Written question asked by Sandra Gidley (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 27 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 March 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 April 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

N3 National Network

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the N3 national network connectivity capability of (a) general practitioners and (b) pharmacists; and if she will make a statement;

Answer: Currently around 9,700 general practitioner (GP) sites, including branch surgeries, have been connected to the N3 network in England, representing some 94 per cent. of those for which orders have so far been placed. The network provides centrally-funded, secure and reliable connections, between 0.5 megabite and two megabites, along with an integrated services digital network (ISDN) back-up line for resilience, and is the biggest civilian network in Europe.The capability of community pharmacy contractors to connect to N3 has been greatly enhanced by commercial network providers who are now making connections to N3 available as part of the introduction of the electronic prescription service (EPS). Community pharmacy contractors now have a range of options for getting connected, including all in one packages of EPS software upgrades and network connections offered by pharmacy system suppliers.As at 24 March 2006, 880 GP practices and 148 pharmacies had been upgraded and linked to the EPS. The rapid implementation of the EPS means that these numbers are constantly changing. Numbers for individual GPs and community pharmacists are not available.In line with the target in the Department's national strategic programme, Delivering 21st Century IT, all GP practices and community pharmacies in England are expected to be linked to the service by the end of 2007.

Secondary information