Health & Social Care Network
(HSCN) Connectivity
Compliant connectivity to the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN), from a CN-SP-accredited provider, designed and operated by our team. For NHS organisations, healthtech and medtech companies, pharmacy, primary and social care, and the technology providers delivering into them.
What is Business Connect: HSCN?
Business Connect: HSCN is Cloud Gateway’s connectivity solution for the Health and Social Care Network, the private network that links NHS organisations, social care providers and the technology companies that serve them. It carries patient data, clinical records, prescribing information and the systems that depend on them, which is why access is governed by NHS England’s Connection Agreement and delivered only through accredited suppliers known as CN-SPs.
Cloud Gateway is an accredited CN-SP. We connect your sites, users, cloud environments and data centres to HSCN under one operating platform, with the governance, resilience and audit evidence regulated health organisations need built into the way the service runs. The connection itself is the foundation. What sits over it, the security, the visibility, the compliance evidence, is what makes it a platform rather than a pipe.
For a full explanation of what HSCN is and how it replaced N3, you can find our HSCN guides in the Knowledge Centre. This page covers what Cloud Gateway delivers.
Benefits of Business Connect: HSCN
Delivered by an accredited CN-SP, aligned to NHS England’s Connection Agreement, with connection patterns and architecture templates that match what assessors expect to see.
DSPT-aligned evidence, ITHC readiness, change records and audit support generated as a by-product of the connection, not assembled by hand before each review.
From a single connection where that’s appropriate, to dual-homed or fully resilient configurations for clinical services that can’t go dark, with the network design and documentation to support them.
Once HSCN is in place, the platform extends to cloud connectivity, internet access, remote access, managed firewall and SD-WAN without rebuilding the architecture or renegotiating the contract.
Performance, security posture, SLA delivery and incident data for your HSCN connection in one view through the Cloud Gateway Portal, or via API into your existing ITSM and SIEM tools.
Designed, built and operated by Cloud Gateway from a 24/7 UK NOC, with UK infrastructure and a transparent supply chain.
What's included
Cloud Gateway validates your Connection Agreement, designs the connection pattern, provisions and integrates it into your existing estate, and operates it.
The service includes compliant HSCN connectivity for sites, users, cloud environments or data centres; connection patterns and documentation aligned to NHS England requirements; DSPT-aligned evidence, ITHC readiness reporting and change records generated automatically; resilient connection options from single to fully redundant; and live performance, posture and SLA visibility through the Cloud Gateway Portal, available via API to your existing tooling.
You can take HSCN connectivity on its own, or as the foundation of a wider platform. Either way the delivery model is the same: design and build by our team, operations from a UK NOC, and one point of accountability.
How to connect to HSCN
Connecting to HSCN runs through four steps, and we handle the parts that need an accredited supplier.
01. Step one
choose an accredited Consumer Network Service Provider (CN-SP). Cloud Gateway is one of around 20 approved by NHS England
02. Step two
sign the HSCN Connection Agreement. This only needs signing once, regardless of how many connections you have
03. Step three
we validate your Connection Agreement before connecting your environments, which keeps you compliant
04. Step four
We design and provision the connection. Where site readiness allows, an HSCN connection can be delivered in days, not weeks
Our case studies
Organisations
we’ve helped
Common questions about Business Connect: HSCN
Is Cloud Gateway an HSCN provider?
Yes. Cloud Gateway is an accredited HSCN Consumer Network Service Provider (CN-SP), delivering compliant connectivity to the Health and Social Care Network for NHS organisations, social care providers, healthtech and medtech companies, pharmacy, primary care and the technology providers delivering into them.
What is a CN-SP, and why does it matter?
A CN-SP (Consumer Network Service Provider) is a supplier accredited by NHS England to deliver compliant connectivity to HSCN. Organisations connecting to HSCN must do so through an accredited CN-SP. There are roughly 20 in the UK market. Cloud Gateway is one of them, audited annually against NHS England’s standards.
How long does it take to get an HSCN connection?
Where your Connection Agreement is signed and your site is ready, Cloud Gateway can typically deliver an HSCN connection in days rather than weeks. The timeline depends on whether the Connection Agreement is in place (usually 5 to 7 working days to process if not), your existing network setup, and the resilience configuration you need.
Can a cloud-hosted product connect to HSCN?
Yes. Healthtech and medtech providers hosting products in AWS, Azure or Google Cloud can deliver those products to NHS and care customers over a compliant HSCN connection from the cloud environment. Cloud Gateway combines Business Connect: HSCN with Business Connect: Cloud under one operating model
What's the difference between a CN-SP and a CSP?
A CN-SP provides the compliant network connection to HSCN. A CSP (Cloud Service Provider) provides cloud-hosted services reachable over HSCN. Most organisations need a CN-SP to connect. Cloud Gateway is a CN-SP.
Can I keep my existing HSCN provider and add Cloud Gateway?
Yes. You can add Cloud Gateway connectivity or security alongside an existing provider, for example to connect new sites or test the service, and migrate fully when you’re ready. Where you own your HSCN IP addresses rather than having them allocated by a provider, they can move with you.
What evidence does the service produce for audit?
Change records, connection documentation, SLA delivery and posture data are generated as the service runs and aligned to the frameworks health organisations report against, including DSPT and ITHC. When the next cycle comes around, the evidence is already there rather than assembled ad hoc. For more on how this works across the platform, see Assure.
Get your regulated connectivity
right first time
Most providers stop at the connection. Cloud Gateway delivers HSCN with the governance, resilience and audit evidence regulated health organisations need built in and operated end to end by a UK team. Where a traditional supplier hands you a pipe and leaves the compliance to you, we generate the audit trail as a by-product of running the service.