Streeting vows NHS App improve will slash ready instances and provides sufferers extra selection | EUROtoday

Wes Streeting has promised to drag the NHS “into the digital age” with plans to present extra sufferers needing deliberate care the power to determine the place they’re handled.

Under plans aimed toward slashing ready lists, the NHS App will likely be overhauled, giving sufferers extra selection underneath the elective reform plan, which is about to be introduced this week.

Health secretary Mr Streeting mentioned the transfer will assist Labour reduce ready instances “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.

Action can even be taken to deal with missed appointments, which is a big drain on NHS funds.

Experts welcomed the transfer, however warned that digital improvements should not “create new barriers” and “come at the expense of excluding those without a smartphone”.

But the British Medical Association (BMA) warned the modifications had been pegged round “artificial and clinically irrelevant targets” and should not ship the advantages Mr Streeting has promised.

Responding to the announcement, BMA chair professor Phil Banfield mentioned: “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 added: “With 7.5 million people waiting for care, the app may help some patients navigate disjointed and complex pathways of care, but an upgrade to the NHS app on its own won’t make serious inroads into waiting lists without significant improvements to other parts of our healthcare system.”

At the second, the NHS App can be utilized for the likes of reserving and managing appointments, viewing well being data and ordering repeat prescriptions.

The upgraded platform will permit sufferers who want non-emergency elective remedy to select from a spread of suppliers, together with these within the impartial sector.

Users can even have the ability to view and handle appointments, e book assessments and checks at handy areas similar to neighborhood diagnostic centres, obtain check outcomes, and e book any essential observe up appointments, similar to a distant consultations or surgical procedure.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), fewer than 1 / 4 of sufferers are supplied a selection of hospital to have remedy.

Mr Streeting mentioned: “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.

“Our plan will reform the NHS, so sufferers are totally knowledgeable each step of the way in which by means of their care, they’re given correct option to go to a special supplier for a shorter wait, and put accountable for their very own healthcare.”

The first step of the plan will come into force in March, when patients at more than 85 per cent of acute trusts will be able to view their appointments on the NHS App.

They will also be able to contact their healthcare provider and receive regular updates, including how long they are likely to wait.

The elective reform plan will also establish minimum standards for patients to give them more power over decision-making.

This includes giving people a choice on how their care is followed up, be it 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-ups.

Officials claim there were eight million missed appointments in 2023-24, with measures also being put in place to tackle the issue.

Improving two-way communication between patients and clinicians, as well as using artificial intelligence (AI), could save an additional one 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 extra support, such as free transport, can be offered.

Mr Streeting added: “This authorities’s reform agenda will take the NHS from a one dimension suits all, prime down, prefer it or lump it service, to a contemporary service that places sufferers within the driving seat and treats them on time – delivering on our plan for change to drive a decade of nationwide renewal.

“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 as the wealthy receive.”

Last month, it emerged that the ready listing for routine hospital remedy had fallen to its lowest stage for seven months.

Figures revealed by NHS England in December confirmed an estimated 7.54 million therapies had been ready to be carried out on the finish of October, down from 7.57 million on the finish of September and the bottom determine since March 2024.

The variety of sufferers ready for therapies was unchanged month-on-month, at 6.34 million.

NHS England chief govt Amanda Pritchard mentioned: “NHS staff are providing record levels of elective care but with too many patients waiting, we know we need to reform further and faster so we can take our progress on the backlog to the next level.

“That is why as a part of the elective reform plan we are going to totally harness the potential of the NHS app, giving sufferers extra data, selection and management over their care whereas releasing up the time of our employees to allow them to work extra productively too.

“Using technology to revolutionise access to NHS care, alongside offering more availability of tests, check and scans closer to people’s homes, will help us tackle waiting times and put patients in the driving seat of elective care.”

Rachel Power, chief govt of the Patients Association, welcomed the announcement however warned it’s “crucial” that digital improvements don’t “create new barriers”.

“The commitment to putting patients in control of their own care through enhanced digital access is a positive development that could transform how people manage their healthcare journey,” she mentioned.

“However, it’s crucial that these digital innovations don’t create new barriers for patients who may struggle with technology or can’t access digital routes, potentially widening existing health inequalities.

“While modernising providers is essential, we should be sure that conventional communication channels stay accessible and well-resourced, notably in areas the place digital exclusion is highest.”

She added that the use of AI to predict and prevent missed appointments combined with other support measures “exhibits a welcome recognition that enhancing entry requires each technological and sensible options”.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King’s Fund, said more patient choice is a “good factor” but app improvements “should not come on the expense of excluding these with out a smartphone”.

“Many individuals report points reserving, amending, following up and cancelling appointments and we constantly hear tales of letters misplaced within the put up and clunky phone methods which make selecting time slots that work round individuals’s lives troublesome,” she said.

“We welcome the acknowledgement that there’s clearly scope for the NHS app to enhance how sufferers expertise their care and the concentrate on enhancing the app should not come on the expense of excluding these with out a smartphone.

“More patient choice is a good thing, but it can only be one part of the forthcoming recovery plan to tackle the extensive waiting list challenges we face.”