Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the recent closure of a healthcare technology supplier on GP practice websites and online patient services in the Central East ICB area; how many GP practices have been affected; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure continuity of patient access.

On 16 October, NHS England was notified that a company that provides over 470 general practices with websites and or an online consultation product went into administration. NHS England, working with integrated care boards, contacted all affected practices with advice on how to maintain business continuity and minimise the impact on patient care, with the organisation’s regional digital teams providing appropriate oversight and assurance. The vast majority of practices in England were entirely unaffected by these issues.