we can support people to engage those skills and get that confidence, then the world is their oyster.”

​Another local resident, John Crocker, said he was about to take up the role of branch treasurer on the Unite union’s retired members’ committee thanks to training he received from Age UK.

​“I started looking around for various opportunities to try and learn. This was one of the early ones I looked at. The union itself does provide training, but it’s only occasional courses over a year,” Mr Crocker said, adding: “It keeps you occupied”.

​Another attendee said she was “eternally grateful” for the scheme, which had been “life-changing” for her due to the mental health benefits of having access to WhatsApp, YouTube, and other online platforms.

​Age UK’s Ms Parishei added:

“We have helped more than 350 people with learning new skills and getting online, which has been very monumental, especially in terms of mitigating their loneliness, accessing digital health services or applying for a blue badge, or anything similar to that.

​“So overall, it has had a very great impact on an individuals’ lives,”