A BRAND new website for NHS Dumfries and Galloway will go live this Friday, providing easier access to a wealth of health-related information.
And while the new site is being launched at a new, easier to remember address – www.nhsdg.co.uk – anyone visiting the existing site will be taken to the new location.
Hailing the new website, NHS Dumfries and Galloway Chief Executive Jeff Ace said: “Our website has been due an update for a while, and we’re delighted at what we’ve been able to do in creating an attractive and engaging new source of information and support.
“The new site feels very fresh, and importantly is much easier to navigate. As part of our commitment to providing people with access to resources, we’re confident that they’re going to find it a big improvement.”
The new site presents visitors with a choice of six main boxes on the front page – ‘Find Services Near Me’, ‘Control Your Care and Support’, ‘Recruitment’, ‘We Welcome Your Feedback’, ‘Information and Engagement’ and ‘Board Papers and Performance’.
Mr Ace said: “Providing people with a greater role in controlling their own care and support is a key ethos of modern healthcare, and that’s reflected in the fact that one of the six main options on the front page takes them to this information.
“There, they’ll be able to read about and download an Anticipatory Care Plan (ACP), which we’re encouraging everyone to complete in order to specify their exactly what they want from their health and social care journey. They’ll also be able to find out about Power of Attorney, which is an incredibly important tool in ensuring people’s wishes are respected when either through illness or injury they may no longer have the ability to express those wishes themselves.
“Other features of the new site include a guide to where people can access services such as GPs, opticians and dentists, and a section where people can find out how to provide feedback and see accounts of people’s experiences updated daily thanks to a live feed from Care Opinion.”
Reflecting the ongoing challenges around recruitment, which are part of a national picture, the site also features a prominent recruitment section which is set to shortly be significantly redeveloped and expanded.
A drop-down menu meanwhile takes visitors to information on the very wide range of services delivered by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
Latest information on the coronavirus COVID-19 is prominently displayed.
And reflecting the national integration of health and social care, the website is very closely integrated with the website for Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership, www.dghscp.co.uk, which holds an operational responsibility for the majority of health and adult social services in the system.
Mr Ace said: “We’d very much encourage everyone to visit the new website www.nhsdg.co.uk when it launches on Friday, and provide us with feedback so that we can continue to tailor it to meet the needs of the local population.”