Free wi-fi could tackle the 70% of junior doctors’ time spent on admin, says online entrepreneur

Junior doctors spend 70% of their time on administrative tasks that could be reduced by introducing free wi-fi in the NHS, an online entrepreneur has said.

Martha Lane Fox, cofounder of lastminute.com, said in a letter to the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, that free access to wi-fi networks would free up “more time for patient care.”1

She said, “Some estimates suggest that administrative duties can take up to 70% of a junior doctor’s day. As Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s national medical director, has said, ‘I recently asked a bunch of junior doctors what single change in hospitals would make their jobs easier. I didn’t expect the answer: wi-fi. But it makes sense.’”

Lane Fox was asked by Hunt to recommend practical proposals for the National Information Board to facilitate digital innovation in the NHS.2 As well as introducing free wi-fi, Lane fox said that the NHS needed to make sure that patients with the most need were the first to be included in any new digital tools.

She said that, by 2017, at least 10% of registered patients should have access to online GP services such as online appointment booking, repeat prescriptions, and access to records. Lane Fox also recommended that the NHS workforce should have basic digital skills to support patients’ health needs.

She said, “I recommend that a digital skills assessment, training, support and mentorship programme is developed and rolled out locally, regionally and nationally that builds the digital maturity of the healthcare workforce, including digital leadership.

“This cannot be a one-off initiative but an ongoing process that keeps people’s skills and confidence at pace with technological developments for the benefit of all citizens.”