The Government is to spend £5m on pilot projects for the use of digital television to provide health advice and information to people in their homes.
A Department of Health statement on May 22 said that projects should start by the end of the year to test possible National Health Service uses for digital television.
Current ideas include expanding NHS Direct to develop live links between its nurses and individual inquirers, providing general health information to schools and workplaces, supporting people who suffer chronic diseases and their carers and developing recruitment and training packages for NHS staff.
Ms Gisela Stuart (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health) said: "We need to assess the application of digital television in health, health care and health services to determine the best role for the NHS in digital television development. . . . We aim to establish an NHS digital gateway, set up groundbreaking projects of applications of digital TV in the health field and to develop targeted public health material for digital channels." The NHS was taking on a new role as a provider of information, as well as treatment, the Minister said.