“The NHS app changed my life.”
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our NHS App project; completed our survey, left comments on our social media channels or spoke to our engagement officers at local community events – your voice matters and helps improve services and care.
Between October 2025 and January 2026, we heard from 953 residents across Wokingham Borough. In total, we received 1,436 responses, including 483 from Reading.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be running a campaign to share more insights from our project with you. These will also be shared with local communities, organisations, healthcare providers, commissioners, and decision-makers both locally and nationally to help make services better for everyone.
The projectHealthwatch Wokingham Borough and Healthwatch Reading explored how local residents use the NHS App, why some do not use it, what barriers or challenages they experience, and what would make digital healthcare more accessible and inclusive for everyone. As the NHS moves towards making the NHS App its main “front door” to healthcare, it is important to understand how people experience using it. Our previous joint GP Access project, conducted by Healthwatch Wokingham Borough, Healthwatch Reading and Healthwatch West Berkshire in 2023/24, found that over 19% of respondents felt that technology, including the NHS App, made it harder to access care and services. The findings from this project show that these challenges remain. |
Our first highlight is that the NHS App is being used and making a real difference to people’s lives across the borough, with 71% of Wokingham Borough residents surveyed reporting that they use the NHS App.
Across Reading and Wokingham Borough combined, two-thirds of residents surveyed reported using the app, demonstrating its reach and the positive impact it is having for many people.
