B

Baroness Merron (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 7 January 2025

Debate

Health and Adult Social Care Reform

Contribution

The right reverend Prelate is correct to mention—I have raised it myself—not just the digital exclusion of individuals but connectivity. It is one of the reasons that we will approach this in a cross-government fashion. However, on our move from analogue to digital—the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, rightly mentioned the capacity of the NHS—our view is that it can do so much more than it is doing currently. The Secretary of State said in the other place that restaurants, for example, have been texting customers for many years, have they not? They remind customers about their booking and give them a chance to cancel or change it. That is the kind of connectivity and service that we need from the NHS. I assure the right reverend Prelate that, where people are unable to use whatever the digital solution might be, they will be able to deal with it person-to-person or on paper. We will be flexible enough and actively seek out those who are not, as he described, immediately connected.

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