The prime minister is expected to announce that an NHS online hospital service will be available in England within two years to help reduce waiting times. As he lays out plans for the digital service, Sir Keir Starmer will tell the Labour Party's annual conference that a "new world is coming." Patients who choose to use NHS Online will be seen by its own dedicated doctors, who will take care of patients if they so wish. The plan is for assessments, audits, and follow-up appointments to all be done online.
Wes Streeting, the health minister, told BBC Breakfast that he was "really excited" about a new virtual hospital, which has now "been proven to work" in several hospitals, including University Hospital Southampton and Moorfields.
"It's really about modernising the NHS and assisting it in moving with the times," he said. "If people want one, they will be able to book a scan, test, or procedure at a local community diagnostic centre." The service will be phased in from 2027, with the primary focus on areas where there are substantial numbers of patients who don't need inpatient care. According to NHS reports, this could include ophthalmology, gynaecology, and digestive disorders. Some patients will need monitoring and assistance coping with their health condition, and will therefore be more suited to the online service. However, determining which of those patients will be a challenge.
According to NHS England, only those areas where an online service is deemed safe will be included in the new package. The online hospital will be available through the NHS app, and ministers are hoping that it will have up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than the average NHS trust. The health secretary also tried to convince some patients who might be concerned about essential services going online by stating on BBC Breakfast that this will instead free up slots for people who want to be seen face-to-face.
"They're not only better for them in terms of being more accessible," Mr Streeting said, "but it also reduces stress."
Core theme in 10-year NHS plan
"The role of this party is not limited to celebrating the NHS; it's to make it better." Sir Jim Mackey, the NHS England chief executive, said the initiative would "deliver millions more appointments by the end of the decade," providing a "realistic alternative for patients and greater autonomy over their own care." One of the main goals of the 10-year NHS plan, which was released over the summer, was digital innovation. The service will continue to grow on top of existing initiatives that have already been piloted. For example, University Hospital Southampton developed a virtual replica for low-risk inflammatory bowel disease, allowing patients to obtain medical assistance and help remotely if they were sick. It meant that the NHS trust could delay its follow-up appointments. Patients were treated virtually, and the campaign was credited with lowering wait times by 58%. Meanwhile, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has introduced a virtual platform for tracking non-emergency eye referrals. More than half of patients were seen in routine clinics without the need for specialist care at Moorfields.
The online hospital service, according to Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, may be a "very important development." "The way the NHS delivers outpatient services hasn't changed in decades, but we learned a lot about the potential for new approaches using digital technology during Covid," he said.
"It's important that they plan this thoroughly because there are a lot of things to consider." These include patient information processing and the need to avoid "digital exclusion" of people who are unable to use the service.
"It's an interesting experiment," says Dr Becks Fisher, the Nuffield Trust think tank's leader. "At this stage, however, detail is largely lacking. And there are some pressing concerns regarding implementation that are looming. Where will the doctors and nurses for this service be taken from? How can patients who need medical attention be moved from digital to physical services? This service will only be safe and appropriate for those patients. How can we be sure it is kept to them?"
GP online booking
The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that a separate online booking system being introduced across England could cause confusion and could lead to significant health issues being missed by GPs. On Wednesday, the service, which will now enable patients needing an on-the-day GP appointment or a call from a consultant, to make a request online throughout the day, is being rolled out. It is now available in several locations and is intended to reduce long queues on the phone during the so-called "8 am scramble." The health minister emphasised that the programme was part of a larger attempt to bring "general practice" into "general use" in the 21st Century, according to BBC Breakfast. "If we don't change with the times," Streeting explained, "the NHS will become less relevant and less accessible to the public."
