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Wes Streeting has promised to withdraw NHS “in the digital age” with plans to give more patients planned care needed the ability to decide where to be treated.
As part of plans to reduce waiting listsThe NHS app is to be overhauled, giving patients more choice under the elective reform plan, due to be published this week.
Minister of Health Mr. Streeting said the move will help Work reduce wait time”from 18 months to 18 weeks“.
Action will also be taken to deal with missed appointments, which are a significant drain on NHS finances.
Experts welcomed the move but warned that digital innovation must not “create new barriers” and “come at the expense of excluding those without a smartphone”.
However, the British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the changes were tied to “artificial and clinically irrelevant targets” and may not deliver the benefits promised by Mr Streeting.
Responding to the announcement, BMA Chair Professor Phil Banfield said: “The Government’s plan for improvements in elective care, which will be driven by arbitrary targets and application upgrades, misses a key point; we must treat the patients who need it most first.”
He added: “With 7.5 million people waiting for care, the app may help some patients navigate disjointed and complex care pathways, but an upgrade to an NHS app alone will not make a serious dent in waiting lists without significant improvements over others parts of our health care system.”
Currently, the NHS app can be used to book and manage appointments, view health records and order repeat prescriptions.
The upgraded platform will allow patients requiring non-urgent elective treatment to choose from a range of providers, including those in the independent sector.
Users will also be able to view and manage appointments, book tests and follow-ups at convenient locations such as community diagnostic centers, receive test results and book any necessary follow-up appointments, such as remote consultations or surgery.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), less than a quarter of patients are offered a choice of hospital for treatment.
Streeting said: “If the rich can choose where and when they receive treatment, then working class patients should be able to, and this government will give them that choice.
“Our plan will reform the NHS so that patients are fully informed at every step of their care, are given the right choice to switch to another provider for shorter waiting times and take control of their healthcare.”
The first step of the plan will come into force in March, when patients in more than 85 per cent of acute trusts will be able to see their appointments on the NHS app.
They will also be able to contact their doctor and receive regular updates, including how long they are likely to wait.
The electoral reform plan will also establish minimum standards for patients to give them more power in decision-making.
This includes giving people choices about how their care is monitored, whether in person or online, as well as giving patients a shortlist of providers to choose from and making it easier for them to contact providers for follow-up.
Officials claim there were eight million missed appointments in 2023-24, with measures also introduced to tackle the problem.
Improving two-way communication between patients and clinicians, as well as using artificial intelligence (AI), could save an additional million missed appointments, the DHSC estimates.
Work is underway to pilot AI services that pinpoint patients who are likely to miss an appointment so that additional support, such as free transport, can be offered.
Mr Streeting added: “This Government’s reform agenda will take the NHS from a one-size-fits-all, top-down, like-it-or-total service to a modern service that puts patients in the driving seat and treats them in time – delivering our blueprint for change which will start a decade of national reconstruction.
“By bringing our analogue NHS into the digital age, we will cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks and give working-class patients the same choice, control and convenience enjoyed by the wealthy.
Last month, it emerged that waiting lists for routine hospital treatment had fallen to their lowest level in seven months.
Figures released by NHS England in December showed an estimated 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of October, down from 7.57 million at the end of September and the lowest figures since March 2024.
The number of patients waiting for treatment remained unchanged compared to the previous month and amounted to 6.34 million.
NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “NHS staff are delivering record levels of elective care, but with too many patients waiting, we know we need to reform further and faster to take our progress on the backlog to the next level.
“That’s why, as part of the elective reform plan, we will fully exploit the potential of the NHS app, giving patients more information, choice and control over their care, while freeing up our staff’s time so they too can be more productive.
“Using technology to revolutionize access to NHS care, by offering greater availability of tests, examinations and scans closer to people’s homes, will help us tackle waiting times and put patients at the forefront of elective care.”
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients’ Association, welcomed the announcement but warned it was “crucial” that digital innovation did not “create new barriers”.
“The commitment to putting patients in control of their own care through enhanced digital access is a positive development that could change the way people manage their healthcare journey,” she said.
“However, it is crucial that these digital innovations do not create new barriers for patients who struggle with technology or cannot access digital routes, potentially increasing existing health inequalities.
“While modernizing services is important, we need to ensure that traditional communication channels remain available and well-equipped, especially in areas where digital exclusion is greatest.”
She added that using AI to predict and prevent missed appointments in combination with other support measures “shows a welcome recognition that improving access requires both technological and practical solutions”.
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said more patient choice was “a good thing” but app improvements “must not come at the expense of excluding those who don’t have a smartphone”.
“Many people are reporting problems with booking, changing, tracking and canceling appointments, and we keep hearing stories of letters lost in the post and clunky phone systems making it difficult to make appointments that touch people’s lives,” she said.
“We welcome the recognition that there is clear scope for an NHS app to improve the way patients experience their care, and the focus on improving the app must not come at the expense of excluding those without a smartphone.
“More patient choice is a good thing, but it can only be one part of the coming recovery plan to address the extensive waiting list challenges we face.”