Overview
NHSmail support local health and social care providers in England with the enablement of secure email accounts to safely exchange patient or sensitive information with other health and social care professionals.
NHSmail is available to all domiciliary, residential or nursing care providers regardless of whether they support local authority, NHS or self-funded individuals.
Upon joining NHSmail, each organisation will have one shared mailbox account and up to ten user accounts per site.
Registration routes
Below are two ways a social care organisation can apply for NHSmail
Single site organisations should always onboard via the NAS managed route.
1. National administration service (NAS) registration process
To join NHSmail via the national administration registration process please use the online registration portal tool.
You may also refer to the video below and follow the detailed steps on how to complete registration for Social Care Providers via NAS –
Before registering for NHSmail, please ensure you :
- Organisation Data service (ODS) code e.g., V12345 NHS Digital ODS Portal
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) location ID – (CQC registration number)
- CQC Contact ID – this is a code that is within CQC registration information also known as the Registered Manager’s ID (can be found on the Registered Managers certificate e.g. 1-xxxxxx or CON1-xxxxxx
- Achieved ‘approaching standards/higher’ via the Data Security and Protection Toolkit(DSPT)
- DSPT support is being provided by local support organisations, or in some areas regional teams https://www.digitalsocialcare.co.uk/data-security-protecting-my-information/better-security-better-care/local-support-partners/
- To check your current DSPT compliance – Organisation Search (dsptoolkit.nhs.uk)
This route is only available to social care organisations (for example, care homes and domiciliary care organisations). Registration should be completed by one person on behalf of each site.
Hospices: If you are a hospice and are wanting to join NHSmail via the NAS route, please contact the feedback team who will be able to advise. Please use the following subject line when emailing Feedback – “Hospice NHSmail Application Query”.
Find out more about NHSmail on our support site pages.
2. Self-management process
This route is for larger care providers with multiple sites, who have the necessary IT infrastructure and resourcing to carry out administration activities for their own NHSmail accounts, co-ordinated by their own Local Administrators.
To apply, please complete the self-management application form.
The below table confirms who is responsible for the day to day local administration of accounts according to the registration route chosen.
Administration contacts post set up
| # | Registration route | Responsible for managing the accounts |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | National administration service (NAS) | The NHSmail central team, known as NAS, can be contacted by email helpdesk@nhs.net |
| 2. | Self-management | Care provider ICT team / department |
| Last Reviewed Date | 16/08/2023 |
