In Wednesday the 10th January's Women and Equalities Select Committee debate, I raised two concerns that older people in Carshalton and Wallington have raised with me in regard to online services.
Firstly, there are concerns as to whether apps and websites are user friendly services. I do believe that there needs to be a shift in some websites to account for those who are older or those who may have a cognitive impairment.
Another big concern is accessing health and service care through the digital space. A struggle for a lot of people is trying to book online appointments since the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a clear shift in the last few years towards using digital mechanisms for getting in touch with people, but this should not, as a consequence, disadvantage those who are not online.
It begs the question of when or where older people are considered when making the decision to transform platforms to be completely digital. The same can also be said for those with disabilities. Whilst the digital space is important and extremely efficient, in most cases, it is imperative that these spaces don’t discriminate against different groups of people.
