One year on Dorset's Digital Hotline answers nearly 1000 calls
The Digital Champions are offering online support over the phone
Dorset Digital Hotline are celebrating their first anniversary as it's been a whole year since the service was set up to help people get online.
Three lockdowns later the group have helped almost 1000 people with IT issues for people struggling to work and school from home.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in the use of digital technology and forced people all over the world to adapt to new ways of working.
Behind the hotline is a team of dedicated volunteer Digital Champions who were forced to give up their library clinics when lockdown saw everything close.
The hotline also supported local maternity services by helping pregnant women fill in online medical forms and provided valuable advice to callers on broadband availability and speeds.
Digital Champion, Andy Taylor, said: "The past year has been challenging for everyone and particularly for those less familiar with the digital world. Shopping, medical appointments, meetings and prescriptions all moved online and that caused some people to struggle.
"Through the hotline we have helped where possible and we've had to overcome the challenges of not being able to see people face-to-face.
"One of the highlights of the last year for me was helping a person with learning disabilities use their tablet to attend a medical consultation online and get the specialist help they needed.
"Often, people calling the hotline simply needed reassurance. The old days of deleting everything on a computer by accident have long gone and giving people the confidence to try and to play with their devices without (too much) risk has been great.
"It has been really satisfying helping people who called the hotline and it will be even better when we can go back to face-to-face sessions in libraries."
In total, 921, calls have been made to the hotline since it was launched on 30th March 2020.
Nearly 200 of the calls were from people asking for IT help with things like emails and printers; more than 150 people needed help to use devices like phones and tablets; 120 people were seeking assistance with online services such as shopping and health; 81 calls were from people needing help with video conferencing, Zoom, Skype, Facetime and WhatsApp and 86 callers needed help with their poor broadband.
The hotline was also the place to call for people in urgent need of devices, with Dorset Council issuing 50 free phones and tablets during the Covid-crisis.
People can call the Digital Hotline on 01305 221048, Mondays to Fridays, 10am to midday.