Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to develop new apps for the NHS; what budget has been made available for such development; and if he will make a statement.

A number of new apps are currently being developed, are being assessed or have been already approved into the NHS Apps Library to make digital services available which are appropriate to patients’ needs. As set out in ‘The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care’, we want to create a world-leading ecosystem for developers to create apps and digital tools that can support patients and clinicians and to spread them quickly across the system through better use of standards and frameworks. The document is available at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-healthcare-our-vision-for-digital-data-and-technology-in-health-and-care

The NHS App is currently in development. This free app is due to launch at the end of 2018, gradually rolling out to patients across theUnited Kingdom from December. The NHS App will enable people to have easier access to a range of health and care services as and when they need them.

Funding for these developments is being made available from a number of sources across the health and care system and by app developers themselves.