Client
NHS Leeds & Leeds City Council
Services
Discovery / Alpha / Beta / Live
Lead by a consortium of Leeds City Council, the NHS and Yorkshire MESMAC, Leeds Sexual Health (LSH) is a new Ayup-designed digital hub that provides access to sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and treatment, HIV testing and contraception services across Yorkshire’s largest city.
Ayup Digital’s innovative design – which involves a new self-triaging system and service finder – has transformed the way patients access sexual health services online, helping 120,000 people a year find the right service for them and reducing pressure on front line services.
Challenge #
The challenge Leeds Sexual Health faced was significant. They needed to seamlessly bring together the services of three disparate sexual health organisations under one roof whilst reducing administrative pressure and increasing patient engagement.
They saw that better use of digital technologies might be the answer but needed to find the right solution – and the right partner.
They knew they needed to find a digital practice with an in-depth knowledge of healthcare and digital and one which understood design-thinking – who could work sensitively with clinicians, therapists and patient groups and engineer a solution meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders.
Project scope #
In November 2016, LSH chose Ayup Digital to take the lead role in re-imagining its sexual health service provision from a digital perspective and creating a new online sexual health website for Leeds.
The project first involved investigating the existing services delivered by the three Leeds-based sexual health services – and translating those to an online setting.
It then involved designing and engineering a digital solution which would ease the pressure on overburdened front-line NHS services whilst engaging new and younger groups.
Solution #
The initial phase of the project involved Ayup delivering a series of ‘discovery workshops’ - working with clinicians, therapists and patient groups across Leeds to co-design and define a digital service that met their needs.
From this initial work, Ayup set about developing a bespoke self-triaging service which would answer basic patient questions online, enable the user to check symptoms and be steered users towards the most appropriate services.
Ayup also created a bespoke service finder function which enables visitors to quickly and easily locate public and private sector services that best suits their needs and requirements – all without the need for direct contact with the main service.
Embedding digital into Leeds’ sexual health services has not only led to a large increase in website traffic but a higher uptake in sexual health testing - particularly by younger age groups.
The Ayup-engineered solution delivers: #
- A new, fully redesigned website for Leeds Sexual Health with new logos, illustrations and layout.
- A bespoke digital self-triaging service which helps patients to identify their concerns and directs users to the right service for them and their needs.
- An innovative new service finder function which gives users the ability to locate services local to them – without the need for direct contact.
- A back-office which enables all sexual health services, from pharmacists to free condom providers, to update their own public-facing information so the website is always current and relevant for patients.
- Major increases in site traffic and engagement, leading to better informed citizens and reduced pressure on front line staff.