Health Services: Older People

(asked on 20th February 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

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
Zubir Ahmed Portrait
Zubir Ahmed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 4th March 2026

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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