Updated NHS App to give patients access to quicker and more effective care at their fingertips

LONDON June 29: The Plan for Digital Health and Social Care, published today (Wednesday 29 June), sets out the government’s ambitious vision for transforming health and care with digital technology – which give patients access to quicker and more effective care at their fingertips and will save the health and care systems time and money.

By March 2023, NHS App users will be able to book Covid-19 vaccines through the NHS App, as well as the NHS website, receive NHS notifications and messaging, including reminders and alerts for Covid-19 vaccine booking and prescription readiness, and start to see notifications and messaging sent from their GP through the NHS App, among other tools.

And by March 2024, the app should offer face-to-face video consultations.

Up to 50 virtual wards will be set up in every region of England as remote monitoring – where patients can use technology to keep an eye on their condition from home – becomes more widespread. A further 500,000 people could be better supported in this way by March 2023, the Government says in its Plan for Digital Health and Social Care, published today.

Over 280,000 people already used remote monitoring at home and in care homes for long-term conditions in the last year. Ministers said this has resulted in improvements in patient outcomes – with problems picked up earlier, shorter stays in hospital, and fewer admissions in the first place.

The government’s ambition is for at least 75% of adults to be using it by March 2024.

The Plan sets out how NHS will improve access to information for people and their care teams through the NHS App and NHS.uk – resulting in faster, more personalised treatment. This includes bringing information together into the App and enabling people to view and manage hospital appointments, have virtual consultations, and see notifications from their GP.

It also outlines the acceleration of the use of digital technology across the NHS and social care to improve efficiency and free up frontline workers’ time, helping to bust the Covid backlogs. By increasing the availability of remote monitoring – where patients can use technology to keep an eye on their condition from home – a further 500,000 people could be better supported by March 2023. Over 280,000 people already used remote monitoring at home and in care homes for long-term conditions in the last year, freeing up hospital beds and saving clinicians’ valuable time. This has resulted in improvements in patient outcomes – with problems picked up earlier, shorter stays in hospital, and fewer admissions in the first place.

£2 billion has been earmarked from the spending review to help digitise the NHS and social care sector, and this Plan will help achieve that aim by rolling out electronic patient records in the NHS to drive efficiency which, in turn, will release billions of pounds back to the NHS.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We are embarking on a radical programme of modernisation that will make sure the NHS is set up to meet the challenges of 2048 – not 1948, when it was first established.

“This Plan builds on our Data Strategy to revolutionise digital health and care, which will enable patients to manage hospital appointments from the NHS App and take more control of their own care at home, picking up problems sooner and seeking help earlier.

Ensuring more personalisation and better join up of the system will benefit patients, free up clinician time, and help us to bust the Covid backlogs.

To further free up clinician time, patients will be able to complete their hospital pre-assessment checks from home across the country by September 2024.

In addition to the investment in technology, the plan recognises NHS’ frontline professionals are at the bedrock of health and social care services, so it will bolster the skills in the workforce by:

Developing a National Digital Workforce Strategy to bridge the skills gap and ensure the NHS remains an attractive place to work
Grow the specialist data and tech workforce through graduates, apprentices and experienced hires, creating an additional 10,500 positions
Embed digital skills development into university curriculums to support our future and incoming workforce
Provide a digital learning offer for adult social care staff, such as offering accessible training and online resources.
The Plan will also promote the use of digital health and social care records, which will underpin more seamless information sharing between care teams, including appropriate access to GP records for people working in care homes, such as registered managers. The adoption of digital social care records and other care technologies is backed by £25 million this year, announced at London Tech Week.

Dr Timothy Ferris, national director of transformation at NHS England and NHS Improvement, said: “By harnessing the power of digital and data we can improve both how people access services and the way we provide care.

“Today’s plan for digital health and care sets out an ambitious vision for a future where the NHS puts more power and information at patients’ fingertips, and staff have the tools they need to deliver better and more joined-up services for those who need them.

More than 28 million people now have the NHS App in their pocket. To support patients to access more personalised care from home, new features will be added to the NHS App, enabling it to become a digital front door to NHS services.

By March 2023, NHS App users will be able to:

Book Covid-19 vaccines through the NHS App, as well as the NHS website
Receive NHS notifications and messaging, including reminders and alerts for Covid-19 vaccine booking and prescription readiness
Start to see notifications and messaging sent from their GP through the NHS App
Start to view and manage hospital elective care appointments across participating trusts
See new information within their GP record by default, with the ability to request retrospective information at their practice
Access a user profile where they can set and manage contact details and register with a GP practice
Further ambitions for the NHS App will see features including improving access to screening services and enabling reminders, improving ease of access to child health records for parents and carers, and improving access to relevant clinical trials.

Simon Bolton, Chief Executive at NHS Digital, said: “Technology is central in empowering patients and giving them more control when it comes to their health and wellbeing.

“The NHS App has changed the way millions of adults in England access healthcare services in the three years since its launch and these new features will go further to improve how patients can manage their health and to reduce the burden on the frontline.

“We are committed to working with our partners across health and social care to deliver the digitally enabled transformation of the NHS and create a system which provides better outcomes and access for patients.

The publication of the Plan for Digital Health and Social Care follows the publication of Data Saves Lives: Reshaping Health and Social Care with Data.