UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Health Secretary has confirmed that the NHS app is ready for a major update, allowing patients to manage appointments and choose care providers.
To tackle growing waiting lists, the National Health Service (NHS) application will transform significantly to provide patients with greater options under the elective reform strategy. More details about the reform plan will be revealed in the coming week.
As reported by the Independent, Wes Streeting stated the initiative will help Labour to reduce waiting times drastically “from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
Measures will be introduced to address skipped appointments, which are a major financial burden on the NHS.
The new update will provide more options to select care providers, and the app will make the appointment-taking process easier.
The app will enable patients seeking non-emergency treatments to schedule their bookings, select various caregivers (including independent options), and schedule necessary diagnostic tests.
Patients will also have access to their test results and be able to select the phase of their treatment, with choices like online consultations or surgery, depending on their condition.
Sky News reported that currently, only 8% of bookings after a referral are scheduled via the NHS app or the Manage Your Referral program. However, under the new plans, these digital platforms will become the primary choice for selecting a healthcare provider.
The government confirmed that the initial stage of the digital transformation will be completed by March 2025, and patients at more than 85% of acute trusts will be able to view their booking details using the NHS app.
These measures are included in the elective reform strategy, which outlines how the government will reduce waiting lists and limit waiting times to 18 weeks before the end of the current parliament.
Healthcare leaders and experts from the medical field supported the initiative but raised concerns that digital transformation must not create new hurdles or “exclude people who do not own a smartphone.”
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the reforms focus on “artificial and clinically irrelevant targets” and may not deliver the vowed benefits from Mr. Streeting.
While commenting on the news of the proposed transformation, BMA chair professor Phil Banfield stated,
“The government’s plan for improvements in elective care, to be driven by arbitrary targets and upgrades to an app, misses the crucial point; we need to treat the patients most in need first.”
He stressed that the NHS app may assist some patients but won’t significantly impact waiting lists without wider healthcare system reforms.
The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting said,
“If the wealthy can choose where and when they are treated, then working class patients should be able to as well, and this government will give them that choice.”
He added,
“Our plan will reform the NHS, so patients are fully informed every step of the way through their care, they are given proper choice to go to a different provider for a shorter wait, and put in control of their own healthcare.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said that enhancing two-way communication between patients and care providers using AI could prevent around 1 million missed bookings.