Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the NHS online hospital on women’s health inequalities.

Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.

NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.

NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.

NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.

Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/

Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.