NHS email moves to Microsoft Exchange

New system promises to provide more secure transfer of patient data

350,000 NHS staff use the system

The NHS has moved its email system for all staff in England and Scotland onto Microsoft Exchange 2007, a move it says will mean a more efficient and secure service to users.

The system, known as NHSmail, is supplied by Cable & Wireless and was migrated over the past three months in the largest such operation of its kind in the world.

More than 350,000 user accounts were successfully moved to the new service covering 1,381 organisations across England and Scotland.

“The improvements to NHSmail means that NHS staff have access to a vastly improved communications tool. This new email service will mean faster communication between clinicians and better patient care, as patient information will be obtainable much more speedily and securely,” said Will Moss, programme head for NHSmail at NHS Connecting for Health.

The new service includes capabilities such as sending text messages via email, a feature that is used extensively for patient appointment and flu jab reminders.

The service also includes shared calendars and folders to improve collaborative working as well as a national directory of NHS staff.

The NHS expects more than half a million people to be using the service, which is funded centrally by Connecting for Health, by 2011.