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 digitalisation of NHS services on people who are digitally excluded.

We are working to improve access to digital services, outcomes, and experience for the widest range of people, based on their preferences. Digital health tools 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 successfully run a number of programmes to support patients, carers, and health service staff with their digital skills. These include: 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; the Widening Digital Participation programme, aimed to ensure more people have the digital skills, motivation and means to access health information and services online; and the NHS App ‘Spoken Word’ Pilot project, designed to test the efficacy of promoting National Health Service digital health products and services in languages other than English.

NHS England has published a framework for NHS action offering support to vulnerable people and those digitally excluded in rural areas and is developing further resources and practical actions including one-to-one support to improve digital literacy and access to NHS tools. All programmes are actively considering how they can contribute to improvements in healthcare inequalities and digital inclusion.

We know that some patients may struggle or prefer not to use digital options. That is why we have also committed to work with digital transformation teams in integrated care boards and with groups at risk of digital exclusion to ensure digital solutions are inclusive. We will also continue to provide high quality, non-digital options for those who want and need them.