§ Mrs. Helen ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the value of the use of digital television in the modernisation of the NHS. [83021]
§ Mr. LammyThe Department, working with commercial partners from the media and broadcasting industries, has recently run four pilot projects exploring health applications of digital interactive television. The different projects were chosen to explore a variety of different types of digital television service and different digital TV platforms. Information was broadcast on health conditions, healthy living and local health services using text-based material, video-on-demand and a mixture of scheduled programmes and text-based information. A range of transactional services such as booking appointments with general practitioners was also explored.
Following the completion of these pilot projects, a programme of work will begin to develop a version of NHS Direct for digital TV and to make it available nationwide. Working with commercial partners, the Department and the NHS will develop a service that will enable people to have easy and fast access at home to trusted information and advice on health, health care and the NHS. Such a service will complement the already very successful NHS Direct telephone helpline and the NHS Direct online website. The Department will also continue to explore the more transactional uses of digital TV.
The process of selecting commercial partners will begin early in the new year with the Department issuing an invitation to tender to develop and run an NHS Direct information service on digital TV. The Department's intention is, in time, to provide this service across all digital TV platforms.