NHS Online Hospital to Drive Modernization of Health Services by 2027
- 30 sept
- 2 Min. de lectura
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that a new "online hospital" (NHS Online) will launch in England by 2027, with the promise of drastically cutting the National Health Service (NHS) waiting lists. Starmer, who is set to present the initiative at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, hailed the new service as "the moment we renewed the NHS for a new world".
The service, which will be accessible through the NHS app, aims to offer up to 8.5 million extra appointments and assessments during its first three years. Labour claims this represents approximately four times the average output capacity of an NHS trust.
Patients will be able to utilize the NHS Digital Hospital for various functions. These include tracking prescriptions, being referred for scans and tests, and receiving clinical advice for managing health conditions. For those who require a physical test or procedure, they will be able to book these through the app at a nearby hospital, surgical hub, or community diagnostic center.
A key goal of the reform is to connect patients with specialists nationwide, without needing a physical site. This strategy seeks not only to reduce waiting times and delays associated with face-to-face appointments but also to lessen postcode-based care variation and distribute demand more evenly.
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, called the project a "huge step forward". He added that the initiative will offer a "real alternative for patients and more control over their own care".
The initiative is built upon the 10-Year Health Plan and capitalizes on ideas already being successfully used in some NHS trusts, such as virtual follow-up services for low-risk inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) developed by University Hospital Southampton.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized at the Labour Conference that a technological revolution was coming "whether we like it or not". He urged that the party’s historic and modern mission is to ensure that the best innovations are available to "not just to some, but to all".
Nonetheless, experts have pointed out implementation challenges. Although the service will initially focus on planned treatment areas with long waiting times, such as ophthalmology, gynecology, and digestive conditions, where remote care is clinically safe, it will be crucial to avoid the "digital exclusion" of people who cannot access the service. There are also questions regarding where the medical staff will come from and how the safe transition of patients needing physical care from the digital service will be managed.
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