NHS email address change: FOI release

Information requested

The reasons for the recent change in NHS staff email addresses in Scotland from the previous nhs.net addresses to the new heath board.scot.nhs addresses?

Response

The move to the ‘nhs.scot’ email address was implemented as part of the NHS Scotland Microsoft Cloud Computing Strategy Programme to deploy Windows 10 and Office 365 across NHS Scotland. This programme is being managed by NHS National Services Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The NHSmail system (nhs.net) was a joint venture between NHS Scotland and NHS England that provided a national email service for NHS staff in both Scotland and England. Strategic decisions, taken by NHS Digital in England, on the future provision of the NHSmail platform meant that it was no longer a viable option for NHS Scotland and this led to NHS Scotland making the decision to migrate onto the Microsoft Office 365 platform.

Although NHSmail was a joint venture between NHS Scotland and NHS England, the ‘nhs.net’ domain name is solely owned by NHS Digital. This is the reason why NHSmail users in Scotland have been unable to keep their ‘nhs.net’ email addresses and have, instead, moved to ‘nhs.scot’ email addresses.

About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.