Our work
Where we work. How we help. Why it matters.
Every week, across more than three dozen community locations in Ayr and South Ayrshire, our navigators help local people use the NHS online — at whatever pace makes sense for them.
Every week, across more than three dozen community locations in Ayr and South Ayrshire, our navigators help local people use the NHS online — at whatever pace makes sense for them.
Every week, across more than three dozen community locations in Ayr and South Ayrshire, our navigators sit down with local people and do something deceptively simple: they help them use the NHS online. They help them create an NHS login account and understand why it is secure. They show them how to read a blood pressure or cholesterol result without panicking, and how to message their GP practice through the portal rather than waiting forty-five minutes on hold.
They walk through the steps of ordering a repeat prescription digitally — slowly, patiently, with a printed guide in front of both of them — until the person can do it alone. They answer questions that no automated helpline would ever field: 'What does this error message mean?', 'Is it safe to tick this box?', 'My screen looks different from your guide — what's happened?'. They adapt to bifocals and shaky hands and unreliable 4G signals and the very real fear that pressing the wrong button might somehow cause harm. That is the work.
Independence being reclaimed
Each programme is designed to meet people where they are — physically and digitally.
One-to-one digital health support delivered in the homes of people who cannot easily travel to community venues.
Our Home Visit Navigator Service matches individuals with a trained volunteer who visits at a mutually agreed time, bringing a charged tablet and printed reference materials. Sessions typically cover NHS login setup, the NHS Scotland app, repeat prescription requests, and appointment booking via NHS Inform. Follow-up visits are offered as standard, and we never close a case until the person feels genuinely confident to continue independently.
Regular free drop-in sessions held across Ayr and South Ayrshire in libraries, community centres, and GP practice waiting areas.
We run weekly drop-ins at Ayr Library, Prestwick Community Centre, Troon Town Hall, and several rural village halls across South Ayrshire. Each session is staffed by at least two trained navigators and is open to anyone who needs help with an NHS digital task — no appointment needed, no referral required. We bring devices for people who do not have their own, and all sessions are fully accessible including hearing loop provision.
Developing and distributing free printed guides to NHS Scotland's digital tools, written in plain Scots English and available in large print.
Our resource team produces step-by-step guides for tasks including setting up an NHS login, ordering repeat prescriptions online, reading test results via the NHS app, and updating GP records. All guides are co-designed with residents during testing sessions, reviewed for accessibility by a community panel that includes people with low literacy and visual impairment, and are available free of charge through GP practices, pharmacies, libraries, and Age Scotland outlets across Ayrshire.
Working directly with GP practices in South Ayrshire to reduce digital exclusion among their registered patient populations.
We partner with GP practices to identify patients who are frequently telephoning for tasks that NHS digital tools could handle — repeat prescriptions, appointment requests, medical record queries — and proactively offer those patients a supported digital onboarding session. Practice staff receive brief awareness training from our team so they can confidently signpost patients to our services. This partnership model has demonstrably reduced inbound call volume at participating practices while improving patient confidence and autonomy.
Beyond individual support, we advocate at a systems level. We attend NHS Ayrshire and Arran's patient engagement forums to represent the voice of digitally excluded residents. We submit evidence to Scottish Government consultations on digital health policy. We publish annual data on the digital health barriers faced by our beneficiaries, contributing to the national evidence base on health inequalities in Scotland.
We believe that good frontline work and good policy advocacy belong together — you cannot truly solve a structural problem one person at a time, but you cannot convince a policy audience without the evidence that comes from doing exactly that.
Get involvedOur navigators answer questions that no automated helpline would ever field: 'What does this error message mean?', 'Is it safe to tick this box?', 'My screen looks different from your guide — what's happened?'.
They adapt to bifocals and shaky hands and unreliable 4G signals and the very real fear that pressing the wrong button might somehow cause harm.
No rush. No jargon. No assumption that anything is obvious. Just two people — one with a question, one with patience — working through it together.
Ayr town centre, every week
Whether you need support with NHS digital services, want to volunteer as a navigator, or are exploring a community partnership — we would love to hear from you.
Get in touch