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 digital exclusion on older people’s ability to access NHS services.

People unable to access the NHS App or online services, or visit their general practice (GP) in person, can ask for a feature called proxy access available through the NHS App. This function allows a trusted relative or carer to act on the patient’s behalf and can be set up through the patient’s GP surgery, so that they can help them manage their health and care. This is done through a proxy, or linked, account. Depending on the access that the GP surgery has enabled, proxy users may be able to act for the person they support, by ordering repeat prescriptions, booking appointments, viewing test results or vaccinations, and accessing all or part of the GP health record, to help with health-related tasks and managing health issues.

While digital health tools like the NHS App offer convenience, they should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.

NHS England has published a framework for National Health Service action on digital inclusion and is developing further resources to support practical actions. All programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion. Digital health tools are part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support and telephone services, with appropriate help for people who struggle to access digital services.

NHS England has successfully run a number of programmes to support patients, carers, and health service staff with their digital skills. These include:

- the NHS App ‘Spoken Word’ Pilot project, designed to test the efficacy of promoting NHS digital health products and services in languages other than English;

- the Digital Health Champions programme, a proof of concept to support citizens who have no or low digital skills with understanding how to access health services online; and

- the Widening Digital Participation programme, aimed to ensure more people have the digital skills, motivation, and means to access health information and services online.

GP surgeries also offer patients non-digital methods to manage their primary and secondary healthcare, and these methods usually consist of telephonic communication and letters. Patients can request a non-digital route by registering their preference with their GP surgery.