NHS.net

NHS.net is a Microsoft Outlook Web App email, diary and directory system for National Health Service (NHS) employees in England and Scotland. The system is not for patients of the NHS. Retired NHS staff do not have access.
Faxes used to be able to be sent, but this was phased out at the end of March 2015.
NHS Scotland have announced their intention to phase-out the use of NHSmail for users in Scotland between July 2020 and September 2020, with NHS Scotland users migrating to Microsoft 365. NHS Scotland plans to adopt the nhs.scot domain.
Background.
History.
NHS.net e-mail initially offered 64Mb of storage. In 2006 it was improved and storage space was unlimited. Storage space has since been reduced to 400MB or 1GB depending on account service level. In 2013 the storage was doubled for all users in response to feedback from them.
Underlying technology.
The NHSmail system uses a customised version of Microsoft Exchange (2013).
Client-side access.
Web interface.
The web interface uses Outlook Web Access. The login URL for the webmail service is https://www.nhs.net.
Microsoft exchange.
NHSmail may be accessed from the internet by Microsoft Outlook on Windows or Microsoft Entourage on Mac OS X. Auto-configuration is available if the user's e-mail address is provided.
A zip file containing Microsoft Outlook 2002 manual setup details can be downloaded from Tools->Outlook setup
Mobile devices which support Exchange email and calendar can use NHSmail email and calendar functions, either with native capability or by installing third party software. Whilst no mobile phones are officially supported by NHSmail the following devices are able to connect:
IMAP.
Standards-compliant IMAP was available only from within the NHS internal network until around August 2018 when it was reintroduced into the Internet.
The server is imap.nhs.net. The internal SMTP server is send.nhs.net.
Standards-compliant connectivity over the internet was previously provided via the IMAP server imapmail1.nhs.net and the SMTP server smtp1.nhs.net. Standards-compliant internet access was removed in September 2009, breaking linux accessibility from the internet. A Windows-only tunnelling application can restore internet access to IMAP. This application is Whale Communications (a Microsoft subsidiary) Intelligent Application Gateway and is publicly accessible at https://client.nhs.net. The application is not available for 64-bit platforms.
Security and insecurity.
NHSmail has been approved for securely exchanging patient information by non-IT groups such as the British Medical Association (BMA), the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).
Emails that may contain personally identifiable information, sensitive information, or medical information have been assessed by the UK Government's Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) as requiring protection to Business Impact Level 4 (B-IL 4). This was assessed in reference to CESGs guidance on Technical Risk Assessment for the UK Cabinet Office published as HMG IA Standard No 1 (IA1 – Technical Risk Assessment), and defined by the potential distress or embarrassment a breach of the system could cause NHS patients, as given in the Impact Level table on p. 54 of the Standard.
The current NHSmail services have (with a waiver allowing access from uncontrolled end points over the internet) been assessed as providing a level of security consistent with B-IL 3. The B-IL 3 rating will be maintained with the introduction of NHSmail2, however this rating is not consistent with CESG's requirements for protecting personal information of this sensitivity.
The service can be used to email a range of other Government email services such as the Home Office, secure local government services, police, MoD etc. Access to e-mail accounts can be provided voluntarily through a delegate option in Microsoft Outlook. Access without the mailbox owner's permission can be granted after local sign off from an HR director or CEO and the Programme Head for NHSmail.
Tag lines.
Mail sent through NHS.net may have a 15-line tag essay appended to the end of the message.
NHSmail 2.
In 2013 the owning organisation (then NHS Connecting for Health) announced that they wished to replace the existing NHSmail service as the contract was due to come to an end. In January 2014 the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) confirmed that a business case for replacing the service had been approved by The Department of Health and Treasury. The current service will run until the new one is procured, with transition due to take place during 2016.