Health Services: Older People
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of digital health forms on elderly people's access to health services.
Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed
National Health Service organisations must ensure all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged to not discriminate.
This means that although we promote digital first services to those who choose to use them, a non-digital solution should be available for those patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally, which may include elderly people, to ensure continued, equitable access to care.
These non-digital routes must be available for all services provided by NHS organisations.
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