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Written question asked by Lord Kamall (Conservative) on Monday, 2 February 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 February 2026. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 9 February 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

NHS: Software

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance is available to people who are not sufficiently technologically proficient to use the NHS app.

Answer

We are working to improve access to digital services, outcomes, and experiences 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.

Centrally built services, such as the NHS App and National Health Service website, are designed to meet international accessibility standards. We are modernising the mobile patient experience within the NHS App, ensuring information is clearly structured and easy to find and understand.

NHS England has successfully run several 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 NHS digital health products and services in languages other than English.

We have also recruited over 2,000 NHS App ambassadors and 1,400 libraries to help people to learn how to use the NHS App.

NHS England has published a framework for NHS 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.

We are also developing a national proxy service to grant authorised access for people to manage health care on behalf of other people that are unable to use the NHS App.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL14191
Session
2024-26
Related items
Official Residences: Expenditure
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Software Digital technology NHS
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk