Growing the UK’s testing capacity

“We’re proud that the system has hit satisfaction scores of 4.1 out of 5,” said Kasia, who describes her most humbling moments on the project as hearing people talk about their own experiences.

“Getting tested isn’t the most pleasant experience, especially for those dealing with challenging circumstances. Feedback from someone who had a good experience, for example easily getting an urgent test for their toddler, made me feel like all the work was worth it.”

“Designing inclusively means creating a system that can meet the needs of people with disabilities and other access needs,” Kasia continued, “and this also evolved over time.”

The first pandemic in over 100 years generated several important firsts. One was enabling people without access to digital devices to book or order their tests and putting stringent security and privacy measures in place to enable people to get their results on the phone via the 119 assisted service. Deloitte developed the 119 call centre administrator software to enable this.

A team effort led by Deloitte’s customer strategy and inclusive design team, charity partners, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) led to important changes to help those with visual impairments to use home testing kits. Studies with blind and partially-sighted people and groups first helped to determine how those with visual impairments could best access tests.

Following trials, changes were made to test-kit packaging to make box assembly easier when returning samples, and providing instructions in braille, audio and large print format. And a partnership with the Be My Eyes app introduced the option of a live video assistant who acts as a guide during the home-testing process.

Deloitte’s Susan McDonald, who led on the studies and whose team helped shape and design the home test service improvements, added: “We and the charity partners shared the vision that the design and creation processes should start with inclusive design. We worked in partnership to improve accessibility of the service to ensure it served those with visual impairments, disabilities, the digitally excluded, and non-English speakers.”

RNIB’s Michael Wordingham said: “We were pleased to be given the opportunity to work so closely with the team at Deloitte and DHSC to design and run trials to improve the accessibility of the home testing service. We hope that this form of co-design will serve as a model way of working for future projects to ensure accessibility is built in from the start.”

Be My Eyes app CCO Alexander Hauerslev Jensen explained: "We designed the Be My Eyes platform to help address day-to-day challenges that the blind and low vision communities face. Making COVID home tests accessible takes our work to another level, demonstrating the intersection of technology, public health, and accessibility, and it's something we're proud to be a part of."

Looking at the events of the last year, Deloitte’s UK head of healthcare Sara Siegel sees an opportunity to cement the extraordinary progress they have made in digital transformation in the past year.

“If I could hope for one positive legacy from the pandemic, a heartbreaking experience for millions of people, it would be for UK healthcare to take advantage of all the gains it has made from a digital adoption perspective. For example, the integration of NHS Login into the testing service increased adoption of a digital NHS account by three million in the first two weeks of release.”

For Kasia and the team, who remain motivated by knowing the difference they have made to curbing the pandemic, looking to the future means building on what they’ve learned this year and applying inclusive design principles on further health projects.

“It’s not every day that a digital designer gets to say, ‘we’re helping to save lives’.”