‘Online hospital’ to open in 2027, says PM

The new service - plans for which were exclusively revealed by HSJ in June and then further trailed in the government’s 10-Year Health Plan - will be branded “NHS Online” and be accessible through the NHS App.

It is scheduled to go live in 2027 and will deliver “up to 8.5 million extra GP and consultant-led elective services in its first three years”, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to pledge in his speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

If the 8.5 million appointments were split equally into 2.8 million appointments per year over the three years, this would represent an uplift of around 2 per cent of the 146 million outpatient appointments in 2024-25, according to the latest official NHS data. Of the 146 million appointments, 113 million were attended by patients. 

NHS England said the increased capacity will help cut demand and reduce waiting times, saying the announcement was “a huge step forward for the NHS”. 

But experts said that while NHS Online would be “an interesting initiative and helpful for some”, detail was “largely lacking at this stage” and there were “difficult questions” to address about how it would be staffed and funded, and how patients would be passed between digital and physical services.

A Number 10 statement said: “Patients will always have the choice between NHS Online and their local hospital. Those who opt in to the service will also access and track prescriptions, be referred for scans and tests, and receive clinical advice on managing their condition – all from the comfort of their own home.

“If someone needs a physical test or a procedure these will be booked on the App at convenient locations close to their home or work – whether at a nearby hospital, surgical hub or community diagnostic centre.”

HSJ revealed in June that government was considering including “virtual hospitals” – based on patients directly contacting consultants on an Uber-style platform – in its 10YHP.

The 10YHP published in July said: “We will ensure the NHS can provide GP and consultant-led elective services virtually through the NHS App - available to everyone, regardless of where they live - where safe to do so and always subject to patient choice. We will not allow privately provided digital healthcare to be the only option and we will increase the availability of virtual services for NHS patients.”

Neither the government nor NHSE have said how NHS Online will be run, for example by a new NHS trust or arm’s length body, or how it will be staffed.

NHSE said: “Initially the focus will be on a small number of planned treatment areas with the longest waits… Doctors will have new levels of flexibility, managing their time in a way that works better for them and their patients. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will work with clinical staff and their union representatives on how best to deliver [it]…

“The service will build and scale tried-and-tested innovations already in place across the country such as AI and remote monitoring.”

It cited three examples of these: University Hospital Southampton’s virtual follow-up pathway for patients with low-risk inflammatory bowel disease flare-ups; Moorfields Eye Hospital’s single point of access for virtual triage across multiple providers, which means all referrals come into a single shared system; and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust’s partnership with Medefer which “has enabled virtual triage of 99 per cent of referrals within 48 hours”.

Sir Keir is expected to say “a new world is coming… In decades to come, I want people to look back on this moment as the moment we renewed the NHS for a new world.”