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About the NHS website

The NHS website for England (www.nhs.uk) is the UK's biggest health website, with more than 50 million visits every month.

Information about NHS services can vary in other parts of the UK. Please visit your local NHS website for:

We're not just a website

Millions of people also access our content through:

  • partner websites
  • apps
  • internet-connected devices

More than 2,000 organisations share our content, including other NHS websites, local authorities, charities and commercial organisations, from start-ups to large technology leaders.

With our range of APIs and widgets, we have made it simple to connect and syndicate our content.

Information:

Read more about our free syndication programme on the NHS API Developer Portal.

Social media channels

Social media is also an important part of the NHS website service.

We reach millions of people a month through:

What we do

Video: The NHS website – what we do

This video explains more about what the NHS website does and what our offer includes.

Media last reviewed: 10 August 2023
Media review due: 10 August 2026
Video transcript

NHS.UK - what we do

We aim to:

  1. Improve health and care outcomes.
  2. Improve people’s experiences of health and care services.
  3. Reduce pressure on frontline services.
  4. Make health and care services more efficient.

We're focused on meeting the health and care needs of people across England. We provide NHS information through a range of digital channels, including:

  • the NHS website (nhs.uk)
  • social media platforms
  • APIs and syndication services that connect and share our content

Our offer includes:

Information about health, healthcare and social care, for example:

  • symptoms, conditions and treatments
  • risk factors
  • self-care and self-referral advice

Information to help people access and use health and care services, for example:

  • the ability to self-refer to a psychological therapy service
  • profiles of service providers, including services offered, contact details and opening hours

Guidance about how to respond to major health events. This includes what people can do to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of themselves and their families. For example:

  • advice on how to protect everyone's health and use the NHS in
    a pandemic

Help to change behaviour to improve health and wellbeing, for example:

  • couch to 5K running plan
  • advice on quitting smoking

Information to help people make more confident decisions about care and treatment, for example:

  • service finders to help people choose a service that best suits their needs
  • information on treatment options for different health conditions

Sharing feedback on NHS services, for example:

  • our ratings and reviews service lets people give feedback on their experiences with health and care providers and allows providers to respond
  • we publish patient experiences to help other people choose services

Signposting to specialist information, advice and support, for example:

  • referral to charity websites and online communities for further information
  • highlighting specialist apps and online services

Helping people understand their rights when using services, for example:

  • letting patients choose if their data is used for research and planning
  • outlining carers’ rights to support and benefits
  • explaining how to complain about care and treatment

What we do not do

See what we do not do

We do not provide:

  • Clinical services. NHS.UK can complement such services, however it is not structured to provide clinical services in its own right. We do not, for example, provide advice based on an assessment of an individual's clinical needs.
  • Health campaigns that are not primarily NHS-branded – such as Better Health. These may however still be published via our channels and will be clearly signposted from content and functionality published in our channels.
  • Detailed information and guidance about policies, regulations or legislation – of the kind more appropriately published via GOV.UK and www.legislation.gov.uk.
  • Public consultations – generally published on the NHS England website or on GOV.UK.
  • Official information from ministers – generally published on GOV.UK
  • Information for patients and service-users in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland – the responsibility of www.nhs.wales, www.hscni.net and www.nhs24.scot respectively.
  • Information or services that can be more effectively supplied by other organisations, including those in the third sector, and commercial organisations.
  • Information not primarily intended for a public audience.
  • Professional training, qualifications, volunteering or recruitment information, advice or opportunities.
  • Promoting commercial organisations without a defined user benefit.
  • Information that should be hosted on GOV.UK - read more about the GOV.UK proposition.
  • Organisational communications. This information, usually intended to meet an organisation’s short-term needs to manage events and current affairs is generally published on GOV.UK or the NHS England website.
  • Transparency information relating to NHS services beyond NHS.UK. This information, for example data transparency notices, is generally published on the website of the organisation providing the service.

How we work

We put users first when creating and transforming our content. We take an agile, iterative approach, starting with identifying the user needs.

We test our ideas with users and use the feedback we receive to learn and improve.

To ensure our content is safe, accurate and up to date, we:

Information:

Find out more about our policies, including our content policy and how we're governed.

The NHS website is commissioned by NHS England.

NHS digital service manual

The NHS digital service manual helps NHS teams design and build consistent, usable digital services that put people first.

It includes:

  • the NHS.UK frontend library
  • prototyping kit
  • design principles
  • UI styles, patterns and components
  • the content style guide
  • accessibility and other practice guidance

How we're improving

We're continuously improving the NHS website to help and empower people to engage with their own health, care and wellbeing, and that of the people they care for.

We have already introduced a new, clearer site design that's more accessible and readable, and designed primarily for mobile devices.

Other examples of the improvements we're making include:

  • reworking thousands of pages of clinically validated content, tools and services to better meet user needs and improve accessibility
  • publishing new content on commonly used medicines
  • modularising our content to improve its availability through syndication
  • listening to data and metrics to evolve and adapt our approach
Information:

You can read more about the work we're doing on the digital transformation blog.

How to get in touch

To report a mistake, ask a question or make a suggestion about anything on the NHS website:

Give feedback about the NHS website

If you're interested in working for NHS England:

Visit the NHS England careers page

Page last reviewed: 11 October 2023
Next review due: 11 October 2026