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As digital systems become increasingly embedded across the NHS, questions about access, equity, and accountability are growing more urgent. The Digital Poverty Alliance’s national inquiry into digital inclusion and health is gathering evidence on how this shift is affecting those least equipped to navigate it – and what must change to ensure digital transformation does not deepen existing inequalities.

Chaired by Professor Farah Bhatti OBE, the inquiry is focused on the real-world consequences of digital exclusion within health and care – not in theory, but in the everyday interactions where people seek advice, book appointments, receive diagnoses, and manage long-term conditions.

Submissions are invited from individuals and organisations with first-hand experience of:

• barriers to accessing digital services, devices, and connectivity
• digital skills, confidence, and health literacy
• the effects of exclusion on older people, disabled people, marginalised communities, and those in insecure housing or rural areas
• the pressures faced by clinicians and frontline staff delivering care through digital systems

“We cannot design a fair or functional digital health system without listening to those it is failing”

” said Elizabeth Anderson, Chief Executive of the Digital Poverty Alliance. “This inquiry is not about surface-level consultation. It is about surfacing the evidence that too often goes unheard – and placing it where it cannot be ignored.”

Submissions are open until 30 July 2025, and may be submitted online or by post. Full details are available at digitalpovertyalliance.org/healthinquiry.

The inquiry’s final report will be published in early 2026, with recommendations aimed at ensuring digital healthcare is not only efficient – but accessible, inclusive, and accountable.