Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of NHS (a) IT systems and (b) storage systems for patient letters.

We have set out our plans in ‘A Plan for Digital Health and Care’ in June 2022 to update and improve technology efficiency and efficacy in the National Health Service, including plans to digitise the frontline of the NHS and improve services for patients and staff. Further detail is also set out in the ‘Data Saves Lives’ strategy, and in the annual business plans for both the Department and NHS England.

More specifically, NHS IT capability in England is being measured and tracked through an annual digital maturity assessment designed to support trusts to understand their digital and data maturity and develop plans to meet our digitisation standards. This was carried out for the first time in 2023.

Additionally, NHS England does not have plans to make an assessment on the adequacy of NHS storage systems for patient letters. NHS service providers are responsible for arrangements on storing patient letters.