The NHS website, www.nhs.uk, has undergone a substantial refurbishment and has become a “gateway” page to give the public access to information, services and advice, underpinning the government’s agenda of “patient choice". According to the NHSIA, the site was redesigned to act as a one-stop point for information about all aspects of the NHS, from health advice to careers and policy reports, so that patients can get all the knowledge they need to make decisions. There is even a link to the National Programme for IT’s website. The original NHS site has now been moved to www.nhs.uk/england and been redesigned so that it is accessible and more intuitive. Those without web access will be able to get the same information from the NHS Direct phone service. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish websites remain unchanged. The NHSIA say that extensive usability studies had been carried out. People on the original website had found it hard to find information about local services. The redesign of the original features a postcode search facility, letting users look for GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacies, as well as see star ratings and . Another reason why the NHS site was redesigned, say the NHSIA, is that there are so many websites offering health advice that there was a need for one easy-to-remember URL with all the advice people need from a trusted source. Last month, the NHS website received over 4 million page views, and an average of 600,000 unique visitors.
