Dorset Digital Hotline – Can we help you?
Telephone: 01305 221000 (Select Option 2).
Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 12 noon (except Bank Holidays) or leave a message.
Many people in your local community are likely to be relying on digital online services and applications more than ever before. For some this will be a first and they need to learn from scratch and for others there are new digital hurdles to overcome almost on a daily basis just to get every day jobs done such as shopping or ordering prescriptions.
We wanted everyone in your local community to know that there is a new free telephone hotline set up in response to the COVID-19 lockdown, to provide support for people with IT and digital problems of all kinds. The hotline has received more than 50 calls in the first three weeks.
Here is a selection of some of the support the digital advisers can provide – no problem too small!
- helping families with digital applications for home schooling
- providing help to get online for home shopping
- support for all digital NHS services and e-Consult
- setting up video calls such as Skype and Facetime to keep in contact with friends and family
- support to use all digital appliances and solve problems
- using digital to exercise at home and keep fit
An example of how the Dorset Digital Hotline can make a difference to people’s lives is expressed by one of our digital advisers.
Andy Hargreaves a digital adviser said: “One lady I helped this week uses her iPad to keep in touch with her family via Facetime. She told me that she couldn’t hear her family speaking to her clearly on her calls because the sound on the iPad was distorted. I helped her to correct the problem over the phone and soon it was working properly. She said to me that if she wasn’t in isolation she would come over and give me a hug because the iPad was her lifeline now to the outside world.”
The Dorset Digital Hotline is run by a group of volunteers mostly made up of retired IT professionals and some Dorset Council staff. The team are extremely versatile and experienced and can offer a wide range of support to anyone including assistance to vulnerable people in your community.
Please pass this information on through your own channels to community groups, friends and family.
We look forward to hearing from you!